Larbi Ben M'hidi
Encyclopedia
Mohammed Larbi Ben M'hidi (1923–1957) ), commonly known as Larbi Ben M'hidi or simply as Ben M'hidi, was a prominent Algeria
n leader during the war of independence
. He was captured by French
paratroopers in February 1957 , while supervising the guerilla actions of the FLN
in the Battle of Algiers
. Ben M'hidi was the last member of the FLN's Coordinating and Executing Committee (C.C.E) in Algiers. The other members of the comittee had fled to the mountains or abroad (primarily Tunis). During his capture, Marcel Bigeard
refused the use of torture under his custody and instead, questioned Ben M'hidi's tactics over a two week period. General Jacques Massu
, was annoyed with the ongoing dialogue, and decided to send Major Paul Aussaresses
, a more ruthless officer. Bigeard's paratroopers presented their arms in a send off with full military honors, during the transfer of custody. Ben M'hidi was tortured and then executed by the French Special Services, under Major Paul Aussaresses's custody. Ben M’hidi was driven to an outlying farm where he was hanged “to make it look like suicide".
His death was announced on March 6, 1957. He is considered to be a national hero in Algeria.
General Paul Aussaresses
admitted in 2000 the use of torture
during the war and sought to justify it. He also recognized the assassination of lawyer Ali Boumendjel and of Larbi Ben M'Hidi . General Bigeard said he had respect for Ben M'Hidi and that he regretted his death.
, which was part of the Constantine
department at the time. He was the youngest of six children. He attended a French
primary school for his first school year, and then transferred to a school in Batna
, so that he could continue his studies - this is where he received his primary school certificate
(Certificat d'études primaires élémentaires). The Ben M'hidi family later moved to Biskra
, here, Larbi Ben M'hidi began secondary school. In 1939, he joined the Algerian Muslim scouts, where he became a group leader in a very short period of time.
’s Mouvement Nationaliste Algérienne (MNA). On 10 October 1954, Larbi Ben M'hidi and five other members of the CRUA approved the transformation, thus giving birth to the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) and the establishment of the Armée de Libération Nationale (ALN). A decision was made to launch an insurrection on November 1st during a meeting at the Climat de France, a house overlooking Bab el Oued.
On 1 November 1954, an unknown organisation to the French had claimed responsibility for all of the attacks that were made on French targets. These attacks were referred to as military operations by the then unknown organisation, the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN). Larbi Ben M'hidi was one of the six men that were conducting the rebellion internally. The other five being Didouche Mourad
, Rabah Bitat
, Krim Belkacem
, Mohammed Boudiaf, and Mostefa Ben Boulaïd
. The members of the organisation that were operating externally in Cairo
were Hocine Ait Ahmed
, Ahmed Ben Bella
, and Mohammed Khider. They later became known as The Men of November. Larbi Ben M'hidi and his comrades united under a new organisation from the Parti du Peuple Algerien/Mouvement pour le Triomphe des Libertes Democratiques (pPA-MTLD).
The details regarding the way Larbi Ben M'hidi was arrested are quite controversial, as there are many versions which contradict those of the French. According to French sources, parachutists burst into an apartment on Rue Claude Debussy, in the European quarter, and arrested Larbi Ben M'hidi in his pajamas. Apparently they thought they were on the trail of Ben Khedda, whom was another leader of the Coordinating and Executing Committee (C.C.E). Larbi Ben M'hidi was captured by Bigeard
and his men on the 23 February 1957. The photograph of his arrest was published the following day in all the newspapers in Algiers
. The photograph had shown Larbi Ben M'hidi with his hands chained, but a man with a smile on his face, which was extraordinary considering his predicament, but one of inner certitude. He was interrogated by Bigeard
for ten days. During interrogation, Larbi Ben M'hidi constantly stood up to his interrogators, due to the extensive pressure of the interrogation, insisting that Algeria would be victorious in the battle and that the Algeria
n people would be liberated. Bigeard
was impressed with Larbi Ben M'hidi's defiance and dignity, even though defeated, he proved that he was in no way of form broken, mentally, physically or spiritually.
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
n leader during the war of independence
Algerian War of Independence
The Algerian War was a conflict between France and Algerian independence movements from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria's gaining its independence from France...
