France still holds skulls of Algerian fighters as "war trophies", says historian

France must recognize its war crimes and return the remains of Algerian independence fighters, currently stored in French museums, to Algeria.

This call was made by Attar Kamel, an Algerian physician residing in Paris, who spoke to local media, per Caliber.Az.

“To display the skulls of martyrs who gave their lives for freedom as museum pieces is inhumane. France must recognize the historical injustice and correct it,” Kamel stated.

He further highlighted that France has also taken material and spiritual assets belonging to Algeria, adding:

“We Algerians have contributed to France for many years, but we must not forget that this country looted Algeria.”

Kamel also addressed the treatment of Algerians in France, stating that they are often told to “go home.”

“During the colonization period, we were taught in Algerian schools that the French are at home here. Today, there are 6 million Algerians living in France, and we declare: the Algerians in France are at home.”

In 2010-2011, Algerian historian Ali Farid Belkadi conducted a study by visiting major "victory" museums across France and Europe. He discovered that French museums housed at least 68 skulls of Algerians. The Musée de l'Homme (Museum of Mankind), located at Place du Trocadéro in Paris, currently holds 18,000 skulls, most of which remain inaccessible to the public.

Following the historian’s revelations, French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to return 24 skulls to Algeria, which were officially repatriated on March 3, 2020. Among them were the remains of six prominent leaders of the Algerian resistance against French occupation, including Mohammed Lamzad ben Abdelmalik, known as Cherif Boubegla, and Ahmed Ould Hadj Ould Bouzian, later referred to as Ahmed Messali Hadj (Ahmed Mesli). Despite this, the museum continues to hold the skulls of 12 other Algerians who fought against colonial rule.

It is believed that the majority of the 18,000 skulls in the museum were taken as war trophies by France. However, French authorities have justified their retention by claiming they are preserved for anthropological study. Notably, the same museum previously returned the skulls of 21 Māori warriors to New Zealand. Similarly, Germany has repatriated remains, despite the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation still holding a collection of over a thousand human skulls from Africa.

Between 1881 and 1914, thousands of human remains, particularly skulls, were taken from Africa and transported to Europe as war spoils. European colonial powers — including France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Great Britain, and Portugal — collected these remains to symbolize their military dominance over African nations.

By Tamilla Hasanova