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Luxembourg is not a country that is known for gun-making, nor is it typically associated with the political intrigues of decolonizing the African continent. Nevertheless, in 1957, gun-making drew Luxembourg into the middle of a diplomatic confrontation with both France and Belgium regarding the war in Algeria. It all started in January 1952 when 49-year-old businessman Nicolas Scholer established a company named Société Luxembourgeoise d Armes (abbreviated as “SOLA”) with administrative offices in the city of Vianden, and a factory in the city of Ettelbruck. The Scholer family had been involved in retail and dry-cleaning business ventures since before World War I, and the creation of SOLA was an attempt to diversify the family’s interests at a time when there was money to be made in the arms market. The guns that had fought World War II were, by then, nearing the end of their service lives and more contemporary designs were in growing demand, so gunmakers across ....