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Alfred dreyfus humiliation7/24/2023 ![]() Public opinion began to shift in favor of Dreyfus. In the summer of 1898, the case was reopened and the original forgeries used to convict Dreyfus were discovered. They also felt the case had become a test of France's ability to protect truth, justice, and the basic elements of the Rights of Man against the forces of extreme nationalism, antisemitism, and the excessive involvement of the Church in state affairs. The Dreyfusards protested the innocence of Alfred Dreyfus. They were opposed by the Dreyfusards, an alliance of moderate Republicans, Radicals, and Socialists. They feared that a reversal would lead to a weakening of the military establishment. The anti-Dreyfusards, comprised of the Catholic Church, the military, and the right wing, clung to the original verdict and exploited antisemitism. The front-page article made a powerful impression in France, dividing the country into two camps. ![]() He remained there until he was granted amnesty in 1899. Novelist Zola was found guilty of criminal libel in slandering the army and had to flee to England to avoid imprisonment. Titled “ J'accuse!” (“I Accuse”), the letter accused the government of antisemitism, lack of evidence against Dreyfus, judicial errors, and illegal jailing of Dreyfus. Meanwhile, on January 13, 1898, the Socialist newspaper L'Aurore published an open letter from the novelist Emile Zola to the president of the republic, Felix Faure. Nonetheless, the proof that Dreyfus was in fact innocent reached the French senate, where Senator Auguste-Scheurer-Kestner declared Dreyfus' innocence and accused Esterhazy of being the traitor. Despite Picquart's efforts to investigate Esterhazy, his superiors resisted efforts to have the case reopened and eventually had Piquart reassigned to Tunisia. In March 1896, new evidence surfaced implicating a French major, Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy, as the German agent who had written the bordereau. Lieutenant Colonel Georges Picquart, who had become the new head of French Intelligence Services, was never convinced of Dreyfus' guilt. With Dreyfus languishing in captivity, his family continued to challenge the verdict and claim that he was innocent. As (according with tradition) his stripes were torn and his sword was broken, Dreyfus maintained his innocence, crying out: "Soldiers, they are degrading an innocent man! Long live France! Long live the army!" A mob that had gathered at the ceremony, incited by the antisemitic press and the writings of Edouard Drumont in La Libre Parole, accompanied the public degradation with calls against Dreyfus and Jews.ĭreyfus was exiled to a penal colony on Devil's Island, part of an archipelago off the coast of French Guiana in South America. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.Īt a public ceremony on January 5, 1895, Dreyfus was dishonorably discharged and demoted. The court quickly found Dreyfus guilty of treason. Further, unverified and false testimonies against Dreyfus were presented at the secret trial. The ministry of war placed a file of secret and in some cases forged documents before the tribunal that Dreyfus' attorney was not allowed to see. Nonetheless, on the basis of handwriting analysis and out of anti-Jewish prejudice against Dreyfus, he was arrested on October 15, 1894, and court-martialed.ĭreyfus had no hope of a fair trial. At the time, there was some evidence that made it unlikely Dreyfus was the author of the traitorous memorandum. In the fall of 1894, French intelligence services discovered that a secret military document (known as the bordereau) had been sent by a French officer to the military attaché of the German embassy in Paris. He was promoted to Captain in 1889, later becoming the only Jew serving in the French Army's General Staff headquarters in 1893. After receiving specialized artillery training, he was promoted to Lieutenant in the French military in 1885. Raphael Dreyfus was a prosperous textile manufacturer who moved his family to Paris in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian war when Alsace was annexed to the German Empire.Īlfred Dreyfus graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique military school in Paris in 1880. ![]() He was the youngest of nine children of Raphael and Jeannette Dreyfus. Alfred Dreyfus was born in Mulhouse, Alsace, on October 9, 1859.
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