![]() ![]() What was the Dreyfus affair, what can we take from it today? ![]() And though the foul taint of anti-Semitism was, clearly, behind everything in this case, the issue could be seen as something even bigger: how, in times of crisis or in heated racial and ethnic and political tensions, it’s easy to find scapegoats, to find “the other” to blame for our problems, regardless of how innocent the other happens to be. Today the story remains well-known in France, with books and articles about L’affair Dreyfus still coming off the press.Īnd that’s because the story is worth remembering, not just in France but anywhere people care about justice. It was the Dreyfusards against the anti-Dreyfusards, and the split occurred even within families. For decades afterward France was greatly divided over the fate of this poor man. Indeed, this whole story, and even this particular scene (the “ceremony of degradation”) has been the subject of books, movies, magazine and newspaper articles, documentaries, theater, and radio for more than 100 years, and in numerous languages, too. Probably happens in most militaries, if not all the time, then still enough not to warrant the worldwide attention this court-martial did. On one level, however sad this event, it shouldn’t have been that big a deal. The “ceremony of degradation” over, Dreyfus was unceremoniously hoisted onto a prison car, for a trip to a jail in Paris, a holding cell for what his prison term for treason was to be: life imprisonment on Devil’s Island, a little piece of hell off the coast of French Guyana. As he passed before the “press box,” he shouted, “You must tell all of France that I am innocent.” Then (in an act that shows how journalistic standards have changed), some from the press responded with jeers and scorn, yelling back at him: “Coward! Judas! Dirty Jew!” Meanwhile, outside, the cries “Death to the Jew!” grew louder. ![]() His clothes tattered, Dreyfus was forced to march before the line of troops assembled in the courtyard, who stared at him in an icy, hateful silence. Again, Dreyfus declared his innocence: “Long live France! I am innocent! I swear it on the heads of my wife and my children!” ![]() Taunting Dreyfus, who stood erect, he grabbed Dreyfus’ sword and broke it over a knee. Next, another soldier approached Dreyfus and began ripping the decorations off his cap and sleeves, the red stripes off his trousers, and the epaulets off his shoulders. In the name of the people of France, we dishonor you.” Instantly, in what had been and would be the poor man’s mantra for years to come, Alfred Dreyfus shouted back: “Soldiers, an innocent man is being degraded soldiers, an innocent man is being dishonored. Then, still on the horse but rising in the stirrups, his sword held high, General Darras pronounced the words: “Alfred Dreyfus, you are no longer worthy of bearing arms. The escort brought the man before the general and withdrew, leaving only the soldier and the general, who glared down at him as a government official read aloud, for all to hear, the court-martial verdict. A soldier walked out, escorted by a brigadier and four gunners. However, a large crowd of the unchosen gathered outside the walls, making its presence known with shouts of “Death to the Jew!” and “Death to Judas!” The mob numbered in the thousands, filling the Parisian streets outside the principal courtyard of the École Militaire, on Place Fontenoy, where on the morning of January 5, 1895, a “ceremony of degradation” was unfolding.įirst a drum roll, and then General Paul Darras, on a horse in the center of the courtyard, drew his sword. A special, select group alone could attend: military people, journalists, and a few notables. It was one of those “by invitation only” events. ![]()
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