Commemoration of Remembrance Day (08 mai 1945)
The Embassy of Algeria in London commemorated today the 81st anniversary of Remembrance Day (08 mai 1945) known also by Massacres of the 8th May 1945.
The Massacres of 8th May, 1945 in Algeria marked a turning point in the rise of Algerian nationalism. While France and the Allies celebrated victory over Nazi Germany, Algerian people organised demonstrations in some cities like Sétif, Guelma, and Kherrata to demand political rights and independence after thousands of Algerians had fought in World War II alongside France. Clashes between protesters and police escalated into riots that quickly spread through the Constantine region, fueled by long-standing inequality, racism, land dispossession, poverty and oppression.
The French colonial authorities responded with massive and violent repression. The army, air force, navy, police, and settler militias carried out bombings, executions, arrests, and massacres against the population, especially in rural areas around Sétif and Guelma where militias and local officials systematically targeted nationalist activists and civilians, burying victims in mass graves and burning bodies to hide evidence. These massacres resolted in the loss of 45 thousands of martyrs, ended hopes among the Algerian people for a peaceful solution for the colonisation and convinced many nationalists that independence could only be achieved through armed struggle, making the events of May 1945 a major step toward the outbreak of the Algerian War of Independence in 1954.
