Research Question:
Was the use of torture by the French on the Algerians effective?
Journals
Prochaska, David. “That Was Then, This Is Now: The Battle of Algiers and After.” Radical History Review 85 (2003): 133-149
This article would be a great source on why the French implemented torture on the Algerians during the French-Algerian War. It describes a short summary of the history of the use of torture by the French from the beginning of the 20th Century. It states a specific quote from generals Jacques Massusaying that he was sorry for using torture and that things could have been done differently.
Agee, Philip. “Torture as an instrument of National Policy: France 1952-1962.” The Black Scholar 21 (1990): 66-70
It addresses they idea on how studying the use of torture in Algeria can be useful to the United States today. Specifically in the case of the CIA. It has amazing information on the effects of torture on prisoners. Also, it focuses on the idea that the French soldiers were issuing torture “in the name of France, Western Civilization, Christianity, and a certain notion of what man is.” It talks about how police needed to implement torture a way to restore confidence in the police.
Bufacchi, Vittorio, and Jean Maria Arrigo. “Torture, Terrorism and the State: a Refutation of the Ticking-Bomb Argument.” Journal of Applied Philosophy 23.3 (2006): 355-73
In this article I am looking specifically at the idea of the ticking-bomb method of torture, which is one of great controversy in the realm of torture. The main view is about the argument of Henry Shue who states that in extreme scenarios interrogational torture can be permitted even though it is not necessary. If torture can be implemented to stop the greater killing and torturing of others, it may be allowed. The rest of the section tries to prove that this moral dilemma can only happen in extreme situation and whether or not the situation that was the Battle of Algiers can also be justified in the French use of torture.
Website
Phillips, Shiva. “A timeless portrait of the anti-colonial struggle in Algeria.” World Socialist Web Site. 10 Dec. 2006 <
This website is an interesting look at the Battle of Algiers film and the real life event that took place. It illustrates that tens of thousands of innocent men, women, and children were tortured in Algiers alone. It talks about how the torture was not very effective in doing anything except leaving psychological trauma on both the victim and executer of the torture. So both the French troops ordered to torture and the Algerians who may or may not have been part of the resistance suffered greatly because of the movement for independence.
Shatz, Adam. “The Torture of Algiers.” Algeria-Watch. 11 Dec. 2006 <
This website features an article about an interview with Louisette Ighilahriz, who was a twenty-year-old soldier in 1957 in the FLN. She was captured by French paratroopers and was tortured and raped repeatedly before being rescued by a French military doctor. She speaks out against torture telling her interviewer that one can do very well without it. General Marcel Bigeard who was accused of torture calls her remarks lies. The article focuses on terrorism on the Algerians as just another fuel for the resistance movement. It would not solve anything no matter how effective it was. The movement would still continue.
Rejali, Darius. “Does torture work?” Salon. 11 Dec. 2006 <
This website surrounds the idea that torture was indeed effective under Massu in the Battle of Algiers to crush the FLN rebellion. It talks about how professional tortures were able to produce reliable information in a short time in an extremely constrained place. It talks about how the French Government implemented torture willingly and its consequences because of it. The French used torture successfully to win the Battle of Algiers but ultimately lost the war in Algeria. So in the long run, torture can be only effective for so long.
Books
Dine, Phillip. “Anglo-Saxon Literary and Filmic Representations of the French Army in Algeria.” The Algerian War and the French Army, 1954-62. Ed. Martin Alexander. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. 137-51.
Phillip Dine talks about the revelations in 1957 regarding the use of torture and other internationally outlawed methods in Algeria. This is a great source because he talks about the effectiveness of the torture implemented. For the most part torture on most Algerians did not reveal information of the kind the French were looking for and therefore it can be determined that torture was not very effective most of the time.
Joly, Daniele. The French Communist Party and the Algerian War. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991. 100-29.
This is a truly interesting piece by Joly because it talks about committees against torture. It talks about the famous Committee Maurice Audin. Maurice Audin was a young communist who was arrested and assassinated under torture by French parachutists who faked his evasion to cover up their crime. This was in June of 1957. The committee was formed to expose torture in Algeria and in France. These committees sought to stop the use of torture because these groups deemed in unnecessary and inhumane. Members of the French Communist Party mostly sponsored them.
Maran, Rita. Torture: The Role of Ideology in the French-Algerian War. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1989.
This book contrasts the use of torture between the denials and justifications of torture and whether they merit investigation. It examines torture and its use through the examination of government documents stating that had there been no tradition of “rights of man,” or constitutional right to security and safety from torture, it wouldn’t have been a violation of said rights. The French Constitution of 1946 and the French Penal Code offered these protections, and they were all breached. Torture was executed illegally and is therefore wrong. However, the problem resounding is whether or not this includes the colonial territory of Algeria. It gives many in depth arguments against the use of torture and why it was implemented instead of using other methods to gain information. This would include getting the most accurate information the fastest way possible instead of having to constantly ask prisoners.