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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 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 Édouard Monestès [fr] and sculptors Paul Landowski and Charles Bigonet [fr], winners of the public design competition in 1920, and inaugurated on 11 November 1928. It featured a winged Victory evoking Marianne between a French poilu and an Algerian spahi, all three on horseback and together holding a shield (French: pavois) on which rests the body of a fallen World War I 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.

See also

• Martyrs' Memorial, Algiers
• Monuments aux Morts

Notes

1. "Mémorial de la Libération de l'Algérie (ancien monument aux morts)". Archives Européennes de l'Architecture Algérienne.
2. ^ Beatrice Ivey (28 November 2018). "The Landowski-Issiakhem Pavois". Narratives and Representations of the French Settlers of Algeria: An AHRC Project at the University of Stirling.
3. "Monument to the Dead of Algiers, or "Le Pavois"". Paul Landowski.

v t e Algerian War (1954–1962)
Background	Settler colonialism French conquest of Algeria Invasion of Algiers Atrocities Mokrani Revolt Deportations French Algeria Algerian popular resistance Algerian nationalism Attempted reforms 1920 petition Jonnart Law 1943 manifesto Divide and rule policies Crémieux Decree Kabyle myth French Union Indigénat Legal status [fr] Pied noir Sétif and Guelma massacre Other factors Cold War Decolonisation of Africa Brazzaville Conference (1944) First Indochina War (1946–54) Malagasy Uprising (1947–49) Massacre of 14 July 1953 in Paris
War	Chronology [fr] of key events Declaration of 1 November 1954 Toussaint Rouge Battle of Philippeville Soummam conference Battle of Algiers Hijacking of the FLN plane Operation Corsica Week of barricades [fr] Algiers putsch War crimes / human rights violations Torture Killing of Saadia Mebarek Charonne subway massacre Paris massacre Reactions Communauté française Constantine Plan FLN football team Manifesto of the 121 Proposed partition of Algeria [fr]
End of the war	1961 French referendum on Algerian self-determination Évian Accords referendum Algerian independence
Legacy and aftermath	May 1958 crisis French Fifth Republic Year of Africa Aftermath in Algeria 1962 Algerian crisis Effects in Algerian politics Films Monuments and commemorations 1 November 1954 Stadiums Algiers Batna El Oued Tizi Ouzou Martyrs' Memorial Memorial to the Liberation of Algeria
Groups	Pro-independence National Liberation Front National Liberation Army Algerian National Movement Algerian Communist Party Oujda Group Anti-independence France French Armed Forces Commandos de Chasse La Main Rouge Front Algérie Française Organisation armée secrète Other groups Defectors from the French army to the ALN Harkis Women
Category / Commons

• National monuments in Algeria
• Buildings and structures in Algiers
• Buildings and structures completed in 1978
• Algerian War monuments and memorials
• Brutalist architecture in Africa
• 20th-century architecture in Algeria