. He was captured by French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
paratroopers in February 1957 , while supervising the guerilla actions of the FLN
National Liberation Front (Algeria)
The National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Algeria. It was set up on November 1, 1954 as a merger of other smaller groups, to obtain independence for Algeria from France.- Anticolonial struggle :...
in the Battle of Algiers
Battle of Algiers (1957)
The Battle of Algiers was a campaign of guerrilla warfare carried out by the National Liberation Front against the French Algerian authorities from late 1956 to late 1957. The conflict began as a series of hit-and-run attacks by the FLN against the French Police in Algiers. Violence escalated...
. Ben M'hidi was the last member of the FLN's Coordinating and Executing Committee (C.C.E) in Algiers. The other members of the comittee had fled to the mountains or abroad (primarily Tunis). During his capture, Marcel Bigeard
Marcel Bigeard
Marcel "Bruno" Bigeard was a French military officer who fought in World War II, Indochina and Algeria. He was one of the commanders in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and is thought by many to have been a dominating influence on French 'unconventional' warfare thinking from that time onwards...
refused the use of torture under his custody and instead, questioned Ben M'hidi's tactics over a two week period. General Jacques Massu
Jacques Massu
Jacques Émile Massu was a French general who fought in World War II, the First Indochina War, the Algerian War and the Suez crisis.-Early life:Jacques Massu was born in Châlons-sur-Marne to a family of military officers; his father was an artillery officer...
, was annoyed with the ongoing dialogue, and decided to send Major Paul Aussaresses
Paul Aussaresses
Paul Aussaresses is a retired French Army general, who fought during World War II, the First Indochina War and Algerian War...
, a more ruthless officer. Bigeard's paratroopers presented their arms in a send off with full military honors, during the transfer of custody. Ben M'hidi was tortured and then executed by the French Special Services, under Major Paul Aussaresses's custody. Ben M’hidi was driven to an outlying farm where he was hanged “to make it look like suicide".
His death was announced on March 6, 1957. He is considered to be a national hero in Algeria.
General Paul Aussaresses
Paul Aussaresses
Paul Aussaresses is a retired French Army general, who fought during World War II, the First Indochina War and Algerian War...
admitted in 2000 the use of torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
during the war and sought to justify it. He also recognized the assassination of lawyer Ali Boumendjel and of Larbi Ben M'Hidi . General Bigeard said he had respect for Ben M'Hidi and that he regretted his death.
Early Life
Larbi Ben M'hidi was born sometime in 1923 in the village of El Kouahi near Ain M'lilaAïn M'lila
Aïn M'lila is a town and commune in Oum El Bouaghi Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 69,798. It is the home-town of Larbi Ben M'hidi, one of the most prominent Algerian leaders during the war of independence...
, which was part of the Constantine
Constantine (département)
Constantine is a former French département in Algeria which existed between 1848 and 1962.Considered as a French province, Algeria was departmentalised on 9 December 1848. Three civil zones replaced the three beyliks into which the Ottoman former rulers had divided the territory...
department at the time. He was the youngest of six children. He attended a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
primary school for his first school year, and then transferred to a school in Batna
Batna City
Batna is the main city of Batna Province, Algeria. With a population of 285,800 it is the fifth largest city in Algeria. It is also one of the principal cities of the Chaoui area and is considered the capital of the Aures.-History:...
, so that he could continue his studies - this is where he received his primary school certificate
Certificat d'études primaires
The certificat d'études primaires was a diploma awarded at the end of elementary primary education in France and certifying that the student had acquired basic skills in writing, reading, mathematics, history, geography and applied sciences...
(Certificat d'études primaires élémentaires). The Ben M'hidi family later moved to Biskra
Biskra
Biskra is the capital city of Biskra province, Algeria. In 2007, its population was recorded as 207,987.During Roman times the town was called Vescera, though this may have been simply a Latin transliteration of the native name. Around 200 AD under Septimius Severus' reign, it was seized by the...
, here, Larbi Ben M'hidi began secondary school. In 1939, he joined the Algerian Muslim scouts, where he became a group leader in a very short period of time.
Rebellion
On 30 March 1954, Larbi Ben M'hidi was among nine men that formed the Comité Révolutionnaire d’Unité et d’Action (CRUA). The creation of this organisation followed the breakup of Messali HadjMessali Hadj
Ahmed Ben Messali Hadj was an Algerian nationalist politician dedicated to the independence of his homeland from France...
