Paris 1961 Algerians, State Terror, and Memory [Hardcover]

The massacre of Algerian demonstrators by the Paris police on the night of 17 October 1961 is one of the most contested events in contemporary French history. This book provides a multi-layered investigation of the repression through a critical examination of newly opened archives, oral sources, the press and contemporary political movements and debates. The roots of violence are traced back to counter-insurgency techniques developed by the French military in North Africa and introduced into Paris to crush the independence movement among Algerian migrant workers. The study shows how and why this event was rapidly expunged from public visibility in France, but was kept alive by immigrant and militant minorities, to resurface in a dramatic form after the 1980s. Through this case-study the authors explore both the dynamics of state terror as well as the complex memorial processes by which these events continue to inform and shape post-colonial society.

General Introduction
Part I: Colonial Violence and State Terror
Introduction
1. Papon and the Colonial Origins of Police Violence
2. The FLN Counter-State and Police Repression 1958-1961
3. The Police Crisis and Terror July to 16 October 1961
4. The Demonstrations of 17 to 20 October 1961
5. The Political Crisis 18 October to 1 December 1961
6. Counting the Victims and Identifying the Killers
Part II: Revisiting October and the Afterlives of Memory
Introduction
7. Contesting Colonial Repression 1945-1961
8. Fragmented Reactions to State Violence September-November 1961
9. The Marginalization of 17 October 1961 (1961-1968)
10. 'Underground' Memories 1962-1979
11. Emergent Memories 1980-1997?
12. Ever-Present Memories?
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

There is excellent detective work involving archival, oral, and cultural investigations.... Recommended. --G.P. de Syon,CHOICE