Historical
Historical
The events of May 8, 1945 in GuelmaThe university by the numbers
HISTORICAL
The national institutes of higher education of Guelma were created in 1986, become university center by the decree 92-299 of 07/07/1992. Then became university by executive decree 01-273 of September 30, 2001. The university currently provides teaching in graduation and post-graduation in thirty courses of education.Multidisciplinary university and multi sites, the University 8 May 45 of Guelma enrolls more and more its formations in the scheme LMD (license / master / doctorate). It thus offers Number of major fields of training in bachelor's degree and master's degree to more students on 3 sites (Centrale, Souidani and Héliopolis)
THE EVENTS OF MAY 8, 1945 IN GUELMA
France, the whole world, celebrate the victory won over Nazism, democracy against barbarism, and yet Algeria is entering into a nightmare.The prefect of Constantine LESTRADE CARBONNEL, who had given permission to parade, had at the same time ordered his troops to shoot at those who carried the Algerian flag.
During the parade, the demonstrators wore green flags and banners on which one could read (Long live Algeria, Free MESSALI, down colonization and fascism, Long live independent Algeria, Algeria to us).
In several cities, protesters clash with the police. In Guelma, the police shoot at the crowd. The flag bearer is killed. The demonstrations degenerate into revolt. Protesters react by attacking police and Europeans.
An official sent to Algiers by CHATAIGNEAU, to investigate GUELMA comes back frightened: men, women, children would have been executed without judgments, en bloc. It is also certain that, outside the militia, French people whose relatives or relatives have been victims are engaged in summary executions.
The European population of Guelma organizes a Civil Guard to help the troupe defend the city. Punitive expeditions were made and dozens of Algerians (Muslims) were shot randomly at random.
In the companions, the judicial police investigations carried out since 1946 and the investigation led by a large liberal colonel, Lucien Angéli, allow to have some glimpses. Young people and old men account for 50% of all deaths, while women in Belkheir account for 25%; but that does not mean that all those who escaped the massacres survived for a long time. If they could reach the woods or the forests, how many were able to get away enough to escape the sweeps of the armed gangs that run the country?
The crematorium in our memory and in our archives
Saci Benhamla, president of the Association of May 8, 45 of the wilaya of Guelma, is a fierce militant of the cause of the martyrs of this sad and painful date for the Algerians. We asked him to tell us about the lime kiln at Heliopolis, a village three kilometers from the town of Guelma, on the road to Annaba. At that time, everyone knew, and the survivors of these massacres know that the lime kiln on the grounds of Marcel Lavie, industrialist, financial delegate, was used as a crematorium. It was used by Marcel Lavie for making lime. He also had a flour mill and a pasta manufacturing unit. This lime kiln was managed by a Maltese. At the beginning of the massacres of May 1945, it was the nationalist militants who were shot dead, then the armed civilians, constituting groups of some militiamen, killing whoever they wanted, gave themselves to their heart's content. Has been given by Andre Achiary the green light for summary executions, mass killings all over the Guelma region. We did not bother to throw corpses into mass graves. The well-intentioned or the sponsors of these massacres realized that they were going to commit a serious fault, as if their conscience, supposing that they had one, had disturbed them. And this consciousness or what looks like it or some other kind or that of killers - who knows? - probably dictated the fact of digging up the corpses of the mass graves and burning them so as not to leave traces of these massacres. Could this be due to the fear of the American press especially and a little to the work of the commission of inquiry led by General Tubert, which incidentally has not seen anything or heard anything. She spoke of some Algerian rioters who killed Europeans. She evaded the massacres of thousands of innocent Algerians ...