France won’t apologize to Algeria for war. Enter the French people.
Stanislas Hutin never wanted to be a soldier. But when he was called up by the French army to fight in the Algerian War of Independence in 1955, he had no choice. For two years, Mr. Hutin witnessed death, torture, and violence as the French empire fought to hold power over what was, at the time, colonized territory. He kept a journal to cope with the horror.
“Colonization became a somber image of my country,” says Mr. Hutin, who is now 92 and lives in Paris. “When I arrived in Algeria, I saw flagrant injustices. I couldn’t tolerate it.”
In 2002, Mr. Hutin published his wartime journal to share his experiences of a battle he never believed in. But he wanted to mend things further. In 2014, he joined a local nonprofit that helped former French soldiers donate their military pensions to aid projects in Algeria.
Since then, he has been giving his annual €800 (about $844) stipend to 4ACG (Anciens Appelés en Algérie et leurs Amis Contre la Guerre), which goes toward education programs for youth and women
