How the Dreyfus Affair tore France apart
Maurice Samuels explains how the French Army conspired to frame a Jewish officer at the turn of the 20th century, sparking a scandal that threatened the very foundations of the French Republic
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In 1894, French artillery officer Alfred Dreyfus was falsely accused of passing military secrets to Germany. These swirling accusations and the subsequent degradation and humiliation suffered by Dreyfus constitutes one of history's most notorious incidents of antisemitism. Maurice Samuels speaks to Danny Bird about why the military top brass were so determined to persecute the Jewish officer, and how the Dreyfus affair polarised France.
Maurice Daniels is the author of Alfred Dreyfus: The Man at the Center of the Affair (Yale University Press, 2024)
Authors
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Danny Bird is the Staff Writer at BBC History Magazine. Danny Bird is the Staff Writer at BBC History Magazine and previously held the same role on BBC History Revealed. He joined the brand in 2022. Fascinated with the past since childhood, Danny completed his History BA at the University of Sheffield, developing a special interest in the Spanish Civil War and the Paris Commune. He subsequently gained his History MA from University College London, studying at its School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES)
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