Days of Glory? Veterans, reparation and national memory

Abstract

Rachid Bouchareb's 2006 film Indignes/Days of Glory claims a place for the forgotten soldiers of the Second World War, and explores both the role played by indigenous troops in the Liberation of France and their status within the French army. The film forced a change in France's financial policy towards its veterans of indigenous origin, and inscribes itself within a strong trend of memory-activism in France which seeks to establish a more truthful and inclusive version of the nation's past. The film's British release has been instrumental in highlighting the injustices suffered by the Gurkhas.