RETHINKING FRANCE’S “MEMORY WARS”: HARKI AND PIED-NOIR COLLECTIVE MEMORIES IN FIFTH REPUBLIC FRANCE Laura Jeanne Sims A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History. Chapel Hill 2015 Approved by: Donald Reid W. Fitzhugh Brundage Lloyd Kramer Daniel Sherman Jay Smith © 2015 Laura Jeanne Sims ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Laura Jeanne Sims: “Rethinking France’s “Memory Wars”: Harki and Pied-Noir Collective Memories in Fifth Republic France” (Under the direction of Donald Reid) This dissertation is a cultural history of the memory narratives and practices of two postcolonial communities in France. The Harkis, Algerians who fought with the French Army during the Algerian War of Independence, and the Pieds-Noirs, settlers of European origin in Algeria, were forced to migrate to France when Algeria gained its independence in 1962. Analyzing the various memory carriers, including “cyber” carriers, that Harkis, Pieds-Noirs, and their descendants have used to transmit understandings of the colonial past reveals the evolving concerns of members of these communities and the changing ways in which they have imagined themselves, particularly in relation to the rest of French society. Harki and Pied-Noir case studies offer insight into the politics of collective memory in Fifth Republic France. As groups with different racial and cultural backgrounds, they have radically dissimilar levels of power, resources, and visibility. Pieds-Noirs have constructed the only museum currently dedicated to the colonial past in France, the Centre de Documentation des Français d’Algérie, while children of Harkis have relied more heavily on the opportunities for social networking and the quick, public transmission of information afforded by the Internet. A comparative approach also highlights the different roles that gender and generation have played in shaping Harki and Pied-Noir collective memories. Finally, as products of the French colonial project, these communities and their collective memories provide an opportunity to iii explore France’s complicated rapport with its imperial past. I challenge the notion that conflicting memories of this period should be interpreted in the framework of “memory wars,” as it obscures the productive work of memory. Harki and Pied-Noir narratives and practices have almost always been aimed at fostering inclusion, carving out spaces for reconciliation, and providing a basis for belonging in France. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am deeply indebted to the numerous mentors, friends, and loved ones who enriched my PhD journey. First and foremost I would like to thank Don Reid, the greatest of all possible advisers. His invaluable guidance and overwhelming dedication to my success have made me a better historian and a more confident scholar. I am profoundly grateful to have had the opportunity to work with him. Lloyd Kramer and Karen Hagemann helped shape this project from its early stages through their insightful feedback, and Jay Smith and Fitz Brundage offered constructive advice on how to move forward with it. Dan Sherman trained me to think critically about the concept of memory and inspired me to venture into the exciting world of museum studies. I would also like to extend special thanks to Bob Weiner for supporting and encouraging me during my undergraduate studies and to John Merriman for introducing me to France and sparking my passion for French History. The Chateaubriand Fellowship Program, Center for Global Initiatives at UNC-Chapel Hill, Institute for French Studies at New York University and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Raymond Faherty Research Fund, George Mowry Fund, and the UNC- CH Department of History provided generous financial assistance for my research. Earlier versions of several chapters were presented at the AHA, the Eleventh Berlin Roundtables on Transnationality, and the Carolina French Cultural Studies Seminar; I appreciate the helpful feedback that I received on these occasions. I am also grateful to Henry Rousso, who invited me to work with him at the Institut d’histoire du temps présent. In addition, I would like to thank the dozens of Pieds-Noirs and children of Harkis who allowed me to interview them, invited me to v events, and made sources available to me. They were incredibly welcoming to this young American historian and I am pleased to be able to share their stories. Finally, I must acknowledge the astounding level of support that I have received from my friends and family throughout my graduate career. Thank you to my brilliant and hilarious UNC crew, especially Andrew Ringlee, who was always ready with mimosaaaaas when I needed a break, and Greg Mole, who made terrible puns when I needed a laugh. Thanks to Vanessa Lambert, Nicole Sugar, my fellow Paul Valéry lectrices, and many other dear friends for helping me savor life in France (and navigate tricky French bureaucracy) during my years of research and writing. I love Megan Hudson, Chelsea Levy, Katie Miervaldis, and Kristen Miller for sending constant streams of encouragement across many miles. Norma Sims, Paula Sims, and Laura Billings have been my fairy godmothers; I will forever treasure my time at Dumbledore Place and all of those meals at the Cedars! Thank you so very much to Keith Sims, the other members of the “Awesims” clan, Patricia Macdonald, and Kathleen Metcalf for their unwavering confidence in me. Lastly, I would like to thank Adrienne Macdonald, my biggest and most dedicated supporter, and Bruno Yvon, the most amazingly patient person on the planet. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 Harki and Pied-Noir Case Studies .............................................................................................. 8 The Study of Memory ............................................................................................................... 13 Historiography of the Algerian War and the “Memory Wars” Paradigm ................................ 30 Sources and Structure ............................................................................................................... 37 CHAPTER 1: MAKING SENSE OF THE HARKI PAST: HARKI HISTORY, COLLECTIVE MEMORY, AND HISTORIOGRAPHY 1954-2013 .......................................... 41 Phases of Harki Historiography ................................................................................................ 42 1960s – 1970s ....................................................................................................................... 42 Mid-1970s – early 1990s ...................................................................................................... 45 Late 1990s – 2013 ................................................................................................................. 47 Debates Within Harki Historiography ...................................................................................... 52 Who are the Harkis? .............................................................................................................. 52 Why did Harkis support the French Army? .......................................................................... 57 Why were the Harkis left in Algeria? ................................................................................... 61 What was the extent of the violent reprisals against the Harkis? ......................................... 65 Why were the Harkis and their families put in camps? ........................................................ 70 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................... 74 CHAPTER 2: “LES OUBLIÉS DE L’HISTOIRE”: HARKIS, TRANSMISSION, AND THE GENERATION OF POSTMEMORY, 1962-1990S ........................................................... 75 Historical Context ..................................................................................................................... 79 vii First Generation Memories ....................................................................................................... 85 “Les oubliés de l’histoire” ....................................................................................................... 98 Conclusion: Postmemory ........................................................................................................ 103 CHAPTER 3: OFFICIAL COMMEMORATIONS AND HARKI RESPONSES, 1990- 2013............................................................................................................................................. 104 Official Memories of the Holocaust and the Harkis, 1970s-1990s ......................................... 109 A Crime Against Humanity: Representing the Harki Massacres in France, 2001 ................. 114 State Commemorations and Harki Reactions, 2001-2005 ...................................................... 123 Harki Resistance: Commemorative Acts, 2005-2013 ............................................................. 132 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 141 CHAPTER 4: COMPETING MEMORIES, GENDERED NARRATIVES, 2003-2013........... 144 History of French Algeria: The “Independence” Narrative ...................................................