Long eclipsed from collective memory, the Thiaroye massacre in December
1944 appears today not as an unfortunate chain of fortuitouscircumstances that led to a deadly outcome but rather as the consequence
of a conscious racist policy that was deliberately concealed. Historian
Armelle Mabon continues her fight against oblivion and for the truth.
---- On September 2, 1939, the day after the invasion of Poland by Nazi
Germany, mobilization was decreed in France. More than 200,000 men from
the colonies were incorporated into the colonial troops between 1939 and
1940. These "native soldiers," as they were called, then represented a
little over a quarter of the total forces of the French army. Although
mainly confined to the colonies, Algerians, Moroccans, Malagasy,
Indochinese, "Senegalese" (the Senegalese riflemen actually come from
all over sub-Saharan Africa) will pay a heavy price despite a low
numerical presence on French soil. According to official figures, of the
40,000 Senegalese riflemen engaged in combat in metropolitan France,
nearly 17,000 were killed, missing or wounded in combat in 1940.
The colonial troops were massively incorporated into the Free French
Forces (FFL) from 1942. They were in all the battles: in Syria and
Lebanon in 1942, then in Madagascar, during the campaigns in Eritrea,
Crete, Tripolitania and Libya. They were also widely used in campaigns
on European soil. In Italy from 1943, during the Landing in Provence in
August 1944, the Senegalese riflemen distinguished themselves on the
battlefields, seized Cavalaire, liberated Toulon and went up the Rhone
Valley to Colmar in Alsace. Gradually these troops were replaced by
ex-FFI, officially to spare them the rigors of the continental winter.
In reality, as the Liberation approached, the whitewashing of the French
troops was underway.
The indigenous troops paid a heavy price
At the same time, the provisional government organized the return of the
"indigenous soldiers" taken prisoner during the fighting of 1940. These,
several tens of thousands, were subjected to a special regime[1].
Indeed, the captured riflemen were locked up in Frontstalag, prisoner
camps established outside the Reich and guarded by French officers!
The indigenous soldiers released after four years of captivity were
immediately demobilized before their return to the colonies. From
October 1944, they were subjected to a special regime at the request of
General Ingold, director of the colonial troops. During their stay on
metropolitan soil, they were "gathered", others would say locked up, in
"colonial indigenous troops transit centers (CTTIC)" within which these
soldiers were "separated by "race"[2]. Racial segregation was not only
spatial but also financial: back pay was not paid in full, or not at all.
Mural in Dakar commemorating the Thiaroye massacre in 1944.
Alex Gorzen, CC BY-SA 2.0
Racist measures for indigenous soldiers
The fate of these troops was reported in the press: an article in L'Aube
in early October mentioned the catastrophic situation and the
destitution of these soldiers who were unable to buy anything because
their back pay had not been paid. The administration was inflexible and
noted the deterioration of the climate within the CTTIC where
indiscipline reigned due to "the deleterious state and bad behavior of
the riflemen".
Faced with the demands of the demobilized colonial soldiers, the
authorities were worried. The Minister of Colonies informed the Governor
of French West Africa (AOF) of his fears regarding a "convergence" of
demands over unpaid wages and demands for independence. The return to
Dakar of these disgruntled soldiers was particularly feared. It was in
this climate that the repatriation of some 2,000 former Senegalese
riflemen prisoners to Dakar was organized.
On November 5, some of the former riflemen refused to board in Morlaix
before their pay had been paid in full. These 315 draft resisters thus
escaped the coming massacre. Similarly, during the stopover in
Casablanca, 400 draft resisters this time refused to come back on board.
The atmosphere was heavy upon arrival in Dakar on November 21, where
some 1,200 to 1,300 repatriates disembarked for the Thiaroye barracks in
the suburbs of Dakar.
Chronicle of a massacre foretold
The official story summons up all the racist prejudices to justify the
"operation to maintain order." The insubordination of the repatriated is
due to the fact that after four years of captivity they are now
"unbalanced"[3]. The other cause of this insubordination of the
"unbalanced"[3]. The other cause of this insubordination and the lack of
respect due to their officers is due to the "German nationalist
propaganda denouncing colonization" suffered during their captivity. The
belittling of these former colonial soldiers even goes so far as to deny
the fact that some of them joined the Resistance, describing them as
incapable of understanding the issues.
