The American Farm: An Investigation into a Torture Center During the Algerian War

L'Harmattan, Paris, 1991, 117 pages - ISBN 978-2738409447

This rigorous and chilling investigation explores one of the most infamous torture centers of the Algerian War: the Améziane Farm, located in Constantine.

Einaudi reveals how, under the Fourth and then the Fifth Republic, torture was systematically practiced by French police and military personnel.

The author demonstrates that these practices were not only tolerated but taught and institutionalized, with specialized detention centers where torture became the common method of intelligence gathering.

Through the testimonies of victims and the analysis of documents, Einaudi reconstructs the functioning of this center where barbarity reached its peak.

The book draws an implicit parallel with Nazi crimes, recalling that while Klaus Barbie was tried and convicted, the commander of the Améziane farm never appeared in court.

This investigative work indicts official France which, while denying the existence of torture, continued to present itself as the spokesperson for human rights on the international scene.