The Dreyfus Affair: A Poison in The French Body-politic

Emile Zola’s, J’Accuse

French society, the political establishment, and the military itself, were now hopelessly split by pro and anti-Dreyfusards. The Catholic Church, Royalists, and the Right-Wing Press attacked those who tried to exonerate Dreyfus. It was all a part, they said, of a conspiracy by Jews, Freemasons, and Radicals to destroy the prestige of the French Army. But despite their best efforts it was becoming increasingly evident that a miscarriage of justice had occurred. In April, 1899, Dreyfus was granted a second court-martial. In the meantime, Hubert Henry committed suicide whilst under arrest for forging documents in the case. Despite this the court-martial, unable to admit to a cover up, again found Dreyfus guilty, though they accepted that there were mitigating circumstances and reduced his sentence to 10 years. France was again in tumult, would this ghastly affair ever end. In September, 1899, the French President Emile Loubet, personally intervened and granted Dreyfus a pardon. But it was only a pardon, he was not to be exonerated of all charges and restored to his previous rank in the army until 1906.

Alfred Dreyfus had suffered terribly during his time on Devil’s Island. During his 5 years incarceration he was kept in solitary confinement and almost lost the gift of speech. He would be chained to his bed each night. The searing heat and constant boredom drove him to distraction. He was frequently ill and all his teeth fell out. But at least now he was free, if still officially guilty.

Emile Zola, whose J’Accuse had done so much to bring the case of Alfred Dreyfus to international attention, died on 29 September, 1902, in his sleep from carbon monoxide poisoning due to a blocked chimney. A roofer later claimed that he had been ordered to stop the chimney. Given previous attempts on Zola’s life and the divisiveness of the Dreyfus case, his murder cannot be entirely discounted.

Ferdinand Esterhazy, died on 21 May, 1923, in Harpenden, England. He continued to exclaim his innocence and blame Dreyfus, and the on-going Jewish conspiracy. He continued to write for anti-Semitic journals and newspapers up until his death.

Alfred Dreyfus, was restored to his old position in the army in 1906. He went on to to serve in World War One where he was promoted to Lt Colonel and was awarded the Legion d’honneur. He died in Paris on 12 July, 1935.