[App] Memories of Algeria

Delving beyond the official state-approved history, El Watan and OWNI are proud to present Mémoires d’Algérie (Memories of Algeria). The application hopes to act as a bridge between Algiers and Paris, presenting the reality of the Algerian War through thousands of archive documents. A war of liberation, a civil war, or simply a war, according to each of the protagonists, who fifty years later become our narrators.

The site that we have created together, memories-algerie.org, is the result of a common purpose uniting French and Algerian journalists. Working hand in hand, we have attempted to create a tool for learning that is uncompromised, yet conscious of the need for dignity and reconciliation. A place to store memories, where people can assess for themselves independent from the type of cynicism and misunderstanding that precipitated this tragic chapter in French and Algerian history.

Unpublished documents

Many months of work carried out in Paris and Algiers have allowed us to bring together thousands of archives that will progressively be added to the site over the coming days and weeks. A large number originate from the former Secretary of State for Algerian Affairs and the French Ministry of Defense. But there are also hundreds of personal documents, letters, testimonies of the Algerian population, and a large amount of private photos taken by the witnesses of this war.

Fifteen people made this editorial adventure possible. The daily close cooperation between our two newsrooms has been led by Mélanie Matarese, Adlène Meddi, Pierre Alonso and Julien Goetz. The collection, verification and contextualisation of the documents was provided by Nassima Amarouche, Rodolphe Baron, Marie Coussin, Lila Hadi, Djouher Si Mohamed, Sabiha Ouakli, Tassadite Saada and Nacéra Saoudi. The site itself was created by Anne-Lise Bouyer, Julien Goetz, James Lafa, Abdélila El Mansouri and designed by Marion Boucharlat.

N.B: Some of the extracts published online depict the commonplace barbarity of the war. In such cases, where it appeared appropriate to us, we have redacted proper names, usually to protect the identity of victims of torture.

Related: October 17, 1961 – France’s Shameful Day