On 1st December 1944, the French army opened fire on West African soldiers in Thiaroye, a suburb in Dakar, Senegal. These African soldiers previously fought for France during World War II, some even becoming prisoners of war in the process. Their crime? Asking for equal compensation for their war effort. We uncover this act of colonial violence towards Africans, and the erasure of colonies’ contribution in World War II. We also look at the attitudes leading to the tragedy and its legacy seen in Senegalese film and theatre.

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Sources for further reading:

⁠The 1944 Thiaroye Massacre in Senegal, a Shameful Episode of the French Colonial Period in Africa⁠

⁠⁠ ⁠West African Representations of World War II: Rewriting Thiaroye⁠

Shadows of War: A Social History of Silence in the Twentieth Century (book)

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