The French Army and Its African Soldiers

As part of France’s opposition to the independence of its former colonies in the years following World War II, its army remained deeply invested in preventing the decolonization of the territories comprising French West Africa (FWA). Even as late as the 1950s, the French Army clung to the hope that it was possible to retain FWA as a colony, believing that its relations with African soldiers could offer the perfect model for continued ties between France and its West African territories. In The French Army and Its African Soldiers Ruth Ginio examines the French Army’s attempts to win the hearts and souls of the local population at a time of turbulence and uncertainty regarding future relations between the colonizer and colony. Through the prism of the army’s relationship with its African soldiers, Ginio considers how the army’s activities and political position during FWA’s decolonization laid the foundation for France’s continued active presence in some of these territories after independence. This project is the first thorough examination of the French Army’s involvement in West Africa before independence and provides the essential historical background to understanding France’s complex postcolonial military relations with its former territories in Africa

The French Army and Its African Soldiers

As part of France’s opposition to the independence of its former colonies in the years following World War II, its army remained deeply invested in preventing the decolonization of the territories comprising French West Africa (FWA). Even as late as the 1950s, the French Army clung to the hope that it was possible to retain FWA as a colony, believing that its relations with African soldiers could offer the perfect model for continued ties between France and its West African territories. In The French Army and Its African Soldiers Ruth Ginio examines the French Army’s attempts to win the hearts and souls of the local population at a time of turbulence and uncertainty regarding future relations between the colonizer and colony. Through the prism of the army’s relationship with its African soldiers, Ginio considers how the army’s activities and political position during FWA’s decolonization laid the foundation for France’s continued active presence in some of these territories after independence. This project is the first thorough examination of the French Army’s involvement in West Africa before independence and provides the essential historical background to understanding France’s complex postcolonial military relations with its former territories in Africa

«Busco a mis hermanos» (Génesis 37,16) El escritor Ya‘akov Yehoshua (1905-1982) y sus memorias sobre la vieja comunidad sefardí en Jerusalén

This paper presents a few and basic lines on the splendor and decadence of the Sephardic community of Jerusalem and its language throughout the twentieth century as mirrored in the life and work of the writer Ya’akov Yehoshua (1905-1982), father of the Israeli author A.B. Yehoshua.A través de la vida y obra del escritor Ya‘akov Yehoshua (1905-1982), padre del autor israelí A.B. Yehoshua, se presentan las pinceladas básicas sobre el esplendor y decadencia de la comunidad sefardí de Jerusalén y de su lengua a lo largo del siglo xx

French Colonial Reading of Ethnographic Research

L’usage de l’ethnographie par l’administration coloniale française : à propos de la « désertion » du souverain abron et de ses conséquences. – L’un des effets majeurs de l’ère de Vichy sur l’Afrique occidentale française fut la fuite de Côte-d’Ivoire du souverain abron ainsi que d’une partie de sa cour vers la Gold Coast alors sous domination britannique. Cet article utilise cette affaire comme une étude de cas servant à rendre compte d’une question plus large, celle du rapport existant entre l’ethnographie et la politique coloniale française. Selon le témoignage du Gouverneur de Côte-d’Ivoire de l’époque Hubert Deschamps, ce dernier fut amené à faire des propositions susceptibles de résoudre cette affaire après avoir consulté une étude ethnographique réalisée vingt ans auparavant. La comparaison établie entre les propositions de Hubert Deschamps et l’étude en question permet d’évaluer l’impact de l’ethnographie sur la politique coloniale. Parallèlement, la prise en compte de la réaction du Gouverneur général Boisson, face à la position de Deschamps, relativise le poids des textes ethnographiques dans la prise de décision proprement politique.One of the most consequential events of the Vichy period in French West Africa was the “defection” of the Abron King and a large entourage of court members from Côte-d’Ivoire to the British-ruled Gold Coast. This article uses this “affair” as a case study for a broader issue–the relationship between ethnographic research and French colonial policy. According to the testimony of the Governor of Côte-d’Ivoire at that time, Hubert Deschamps, he was inspired to offer suggestions as to how to act following the “defection” after reading an ethnographic study written twenty years earlier. The comparison between his suggestions and the study in question allows us to examine in detail the way ethnography could influence colonial policy. At the same time, the reaction of Governor-General Pierre Boisson to Deschamps’ ideas underscores the fact that although such ethnographic studies had a potential influence, especially over Governors who were attracted to this science, they also had their limits when in conflict with political considerations

«Looking for my brothers» (Genesis 37,16) The writer Ya’akov Yehoshua (1905-1982) and his memories of the old Sephardic community in Jerusalem

El presente texto es una versión revisada de la ponencia que presenté en el xviii Congreso de Estudios Sefardíes, celebrado en Madrid en los días 30 de junio al 3 de julio de 2014.A través de la vida y obra del escritor Ya‘akov Yehoshua (1905-1982), padre del autor israelí A.B. Yehoshua, se presentan las pinceladas básicas sobre el esplendor y decadencia de la comunidad sefardí de Jerusalén y de su lengua a lo largo del siglo xx.This paper presents a few and basic lines on the splendor and decadence of the Sephardic community of Jerusalem and its language throughout the twentieth century as mirrored in the life and work of the writer Ya’akov Yehoshua (1905-1982), father of the Israeli author A.B. Yehoshua

La obra de Me’am Lo’ez y su influencia sobre los judíos sefardíes en la cuenca del Mediterráneo

El Rabí Ya’akov Khuli, Jerusalem ca. 1689– Estambul 1732, compuso la obra Me’am Lo’ez, que consistió en una recopilación de diversos comentarios de autores sobre 13 de los 24 libros de la Biblia, además el citado rabí insertó una serie de comentarios para que los judíos llevaran una vida según los preceptos hebreos, cuestión que le confiere un carácter enciclopédico a esta obra, que se examina en profundidad en estas líneas.Rabí Ya’akov Khuli, Jerusalem ca. 1689– Estambul 1732, composed his work Me’am Lo’ez which consisted in a compilation of several authors’ commentaries about 13 out of 24 books of the Bible, besides the above-mentioned rabí placed a group of commentaries to Jews could lead a life according to the Hebrew precepts. This question confers an encyclopaedic nature to this work which is examined in depth in these lines

African Colonial Soldiers between Memory and Forgetfulness : The Case of Post-Colonial Senegal

Ginio Ruth. African Colonial Soldiers between Memory and Forgetfulness : The Case of Post-Colonial Senegal. In: Outre-mers, tome 93, n°350-351, 1er semestre 2006. Sites et moments de mémoire, sous la direction de Robert Aldrich. pp. 141-155