Alfred Dreyfus (9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was an Alsacian artillery officer of Jewish background whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most sensational political dramas in modern French and also European history, still known today as the Dreyfus Affair. The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal which divided France from the 1890s to the early 1900s. ... The Dreyfus Affair began when a bordereau (detailed memorandum) disclosing French military secrets was found in the possession of the Germans. ... The trial and conviction of Alfred Dreyfus was the event that instigated the Dreyfus Affair, a political scandal which divided France during the 1890s and early 1900s. ... While Alfred Dreyfus was serving his sentence on Devils Island back in France a number of people began to question his guilt. ... After Major Georges Picquarts exile to Tunisia others took up the cause of the Alfred Dreyfus. ... The scandal over falsely accused Alfred Dreyfus grew into a public scandal of unprecedented scale. ... // Trial of Esterhazy for forgery On the same day as this arrest the examining magistrate Bertulus, disregarding the threats and entreaties directed at him, on his own initiative (as an official note put it) sent Major Esterhazy and his mistress, Marguerite Pays, to prison on the charge of forgery and... A photograph of Alfred Dreyfus This work is copyrighted. ... is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1859 (MDCCCLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 193rd day of the year (194th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal which divided France from the 1890s to the early 1900s. ...

Biography

Born in Mulhouse, Alsace, Dreyfus was the youngest of seven children in the family of a prosperous Jewish textile manufacturer who stayed in Alsace when immediately annexed by the everchanging German Empire in 1871. The family had long been established in the place. Alfred was accepted into the initial military training and thorough scientific studies in 1877 and finally graduated in 1880 as a sub-lieutenant. Mulhouse (French: Mulhouse, pronounced ; Alsatian: Milhüsa; German: Mülhausen) is a town and commune in eastern France close to Swiss and German border. ... (New region flag) (Region logo) Location Administration Capital Regional President Departments Bas-Rhin Haut-Rhin Arrondissements 13 Cantons 75 Communes 903 Statistics Land area1 8,280 km² (??? mi) km² Population (Ranked 14th)  - January 1, 2006 est. ... For other uses, see Textile (disambiguation). ... Manufacturing is the transformation of raw materials into finished goods for sale, or intermediate processes involving the production or finishing of semi-manufactures. ... For German colonial territories, see German Colonial Empire. ...

His entry into the military was influenced by the experience of seeing Prussian troops enter his hometown in 1871 when he was eleven years old. From 1880 to 1882 he attended the artillery school at Fontainebleau to receive more specialized training as an artillery officer. On graduation he was attached to the first division of the 32nd Cavalry Regiment and promoted to lieutenant in 1885. In 1889 he was made adjutant to the director of the Etablissement de Bourges,a government arsenal, and promoted to captain. For other uses, see Prussia (disambiguation). ... Coordinates Administration Country Region Île-de-France Department Seine-et-Marne (sous-préfecture) Arrondissement Fontainebleau Canton Fontainebleau (chief town) Intercommunality Communauté de communes de Fontainebleau-Avon Mayor Frédéric Valletoux (2005-2008) Statistics Altitude 42–150 (avg. ... For other uses, see Artillery (disambiguation). ... Not to be confused with Golgotha, which was called Calvary. ...

On 18 April 1891, Dreyfus married Lucie Hadamard (1870-1945) who would later bear his son Pierre and daughter Jeanne. A mere three days later, he received notice that he had been admitted to the "Ecole Superieure de Guerre"or War College. Two years later, he graduated ninth in his class with honourable mention and was immediately designated as a trainee in the French Army's General Staff headquarters, where he would be the only Jewish officer. His father Raphaël died on 13 December 1893. is the 108th day of the year (109th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

At the college examination in 1892, his friends had expected him to do well and to be attached to the general staff. However, one of the members of the jury, General Bonnefond, felt that "Jews were not desired" on the staff, and gave Dreyfus poor marks, lowering his overall grade; he did the same thing for another Jewish candidate, Lieutenant Picard. Learning of this injustice, the two officers lodged a protest with the director of the school, Gen. Lebelin de Dionne, who expressed his regret for what had occurred, but said he was powerless to take any steps in the matter. The protest would later count against Dreyfus, who was assigned to a lesser post within the War Ministry.

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Alfred Dreyfus

In 1894, the French Army's counter-intelligence section,led by a Lt. Col.Sandherr, became aware that some new artillery information was being passed to the Germans by a highly-placed spy most likely to be in the General Staff. With anti-Semitism still widespread in many parts of French society, particularly in the conservative military, suspicion quickly fell upon Dreyfus, who was arrested for treason on 15 October 1894. The events that follow until his eventual exoneration on 12 July 1906 are chronicled in the article on the Dreyfus Affair. On 5 January 1895, Dreyfus was summarily convicted in a secret court martial, publicly stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... For other uses, see Treason (disambiguation) or Traitor (disambiguation). ... is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... is the 193rd day of the year (194th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal which divided France from the 1890s to the early 1900s. ... is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Devils Island. ...

