The Dreyfus Affair in France

The Dreyfus Affair in France

The Dreyfus Affair began in 1894 with the unjust conviction of Alfred

Dreyfus, a French Artillery Officer, for the crime of treason. The

Affair was to last 12 years, and some historians would argue that it

split the country in two.[1] The case of Dreyfus was to create such

intense public opinion, that some believe few modern French figures

have been more controversial.[2] Feelings of Nationalism and

anti-Semitism would keep the Affair closely related to the French

passions. The Press would play a large part in influencing the

feelings relating to the case; helping to condemn Dreyfus as well as

later increasing awareness and support in favour of him. Questions

would be asked of the previously infallible Army, and as time went on

the Affair would cause some to question the very foundations of the

French Republic. The reasons why the Affair was so bitterly divisive

have been, over the last century, subject to much debate. I want to

argue that, as well as causing major divisions within France, the

Affair became a symbol of these divisions, as well as a focus for

certain groups to rally around. I would also show that the many

reasons for the divisions it created are specific to the French

political and social divisions at the time.

Throughout the Third Republic, there were a great number of

conflicting political parties. On the right there were the Orleanists,

the Legitamists and the Nationalists. These were opposed by the

Opportunists, the Radicals and Republicans. There was also the working

class movement; the Socialists. Each of these political parties had

varying policies and beliefs. The Orleani...

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... [48] D Johnson (1966) France and the Dreyfus Affair, pp1-2

[49] T Zeldin (1979) France 1848-1945 Politics and Anger, p 317

[50] N Fitch (1992) “Mass Culture, Mass Parliamentary Politics, And

Modern Anti-Semitism: The Dreyfus

Affair in Rural France” in The American Historical Review, p56

[51] R Magraw (1983) France 1815-1914 The Bourgeois Century, p275

[52] N Fitch (1992) “Mass Culture, Mass Parliamentary Politics, And

Modern Anti-Semitism: The Dreyfus Affair in Rural France” in The

American Historical Review, p57

[53] Ibid, p57

[54] J.P.T Bury (1949) France 1814-1940, p94

[55] Ibid, p94

[56] D Johnson (1966) France and the Dreyfus Affair, p219

[57] R Magraw (1983) France 1815-1914 The Bourgeois Century, p275

[58] D Johnson (1966) France and the Dreyfus Affair, p219

[59] Ibid, p219