’s Mouvement Nationaliste Algérienne (MNA). On 10 October 1954, Larbi Ben M'hidi and five other members of the CRUA approved the transformation, thus giving birth to the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) and the establishment of the Armée de Libération Nationale (ALN). A decision was made to launch an insurrection on November 1st during a meeting at the Climat de France, a house overlooking Bab el Oued.
On 1 November 1954, an unknown organisation to the French had claimed responsibility for all of the attacks that were made on French targets. These attacks were referred to as military operations by the then unknown organisation, the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN). Larbi Ben M'hidi was one of the six men that were conducting the rebellion internally. The other five being Didouche Mourad
Didouche Mourad
Didouche Mourad is a town and commune in Constantine Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 33,266.-References:...
, Rabah Bitat
Rabah Bitat
Rabah Bitat . He served as President of the People's National Assembly from April 1977 to October 1990 and was the fifth President of Algeria from 27 December 1978 to 9 February 1979. He became president after the death of Houari Boumédiènne and was replaced by Chadli Bendjedid...
, Krim Belkacem
Krim Belkacem
Krim Belkacem was an Algerian revolutionary fighter and politician....
, Mohammed Boudiaf, and Mostefa Ben Boulaïd
Mustapha Benboulaïd
Mostefa Ben-Boulaïd is an Algerian Berber revolutionary leader.-Biography:Benboulaïd was born in Arris, Batna Province in eastern Algeria. In 1939, he fulfilled mandatory military service and was mobilized to fight against the Nazis during the Second World War...
. The members of the organisation that were operating externally in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
were Hocine Ait Ahmed
Hocine Aït Ahmed
Hocine Aït Ahmed is an Algerian politician....
, Ahmed Ben Bella
Ahmed Ben Bella
Mohamed Ahmed Ben Bella was a soldier and Algerian revolutionary, who became the first President of Algeria.-Youth:...
, and Mohammed Khider. They later became known as The Men of November. Larbi Ben M'hidi and his comrades united under a new organisation from the Parti du Peuple Algerien/Mouvement pour le Triomphe des Libertes Democratiques (pPA-MTLD).
Capture
Marcel Bigeard
Marcel "Bruno" Bigeard was a French military officer who fought in World War II, Indochina and Algeria. He was one of the commanders in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and is thought by many to have been a dominating influence on French 'unconventional' warfare thinking from that time onwards...
and his men on the 23 February 1957. The photograph of his arrest was published the following day in all the newspapers in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
. The photograph had shown Larbi Ben M'hidi with his hands chained, but a man with a smile on his face, which was extraordinary considering his predicament, but one of inner certitude. He was interrogated by Bigeard
Marcel Bigeard
Marcel "Bruno" Bigeard was a French military officer who fought in World War II, Indochina and Algeria. He was one of the commanders in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and is thought by many to have been a dominating influence on French 'unconventional' warfare thinking from that time onwards...
for ten days. During interrogation, Larbi Ben M'hidi constantly stood up to his interrogators, due to the extensive pressure of the interrogation, insisting that Algeria would be victorious in the battle and that the Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
n people would be liberated. Bigeard
Marcel Bigeard
Marcel "Bruno" Bigeard was a French military officer who fought in World War II, Indochina and Algeria. He was one of the commanders in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and is thought by many to have been a dominating influence on French 'unconventional' warfare thinking from that time onwards...
was impressed with Larbi Ben M'hidi's defiance and dignity, even though defeated, he proved that he was in no way of form broken, mentally, physically or spiritually.
Further reading
- Aussaresses, General Paul, The Battle of the Casbah: Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Algeria, 1955-1957. (New York: Enigma Books, 2010) ISBN 978-1-929631-30-8.
- Djebar, Assia, Algerian White. (Seven Stories Press,U.S., 2001) ISBN 978-1583220504.
- Singer, Barnett,. Langdon, John, Cultured Force: Makers and Defenders of the French Colonial Empire.University of Wisconsin Press; 1 edition, 2008) ISBN 978-0299199043.
See also
- Algerian War
- The Battle of Algiers (film)The Battle of Algiers (film)The Battle of Algiers is a 1966 war film based on occurrences during the Algerian War against French colonial occupation in North Africa, the most prominent being the titular Battle of Algiers. It was directed by Gillo Pontecorvo...