In August 1896 the new chief of French military intelligence, Lt Colonel Picquart, reported to his superiors that he had found evidence to the effect that the real traitor was a Major Walsin-Esterhazy. Lt Col Picquart was silenced by being transferred, in November 1896, to the southern desert of Tunisia. When reports of an army cover-up and Dreyfus's possible innocence were leaked to the press, a heated debate ensued about anti-Semitism and France's identity as a Catholic nation and a republic founded on equal rights for all citizens. On 19 September 1899, following a passionate campaign by his supporters, including leading artists and intellectuals like Émile Zola, Dreyfus was pardoned by President Émile Loubet and left the prison. During that time he lived with one of his sisters at Carpentras, and later at Cologny. The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Émile Zola (2 April 1840 – 29 September 1902) was an influential French novelist, the most important example of the literary school of naturalism, and a major figure in the political liberalization of France. ... Painting of French statesman Émile Loubet by Fernand-Anne Piestre Émile François Loubet (December 30, 1838 - December 20, 1929) was a French politician, 7th president of the French republic. ... Carpentras is a commune in the département of Vaucluse in the south of France. ...

On July 12, 1906, Dreyfus was officially exonerated by a military commission. The day after his exoneration, he was readmitted into the army with the rank of Major ("Chef d'Escadron"). A week later, he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour, and subsequently assigned to command an artillery unit at Vincennes. On 15 October 1906, he was placed in command of another artillery unit at Saint-Denis. is the 193rd day of the year (194th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Chiang Kai-sheks Légion dhonneur. ... This article is about the city in France. ... is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Saint-Denis is a commune of France, in the Seine-Saint-Denis département, of which it is a sous-préfecture. ...

Dreyfus' time in prison, notably at Devil's Island, had been difficult on his health, and he was granted early retirement in October 1907. He volunteered,however, to serve again as a lieutenant-colonel during World War I and thus held several commands including in the Paris region. He eventually served in front-line duty as well, during 1917, although he had by that time reached normal retirement age. Finally, Lt Colonel Dreyfus was raised to the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honour in November 1918. Dreyfus' son, Pierre, served in numerous battles as an artillery captain and managed to survive the entire war. Pierre was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his services.[1] “The Great War ” redirects here. ... The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of both Belgium and France which was first created in 1915. ...

Dreyfus was present at the ceremony removing Émile Zola's ashes to the Panthéon in 1908, when he was wounded in the arm by a gunshot from Louis Gregori, a disgruntled journalist, in an assassination attempt. Émile Zola (2 April 1840 – 29 September 1902) was an influential French novelist, the most important example of the literary school of naturalism, and a major figure in the political liberalization of France. ... The Panthéon Interior Dome of the Panthéon Entrance of the Panthéon Voltaires statue and tomb in the crypt of the Panthéon The Panthéon (Latin Pantheon[1], from Greek Pantheon, meaning All the Gods) is a building in the Latin Quarter in Paris, France. ...

Two days after Dreyfus's death in Paris in 1935, at the age of 75, his funeral cortege passed the Place de la Concorde through the ranks of troops assembled for the Bastille Day National Holiday (14 July 1935). He was interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse, Paris. The inscription on his tombstone is in Hebrew and French. It reads (translated to English): Here Lies (Hebrew. The rest is in French.): Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Dreyfus Officer of the Legion of Honor 9 October 1859 - 12 July 1935 A cortege, posse or entourage is a group of people who follow and attend to some important person. ... The Place de la Concorde seen from the Pont de la Concorde; in front, the Obelisk, behind, the Rue Royale and the Church of the Madeleine; on the left, the Hôtel de Crillon. ... is the 195th day of the year (196th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... The Cimetière du Montparnasse is a famous cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, France. ... This article is about the capital of France. ...

There is a statue of Dreyfus holding his broken sword at the entrance to the Museum of Jewish Art and History in Paris.

Bibliography

• Lettres d'un innocent (Letters from an innocent man) (1898)
• Les lettres du capitaine Dreyfus à sa femme (Letters from capitaine Dreyfus to his wife) (1899), written at Devil's Island
• Cinq ans de ma vie (5 years of my life) (1901)
• Souvenirs et correspondence, posthumously in 1936

See also

• Charles Péguy, who wrote a defense of Dreyfus.
• Émile Zola, the author of the pamphlet J'Accuse
• Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy, the real traitor.

Charles Péguy (January 7, 1873-September 4, 1914) was a noted French poet and essayist. ... Émile Zola (2 April 1840 – 29 September 1902) was an influential French novelist, the most important example of the literary school of naturalism, and a major figure in the political liberalization of France. ... The introduction of this article does not provide enough context for readers unfamiliar with the subject. ... Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy (December 16, 1847–May 21, 1923 ) was French traitor, who served as a spy for Germany. ...

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. (June 2007) The article could be improved by integrating relevant items into other sections and removing inappropriate items.

• Actor Richard Dreyfuss says that according to family tradition they are related. ^[1] This is disputed by others. ^[2]
• Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus is said to be a distant relative.[2]
• The father in E. Nesbit's book The Railway Children is said to be inspired by Dreyfus' tale. ^[3]

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (born October 29, 1947) is an Academy Award-winning American actor. ... This article is about the American actress. ... Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; August 15, 1858 - May 4, 1924) was an English author and poet whose childrens works were published under the androgynous name of E. Nesbit. ... The Railway Children is a childrens book by Edith Nesbit. ...

References