Last week in class we discussed the irony of Nazi resistance heroes fighting in the French colonial wars following World War II.  Another irony existed simultaneously: thousands of soldiers serving in the French army in WWII, Algeria, and Indochina were native citizens of French colonies which gained their independence soon after.  I found this NYTimes article from last year that discusses the discrimination many of these foreign-born French army veterans have faced over the years and continue to face today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/world/europe/13iht-vets.html

Here is a photo slideshow related to the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/08/12/world/0812-VETS_index.html

One thing I found interesting was how several veterans admitted they joined the army to “escape colonial oppression.” The fact that there are still disparities in retirement pensions fifty years later seems to be a legacy of the discrimination they were attempting to escape.