Senegalese riflemen prisoners of the Nazis in 1940.
Ra Boe / Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
The demands of those who are now considered mutineers are the payment of
back pay in addition to various bonuses due. The demobilized soldiers
refuse to leave the barracks until the sums are paid to them. Some of
them even dared to block the vehicle of the chief of staff. This was too
much for the military authorities. Faced with this act of rebellion, it
was decided to strike a major blow and organize a "show of force"[4].
A colonial logic
An intervention was scheduled for the morning of December 1st. The
returnees were ordered to gather on the esplanade. The official theory
speaks of ringleaders who had tried to storm a half-track and of a
wounded non-commissioned officer. Faced with the situation that
supposedly threatened to degenerate, the order was given to open fire.
The official toll was 35 dead and 35 wounded. In addition, 48
"ringleaders" were arrested and 34 of those tried were sentenced to up
to ten years in prison: they were all amnestied between 1946 and 1947.
The Governor General of FWA, Pierre Cournarie, also a Companion of the
Liberation, justified this massacre as being "infinitely regrettable but
unfortunately indispensable"[5]. There is no doubt that this
premeditated operation was intended to serve as a warning to potential
future rebels. France did not intend to ease the yoke under which it
held its colonies, which were still kept in a state of subordination and
inferiority.
The total number of deaths that day in the Thiaroye camp is unknown, but
several historians suggest that there were more than a hundred. The
excavations necessary for the exhumation of the bodies have not (yet)
been carried out, although the presence of mass graves is acknowledged
at the highest level of the French general staff. The Thiaroye massacre
foreshadows the even more deadly massacres of Sétif, Guelma and Kherrata
on 8 May 1945 in Algeria and those that occurred during the Malagasy
uprising in 1947-1948. So many episodes of our shared history that do
not fit into the great "national novel".
David (UCL Savoies)
Read also our article: Armelle Mabon: A historian committed to memory
Chronology
October 1944, the freed and demobilised indigenous soldiers are
"grouped" in "colonial indigenous troops transit centres (CTTIC)" and
separated by "race".
November 5, 1944 nearly 2,000 riflemen embark in Morlaix on a British
ship, the Circassia. 315 riflemen refused to embark.
November 21, 1944 arrival in Dakar of the Circassia. 400 riflemen
refused to re-embark on the ship during the stopover in Casablanca. The
riflemen are taken to the military camp of Thiaroye.
November 28, 1944 while 500 riflemen refused to leave for Bamako before
having received the sums owed to them, General Dagnan goes to the camp
of Tharoye. His car is blocked by a group of rebels.
December 1, 1944 order is given to intervene in the camp. Automatic
weapons are fired on the gathered crowd. The official toll speaks of 35
dead, the real number is said to be nearly 10 times higher.
November 1, 2024 the city of Morlaix, in Brittany, pays tribute to the
African riflemen who fought for France during the Second World War.
Validate
[1]Black soldiers were also victims of summary executions by soldiers of
the German army, notably in Chasselay (Rhône). On June 19 and 20, 188
Senegalese riflemen, 6 North African riflemen and 2 Russian and Albanian
legionnaires were massacred.
[2]Armelle Mabon, Le Massacre de Thiaroye. December 1, 1944. Histoire
d'un mensonge d'État, Le Passager clandestion, 2024, p. 29.
[3]The report of General de Périer, inspector of colonial troops, of 6
February 1945 paints an eloquent picture of the way in which the
military hierarchy viewed these men: "In contact with European
civilisation and with the relaxation of country life, development took
place at an accelerated pace and the rifleman, who was generally a young
black man aged 22 to 25, credulous and poorly assimilating, easily
spoiled himself: poor behaviour, recriminations, use of wine and white
women".
[4]Armelle Mabon, op. cit., p. 34.
[5]Ibid., p. 35.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?1924-Thiaroye-un-massacre-colonial-premedite
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