What Was The Dreyfus Affair?

The Dreyfus affair was a scandal which convulsed France in the late 19th century. It concerned a French army captain, Alfred Dreyfus, who was accused of handing over French military secrets to Germany. Dreyfus protested his innocence but was convicted in a court-martial and sentenced to life imprisonment in a French penal colony.

A passionate protest movement got underway in response to the verdict. Dreyfus was Jewish and his defenders insisted that anti-Semitic prejudice had played a large part in his legal persecution. A military officer, reviewing the Dreyfus file some years later, concluded that Dreyfus was innocent and another man was responsible for the betrayal of the secrets. He brought his conclusions to the attention of his superiors but they dismissed them, arguing that the truth of the matter was now irrelevant and it was important to preserve the image of the military. Novelist Emile Zola took up the cause, however, penning an article on the new findings in a newspaper. This led to Dreyfus being re-tried on the original charges. Once again, he was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment. Shortly afterwards, he was pardoned by the French President and released. The taint of the criminal conviction remained with him, however, until, in 1906, he was fully and formally exonerated.

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