What was the Dreyfus affair? The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal in France in 1894 that revealed the injustice and antisemitism in the French government at the time.
The whole affair centered around Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish French army officer. He was born in 1859 and joined the French army at the age of 18. He was educated at various military academies and worked his way to captain before he was involved in the affair that would carry his name. He was a good student, but received lower marks than expected in exams because he was Jewish. Many army officers didn’t think Jewish people should be allowed to serve in the army. We are talking about an event that happened in France, but this kind of situation was not limited to France. Antisemitism existed in most of Europe and Northern America.
The Dreyfus affair began in 1894, although it wasn’t called the Dreyfus affair until late in 1896. France was 23 years into its third republic and not very stable politically. France had also been defeated by Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War about 20 years before. Germany had annexed Alsace and Moselle, and French nationalism was running high. There was an arms race with Germany. Along with nationalism, antisemitism was also increasing. The number of newspapers was increasing, and there were no controls on the press. They were allowed to print whatever they wanted, and antisemitic articles were a good way to sell papers.
In 1894, the French army discovered that someone was leaking military documents to Germany. They found a torn-up handwritten letter (called the bordereau) that listed secret military information. The French military looked for the spy, and they settled on Captain Alfred Dreyfus. At the time, the only evidence they had was that he had access to the military information that was in the letter. Dreyfus was arrested. A military officer with no training in handwriting compared Dreyfus’s handwriting with that of the found letter and claimed they were the same. With that, he was charged.
In the beginning, there was no real evidence, and the main reason they had arrested him was that he had been born in Alsace, a German speaking area. But the press got hold of the story and sensationalized it. They blew it up and made it about antisemitism. Dreyfus was tried in the press. Dreyfus was tried in a secret trial, and the judges were shown secret evidence that Dreyfus and his lawyers weren’t allowed to see. He was found guilty very quickly. He was publicly humiliated by being stripped of his rank in front of a crowd and having his sword broken. Then he was sent to a remote prison off the coast of South America called Devil’s Island. He was underfed and was severely ill.
Dreyfus’s brother, Mathieu, became involved and spent nearly all of his money trying to work out what happened and free Alfred. It became clear that another person was the spy. Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy. His handwriting closely matched the found letter, and there is a lot of other proof. Colonel Georges Picquart became aware of the evidence, but he was transferred to North Africa because the army couldn’t admit they had made a mistake. Esterhazy is tried, but the army hides evidence and even makes more evidence to prove Dreyfus’s guilt. Esterhazy is freed. The press continues to hound Dreyfus.
The famous novelist Emile Zola becomes involved. He writes an open letter to the president in one of the newspapers. He starts it with “J’Accuse…!” He goes over all of the evidence and accuses the government of deliberately convicting an innocent man and covering up their mistake. The press and the people of France become divided between those who believe Dreyfus is innocent and those who believe the army needs to be defended. Zola is prosecuted for libel, and he flees to England.
In 1899, Dreyfus is retried and found guilty again. However, strangely, the president pardons him. That does not mean he was innocent, just that he is now free. Dreyfus continues to protest his innocence and, finally, in 1906, the highest court in France overturns his conviction and declares him innocent. He is restored to the army and awarded the Legion of Honor. He retired a lieutenant colonel and lived in peace.
The Dreyfus affair exposed the corruption and antisemitism in the French military and government. And this is what I learned today.
Sources
https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/dreyfus-affair
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreyfus_affair
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Dreyfus
By Aron Gerschel – http://media.web.britannica.com/eb-media/45/8245-050-75EEC0A6.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44716738