The Dreyfus Affair: France Divided by a Spy Scandal

In 1894, a Jewish artillery captain named Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of spying for Germany and sent to Devil's Island—but the case was built on forged evidence and anti-Semitism. This episode of The Story of France dives into the Dreyfus Affair, the scandal that tore the Third Republic apart for over a decade. We follow the key players: Dreyfus himself, the real traitor Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy, the whistle-blowing Colonel Georges Picquart, and the novelist Émile Zola, whose open letter 'J'accuse…!' ignited a national firestorm. We explore the role of the press, the secret military court-martial at Rennes, the eventual pardon and rehabilitation, and the lasting impact on French society—including the separation of church and state in 1905. Through a specific focus on the 1899 Rennes trial and the campaign for revision, we uncover how a single injustice exposed the fault lines of republican France. #DreyfusAffair #AlfredDreyfus #ÉmileZola #Jaccuse #GeorgesPicquart #FerdinandEsterhazy #Antisemitism #ThirdRepublic #France #RennesTrial #DevilsIsland #PoliticalScandal #MilitaryJustice #LaLigueDesDroitsDeLHomme #SeparationOfChurchAndState #History #FexingoHistory #Europe Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo