Dreyfus affair
At a glance:
- Series: Magill’s Guide to Military History
- Categories: Religion, Ethics, Military History, Law, Legal History, Courts
- Subcategories: Generals, Military Officers, Soldiers, Trials, Judges, Lawyers, Judaism, Jews, Synagogues, Temples, Discrimination, Prejudice
- Curriculum: 20th & 21st Century European History, 19th Century European History, French History
- Geographical Location: Paris
- Date: 1894-1906
Article abstract: Military significance: The military trial of Dreyfus exposed traditional French anti-Semitism and violated the French people’s sense of justice.
Alfred Dreyfus was the son of a prosperous Jewish family living in Alsace. When Alsace was annexed by Germany, Dreyfus left for France. He joined the army at age twenty-one and rose to the rank of captain. By 1894, he was assigned to the war ministry. In September, a scrap of paper, known as the bordereau (memorandum), promising to supply sensitive military information was found in a...
[The entire page is 716 words long]
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