The voice of the innocent: propaganda and childhood testimonies of war

Abstract

Childhood testimonies have become a familiar component of war reporting and peace advocacy through the publication of children’s drawings, oral descriptions of wartime trauma and wartime writing. While such practices have the merit of publicising children’s experiences, it is also the case that the selection and distribution of these materials is often done with political intent. The present paper examines the production conditions behind three cases of childhood testimony from the Algerian War of Independence. Based on interviews with actors from the war period and on-site archival research conducted in 2011–2012, this paper investigates several documents produced by children and published by networks affiliated or sympathetic to the National Liberation Front (FLN) during the war. As well as analysing the content of these documents, we look at how and where they were produced, through what conduits they were published, and the stated aims of political actors involved in their publication.