Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Friday, February 3
    Trending
    • February 3, 2023: Some Questions on this Week’s News
    • This Day in History on February 3rd
    • History Short: The Most Important Naval Battle You Never Heard Of
    • This Day in History on February 2nd
    • History Short: What Else is February 2nd Known For?
    • Triumphs and Tragedies of the Space Shuttle Program: A Compilation
    • This Day in History on February 1st
    • History Short: Who is America’s Greatest Male Actor?
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»Society»Crime»The Forgotten Terrorist Organization, the OAS
    Crime

    The Forgotten Terrorist Organization, the OAS

    Major DanBy Major DanJune 7, 2019Updated:April 4, 2020No Comments6 Mins Read
    Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Tumblr Twitter VKontakte WhatsApp
    Organisation Armée Secrète

    A Brief History

    On June 7, 1962, a right wing French Nationalist terror group, the Organisation Armée Secrète, usually referred to as the OAS, set fire to and burned the library at the University of Algiers in Algeria, destroying half a million books.  Calling themselves “counter-terrorists”, “self-defense groups” or simply “the resistance,” the aim of these French nationalists was to prevent the independence of Algeria, forcing the country to remain part of France.  Usually we think of terrorist groups as rebels or an independence movement, but in this case the group was trying to keep “France” as they saw it intact.

    Digging Deeper

    The post-World War II world was one in which many nations were clamoring for, demanding, and receiving their independence from colonial powers.  Indonesia, India, the Philippines, African countries, the Middle East (including the formation of Israel) and others were seriously independence minded and for the most part, the Western world saw self-determination as a national right, breaking with the long-standing colonial traditions.  Alas, not all Western thinkers saw the light, and a dedicated portion of Western people chafed against the changes in the status quo, changes that they saw as lessening the importance and power of the former colonial powers.

    Western European colonial empires in Asia and Africa all collapsed in the years after 1945.  Map by en:User:Aris Katsaris.

    The French had invaded and captured Algiers in 1830, incorporating Algeria as a French territory for the next 130+ years.  Many French people grew to accept Algeria as an integral part of France, part of the homeland.  Unfortunately, native Algerians did not necessarily agree!  Indigenous Algerians were mainly of the Berber people, and have been supplemented by Phoenicians, Romans, Greeks and other invaders, notably the Ottoman Empire (1516-1830) and the French (1830-1962).  Native Algerians mainly speak Berber (the national language) and Arabic, and are predominantly of the Islamic faith, about 98% of the population.

    France, a mostly Catholic Christian country that speaks French and is of a different ethnic stock, is not surprisingly seen as outsiders to most Algerians.  During the long occupation of Algeria by France, many White French and other European people moved to Algeria.  When those European immigrants raised children, the Pied-Noir as they were called, developed a quasi-Algerian identity all their own. While Algerians saw other countries gaining independence from colonial powers from 1945 through 1962, France stubbornly held on to their African territory.  A guerilla war waged by independence-oriented rebels, some of which committed acts of terrorism, which coupled with the acts of terrorism by the OAS made for a bitter and gruesome civil war.  Resentment persisted after independence, and many (perhaps 900,000) of the Pied-Noir were expelled or fled from the newly independent Algeria.

    Notre Dame d’Afrique, a church built by the French Pieds-Noirs in Algeria.  The original uploader was Mehnimalik at French Wikipedia.

    The independence freedom fighters of Algeria were brutal in their tactics to achieve independence and may have murdered as many as 150,000 Europeans in reprisals after independence.  For its part, the French government was also known to conduct reprisals against Algerians for terrorist acts committed by rebels during the war.  Both sides used torture as a means of obtaining intelligence and punishment.  By 1962 the war had taken hundreds of thousands of lives and had maimed hundreds of thousands of other people, almost all in Algeria itself, though some terror activity did take place in France.  In France, 91% of the electorate voted to give Algeria independence, and in Algeria well over 99% voted to accept independence.

    The OAS was a group of people that just did not accept the inevitable course of events that would lead to Algerian independence.  Targets of their attacks included Algerians and also Frenchmen that supported Algerian independence, including politicians and private citizens.  Even French President and World War II hero Charles de Gaulle was a target for assassination by the OAS.  About 3000 OAS members were responsible for about 2000 murders during the one year period of April 1961 to April of 1962, a futile effort to stem an unstoppable tide of independence.  The Algerian War for Independence was fought in the shadow of the French-Indochina War, 1946-1954, which saw France humiliated at Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam in 1954.  French national pride was at stake and OAS members saw the loss of Algeria as a last straw type of situation.

    Map of the war in 1954: Orange = Areas under Việt Minh control. Purple = Areas under French control. White-dotted hatch = Areas of Việt Minh guerrilla encampment and fighting.  Original author by Don-kun and NordNordWest, translated by Night Lantern.

    French nationalists still remember the OAS with a degree of fondness, especially in light of the recent tide of immigrant refugees to France and Europe from the Middle East which has reignited the fires of nationalism throughout Europe as well as France.  Will such feelings result in a rebirth of the OAS with its accompanying terrorist activity against immigrants and those that would perpetrate such immigration?  We shall see.

    Question for students (and subscribers): Were you familiar with the OAS?  What other right-wing nationalist terror organizations do you know of?  Should Europe accept refugees from far off lands or deny such immigration?  Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

    Asylum applications in the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states between 1 January and 30 June 2015 according to Eurostat data.  Map by Maximilian Dörrbecker (Chumwa).

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Evans, Martin. Algeria: France’s Undeclared War. Oxford University Press, 2012.

    Harrison, Alexandr. Challenging De Gaulle: The O.A.S and the Counter-Revolution in Algeria, 1954-1962. Praeger, 1989.

    Shepard, Todd. The Invention of Decolonization: The Algerian War and the Remaking of France.  Cornell University Press, 2008.

    The featured image in this article, en:OAS (Organisation armée secrète) underground organization emblem, has been released into the public domain worldwide by the copyright holder of this work, Germo (talk).

    Share. Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Tumblr
    Previous Article1939: A Groundbreaking Year in the History of Testosterone
    Next Article Dark Phoenix Movie Review, Eye Candy and Action!
    Major Dan

    Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

    Related Posts

    History Short: The Most Important Naval Battle You Never Heard Of

    February 3, 2023

    History Short: What Poison Gasses were Used in World War I?

    January 31, 2023

    Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through January 30th, 2023)

    January 30, 2023
    Follow Us!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Patreon
    Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
    Most Recent

    February 3, 2023: Some Questions on this Week’s News

    February 3, 2023

    This Day in History on February 3rd

    February 3, 2023

    History Short: The Most Important Naval Battle You Never Heard Of

    February 3, 2023

    This Day in History on February 2nd

    February 2, 2023

    History Short: What Else is February 2nd Known For?

    February 2, 2023
    This Day in History Video

    Advertisements




    Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

    About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

    Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

    We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

    Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

    Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

    Privacy Statement

    © 2022 History and Headlines

    All-Time Most Commented

    July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

    July 28, 2014

    December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

    December 24, 2015

    December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

    December 25, 2015

    February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

    February 5, 2014

    November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

    November 23, 2013
    Recommended Book
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

    History and Headlines
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.