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Captian Alfred Dreyfus
Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young french artillery officer of Alsatian Jewish descent, was sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly having communicated French military secrets to the German Embassy in Paris. He was sent to the penal colony at Devil’s Island in French Guiana, where he spent almost five years of his life. -
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Overview
The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided France from 1894-1906. It is often seen as a modern and universal symbol of injustice. It is still one of the most striking examples of a miscarriage of justice where a major role was played by the press and public opinion. -
New Evidence
New evidence came to light identifying a French Army major named Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy as the real culprit. High ranking military officials suppressed the new evidence and a military court unanimously acquitted Esterhazy. -
New Charges
The Army accused Dreyfus of additional charges based on false documents. Dreyfus’ family never doubted his innocence and fought to reopen the initial case, enlisting the support of prominent republicans and intellectuals. -
Rumors
Word of the military court’s framing of Dreyfus and of a cover-up began to spread. An open letter published in a Paris newspaper by the writer Emile Zola caused activists to put pressure on the government to reopen the case. -
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France Split Apart
Between this time period France split apart. On one side was the army, which had manufactured evidence against Dreyfus, joined by anti-Semites and most of the Catholic establishment. On the other side stood the civil libertarians and most of the more radical republicans. -
Second Trial
Dreyfus was returned to France for another trial. The intense political and judicial scandal that ensued divided French society between those who supported Dreyfus (Dreyfusards) and those who condemned him (anti-Dreyfusards). The new trial resulted in another conviction and a 10-year sentence but Dreyfus was given a pardon by President Emile Loubet. Exhausted by his previous deportation for four years, Dreyfus accepted the pardon instead of fighting the new charges. -
Turmoil in France
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Separation of Church and State
During this time period the government severed all ties between the state and the Catholic Church after centuries of close relations. The salaries of priests and bishops were no longer paid by the government. The lack of government support financially made Catholic schools lose a third of their students. With growing a growing number of supporters France’s socialist movement, with it’s secular ideology, stood in opposition to patriotic, republican nationalism. -
Baseless Acusations
Eventually all the accusations against Alfred Dreyfus were demonstrated to be baseless, and he was exonerated and reinstated as a major in the French Army. Many historians view the Dreyfus affair as the first spark of the Zionist movement. -
World War I
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Return
Dreyfus served during World War I ending his service with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
