The Memorial to the Liberation of Algeria is a brutalist monument on Boulevard Mohamed-Khemisti in Algiers. It was designed in 1978 by Algerian visual artist M'hamed Issiakhem, as Algiers was preparing to host the

1978 All-Africa Games The 3rd All-Africa Games – Algiers 1978 was a multi-sport event played from July 13, 1978, to July 28, 1978, in Algiers, Algeria. 45 countries from 49 independent African countries participated in twelve sports. At the closing ceremonies the t ...

. The memorial incorporates an earlier sculpted group from the French colonial era, formerly known as the ''monument aux morts'' or ''Le Pavois'' (referring to a shield used to carry somebody on high), no longer visible but still extant beneath a concrete casing.

History

''Le Pavois'' was designed by architects Maurice Gras et and sculptors

Paul Landowski Paul Maximilien Landowski (1 June 1875 – 31 March 1961) was a French monument sculptor of Polish descent. His best-known work is '' Christ the Redeemer'' in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Biography Landowski was born in Paris, France, of a Polish re ...

and , winners of the public design competition in 1920, and inaugurated on . It featured a

winged Victory The ''Winged Victory of Samothrace'', or the ''Nike of Samothrace'', is a votive monument originally found on the island of Samothrace, north of the Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era, dating from the beg ...

evoking

Marianne Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. Marianne is displayed in ...

between a French

poilu Poilu (; ) is an informal term for a late 18th century–early 20th century French infantryman, meaning, literally, ''the hairy one''. It is still widely used as a term of endearment for the French infantry of World War I. The word carries the se ...

and an Algerian

spahi Spahis () were light-cavalry regiments of the French army recruited primarily from the indigenous populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, with personnel now ...

, all three on horseback and together holding a shield (french: pavois) on which rests the body of a fallen

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

combatant. Additional figures included two women and two old men on the monument's back, intended to symbolize the emotional ties between the diverse communities of French Algeria. Issiakhem's design was a conscious endeavor to preserve the French colonial monument, which also honored the suffering of Algerian fighters, while removing it from public view.

Notes

National monuments in Algeria Buildings and structures in Algiers Buildings and structures completed in 1978 Algerian War Brutalist architecture in Africa 20th-century architecture in Algeria {{Algeria-struct-stub

History

See also

Notes