[liberalist]

I have an essay to write on French History between 1848 and 1900, and I am going to write on the Dreyfuss Affair. Does anybody here have any thoughtful insights into this. I have read that this affair saw the beginings of a new kind of anti-semitism that would culminate in Nazism. Any thoughts on this? What do people think the major impact of the Dreyfuss Affair was?

[Adrien]

I have read that this affair saw the beginings of a new kind of anti-semitism that would culminate in Nazism.

Of course, the Dreyfuss Affair drifted very, very soon from a simple case of military treason to a case about anti-semitism. In fact, the corrupt military leaders chose to put the blame on Alfred Dreyfuss also precisely because he was Jewish and would consequently be more easily bashed by public opinion.

Did it culminate with Nazism? No, it didn't since it is a French case taking place in 1894, but it launched a process that culminated in France in the 30's and that we can find in the regime of Vichy. You see it litteraly and very seriously divided our country into two parts: the Dreyfusard (generally the Left and the people, which was supporting Dreyfuss, his innocence and denouncing an anti-semitic plot), and the Anti-Dreyfusards (generally the Right, the Far-Right, the Church, and the "Establishement" that think that the integrity of the Army and the State is what prevails over the rights of one individual.. and of course the Anti-semitic groups).

And these two sides were really fighting a war! The Affair broke friendships, families, everybody. Newspaper became totally against or totally for Dreyfuss. But then, to sum up quickly, thanks to Emile Zola, and his very famous letter to the government ("J'accuse!"), the Dreyfusards won.

What was the impact of that case? It reinforced the regime of the Third Republic by allowing it to reaffirm its role and its power (the government intervened directly to take care of the Nationalists, to reopen the case, to calm down the Army, to let the Left be heard). It also allowed the Socialists (then I believe gathered in the Radical-Socialist Party) to really join the life of the Republic: their victory with Dreyfuss and the fact that they were called to the government helped them and they then won the elections in 1902. At the same time, the way the Catholics supported the Anti-Dreyfusards makes the public opinion angry at them and allows the anti-clerical socialists to institute laws of secularity in 1905.

On the other hand, through this affair, the Extreme-Right will organize itself by creating what we call Leagues, by giving themselves programs, leaderships, and by being able to catch the attention of an entire part of the population. And those leagues are the ones that will in the 20's drift toward Fascism, Nazism, that will destabilize the Third Republic and eventually be an important trend of the Vichy regime.

[glinert]

Problem with jews and french that French never had Jews and blamed large influx into alsace lorraine from for loss in war.

[Batko]

Problem with jews and french that French never had Jews and blamed large influx into alsace lorraine from for loss in war.

Just same problem with martians and venusians that venusians never had martians and blamed large influx into the asteroid belt from loss in war.