Victory and colonialism: While Europe celebrates the 8th of May, Africa forgets repression

This text was published on May 22 by telegraf.rs.

On May 8, much of Europe marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Many European capitals commemorated the dead and held victory celebrations. However, the date is not celebrated with joy everywhere. South of Europe, on the African continent, it is associated with darker events. While in Europe they remember the victory over fascism and those who died during the war, in many African countries attention is focused on the fate of Africans who also participated in the fight against fascism, but who after the war received neither gratitude nor recognition, but repression and oblivion.

Senegalese riflemen (light infantry)

"During World War II, the contribution of the Senegalese riflemen was crucial. These soldiers, who fought under the French flag, showed invaluable courage on the battlefield. Around 25,000 Senegalese riflemen were killed or captured during the fighting for France... However, their sacrifice is often silenced in official historical accounts," according to a report by Burkinabe broadcaster RTB on May 7.

The report looks back at the events of December 1, 1944, when the Tirailleurs, returned from German captivity, were killed by the French army in Tiaroja, Senegal:

"According to various sources, the number of victims of this massacre ranges from 35 to several hundred. These men, who had fought for France during the Second World War, rebelled in protest against injustice and delays in the payment of salaries and pensions. Their rebellion was a cry of despair at the indifference and contempt shown to them after they had risked their lives for the French fatherland," the report states.

The Senegalese Tirailleurs were units of the French colonial army composed of men from various ethnic groups in West and Central Africa. They were called "Senegalese" because the first black African regiment was formed in Senegal. During World War II, around 180,000 Senegalese riflemen served in the French army.

In 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron, in a letter to the Senegalese authorities, for the first time called the killing of West African soldiers by the French army in 1944 a massacre. The fact that Africans fought alongside Europeans and gave their lives in the fight against fascism did not protect them from racism. According to Boubie Bazié, a lecturer at the University of Ouagadougou, the French authorities wanted only white soldiers to participate in parades.

“After the landings in Provence, a military order was issued on September 7 recommending that the troops be ‘whitened’ – that is, that black soldiers, including Senegalese riflemen, be removed from combat units,” he said on May 9.

This was also pointed out by journalist Ahmed Koné from Burkina Faso on May 11: "They were removed before arriving in Paris because the aim was to present a predominantly white army, so the black soldiers were left aside - true to a military philosophy that still thought as it did during the time of slavery." Bazié points out that the return of the Tirailleurs to their home countries took place in an atmosphere of complete neglect, without respect, recognition or gratitude for their sacrifice.

Although they were promised equal citizenship in France in recognition of their service, for many this promise was never fulfilled. Even after they were granted French citizenship, the Tirailleurs often faced discrimination. For example, for many years they received significantly lower pensions than their French counterparts.

Unequal pay for colonial soldiers fighting abroad was not uncommon. More than 500,000 Africans served in the British army during World War II. They received wages three times lower than white soldiers.

Victory Day in Europe, Remembrance Day in Algeria

In another African country – Algeria – May 8 is observed as National Remembrance Day, commemorating the tragic events of May 1945. While Europe celebrated the Allied victory over Nazi Germany, thousands of Algerians were killed by French colonial authorities during the suppression of demonstrations in the regions of Setif, Guelma and Kherrata.

"To mark the end of World War II, Algerian nationalist parties, using the symbolism of the day, called for demonstrations to reiterate their demands for freedom... the repression of the French colonial authorities fell upon the demonstrators," according to a Malian radio report on May 11. The massacre is considered a turning point in Franco-Algerian relations, which eventually led to the Algerian War of Independence from 1954 to 1962.

Eighty years later, the number of Algerian victims continues to be controversial. Algerian authorities put the figure at 45,000. In France, the figure of 1,500 Algerians killed is most commonly cited. Historians estimate the number of dead at between 8,000 and 20,000.

In May of this year, more than 70 left-wing deputies in the French National Assembly submitted a motion for a resolution calling for official recognition and condemnation of the massacre committed by French colonial authorities in Algeria on May 8, 1945. However, so far the French government has not taken any concrete steps.