Great Britain
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Henri Alleg
London, Great Britain
Archival Overview
Algerian journalist, editor of the iconic daily 'Alger Républicain', whose harrowing 1958 book 'The Question'—smuggled out of prison—exposed the systematic torture practiced by French forces in Algeria.
Biographical Record
Henri Salem, known as Henri Alleg, settled in Algeria in 1939 and fell deeply in love with the country and its people. In 1950, he became editor-in-chief of 'Alger Républicain', the only daily newspaper where Algerian Muslims and Europeans collaborated to advocate equality and independence.
Banned by colonial authorities in 1955, Alleg operated clandestinely until his arrest in 1957. Despite weeks of brutal torture at El Biar, he refused to betray his comrades. Smuggled written pages on toilet paper from his cell were published in Paris as 'La Question' in 1958, selling 150,000 copies and dealing a devastating moral blow to the French colonial war effort.
Key Life Milestones
Direction of Alger Républicain
Transformed the daily into the foremost progressive forum for Algerian self-determination.
Direction of Alger Républicain
Transformed the daily into the foremost progressive forum for Algerian self-determination.
Direction of Alger Républicain
Transformed the daily into the foremost progressive forum for Algerian self-determination.
Publication of La Question
Exposed French institutional torture to the world, permanently altering international perception of the war.
Publication of La Question
Exposed French institutional torture to the world, permanently altering international perception of the war.
Publication of La Question
Exposed French institutional torture to the world, permanently altering international perception of the war.
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Final Resting Place
Perpetual MemorialParis, France