His works have become influential in the fields of post-colonial studies , critical theory , and Marxism. In the course of his work as a physician and psychiatrist, Fanon supported the Algerian War of independence from France and was a member of the Algerian National Liberation Front.
Fanon has been described as "the most influential anticolonial thinker of his time". He formulated a model for community psychology , believing that many mental health patients would have an improved prognosis if they were integrated into their family and community instead of being treated with institutionalized care. He also helped found the field of institutional psychotherapy while working at Saint-Alban under Francois Tosquelles and Jean Oury.
Two of his siblings died young, including Fanon's sister Gabrielle, with whom he was very close. The disruption of imports from Metropolitan France led to major shortages on the island, which were exacerbated by an American naval blockade imposed on Martinique in April Robert's authoritarian regime repressed local Allied sympathizers, hundreds of whom escaped to nearby Caribbean islands.
Fanon later described the Vichy regime in Martinique as taking off their masks and behaving like "authentic racists". Robert's regime was overthrown by a local uprising in June of that year, which Fanon would later acclaim as "the birth of the [Martinican] proletariat " as a revolutionary force.
After the uprising, Fanon "enthusiastically" returned to Martinique, where Free French leader Charles de Gaulle had appointed Henri Tourtet as the colony's new governor. After Fanon arrived in Morocco, he was shocked to discover the extent of racial discrimination in the FFL. Fanon was awarded a Croix de Guerre by Colonel Raoul Salan for his actions in battle, and in early rejoined his unit and fought in the Battle of Alsace.
