What would you do if you were wrongly convicted of a crime? It is a fate almost too horrible to imagine. How long would you continue to fight for your innocence? Would you continue fighting even if a second trial found you guilty again, or would you resign yourself to your unjust fate? For untold thousands, wrongful conviction is not a hypothetical scenario; for example, in the United States, experts estimate a 1%^[1]Leon Friedman, The Problem of Convicting Innocent Persons: How Often Does It Occur and How Can It Be Prevented, 56 N.Y. L. SCH. L. REV. 1053 (2011-2012). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. to 5%^[2]D. Michael Risinger & Lesley C. Risinger, Miscarriages of Justice: A Theoretical and Practical Overview, 7 J. MARSHALL L.J. 373 (Spring 2014). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. innocence rate among those convicted of a crime.

Today on the HeinOnline Blog, we are going to examine one of history’s most notorious wrongful convictions, a scandal that rocked France at the turn of the century, and carried with it profound political and social implications: the Dreyfus Affair.

Dreyfus before the Affair

Alfred Dreyfus was born in the Alsace region of France in 1859, the youngest of nine children. His father Raphael was a successful Jewish textile manufacturer, and the family was well-off. When Alfred was 10 years old, the Franco-Prussian War began. Although a short-lived war, the conflict had profound implications for the power balance in Europe, culminating in the unification of German states and the establishment of the German Empire, the collapse of the Second French Empire, and Germany’s annexation of the Alsace-Lorraine region. This last outcome was especially consequential for Alfred and his family; after the war, the Dreyfuses moved first to Switzerland before relocating to Paris. The war had left an impact on Alfred, and after his 18th birthday he enrolled in Paris’ École Polytechnique military school, from which he graduated^[3]Richard W. Hale. Dreyfus Story (2nd ed. 1899). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Legal Classics. in 1880 as a commissioned artillery officer.

Over the next 14 years, Dreyfus married, had two children, and continued to rise through the French army, eventually attaining the rank of captain and serving on the General Staff, a highly-coveted assignment.^[4]Richard W. Hale. Dreyfus Story (2nd ed. 1899). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Legal Classics. Dreyfus’ position on the General Staff made him one of the highest-ranking Jews^[5]Lee M. Friedman. Zola and the Dreyfus Case: His Defense of Liberty and Its Enduring Significance (1937). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Trials Library. in the French Army.

France before the Affair

Emperor Napoleon III was France’s last monarch and was deposed in 1870 after his capture at the Battle of Sedan during the Franco-Prussian War. With his deposition, the Second Empire collapsed and the Third French Republic was declared on September 4, 1870. The new government had a chaotic beginning. Paris was besieged by German troops from September 1870 until January. During this time, the French National Guard was the primary defender of Paris. Following the French Army’s defeat, the National Guard seized control of Paris in March 1871 and established the Paris Commune,^[6]Richard Walden Hale. Democratic France: The Third Republic from Sedan to Vichy (1941). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. a radical socialist government, to run the city. The Paris Commune governed the city for two months with progressive policies that were pro-workers’ rights and anti-religion^[7]Richard Walden Hale. Democratic France: The Third Republic from Sedan to Vichy (1941). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. before being suppressed by the French Army; before its collapse, the Commune executed the Archbishop of Paris.

The new government survived a constitutional crisis in 1877 to determine whether France would return to a monarchy or remain a republic, eventually cementing the Third Republic as a parliamentary republic. Socially, animosity towards Germany for France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian War festered among the French population, especially for the loss of Alsace and Lorraine. Anti-German sentiments in France were so strong they were a contributing factor to a near-successful coup^[8]Murray B. Blok, Dreyfus Affair: A Lesson in Law and Justice, The, 53 ADVOCATE (VANCOUVER) 187 (March 1995). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Bar Journals Library. in 1889 by Minister of War General Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger; Boulanger’s anti-German rhetoric gave him the nickname “General Revenge.”^[9]William Stearns Davis. History of France from the Earliest Times to the Treaty of Versailles (1919). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated.

As anti-German feelings grew in France after the war, so too did antisemitism. Jews in France at the time generally prospered throughout French society, especially in academia.^[10]David A. Bell, Trapped by History: France and Its Jews, 172 WORLD AFFS. 24 (Summer 2009). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. But a new breed of antisemitism, one that was more open and venomous, was spreading throughout French society, primarily championed by author Edouard Drumont. In 1886, Drumont published the bestselling book La France Juive (Jewish France), in which he argued that Jews were inherently anti-French. Drumont also used his popular paper, La Libre Parole (Free Speech), to spread his antisemitic views, repeatedly arguing^[11]J. Salwyn Schapiro; James T. Shotwell, Editor. Modern and Contemporary European History (1815-1936) (1934). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. that Jewish bankers controlled French politics through corrupt politicians, spreading a belief that Jewish financers were colluding with Germany against French interests.

Amidst all this tension and uncertainty, the popular but scandal-plagued President Sadi Carnot was assassinated by an Italian anarchist on June 24, 1894. Three months later, the Dreyfus Affair began.

The Dreyfus Affair

Trial and Conviction

It started with a note, or bordereau, torn into six large pieces, found in a wastebasket^[12]R. Cornelius Raby. Fifty Famous Trials (1937). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Trials Library. at the German embassy in Paris. The note concerned French military secrets and weapons development, and was found by a German cleaning woman who was also a French spy. The note’s contents made it seem as if it were written by an artillery officer serving on the General Staff, and the handwriting appeared to match that of Alfred Dreyfus.

On the supposed strength of the handwriting similarity, Dreyfus was arrested on October 15, 1894,^[13]Murray B. Blok, Dreyfus Affair: A Lesson in Law and Justice, The, 53 ADVOCATE (VANCOUVER) 187 (March 1995). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Bar Journals Library. and was tried by court martial that December. At his court martial, evidence from the prosecution in the form of secret dossiers^[14]Arthur L. Goodhart, Three Famous Legal Hoaxes – The Tichborne Case; The Dreyfus Affair; The Alleged Conspiracy to Assassinate President Kennedy, 6 ALTA. L. REV. 1 (1968). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. was introduced that appeared to implicate Dreyfus; the prosecution suggested that additional evidence against Dreyfus existed, but could not be shown to the court without risking the outbreak of war. Dreyfus denied ever writing the note or being a German spy. But Dreyfus’ Jewish heritage and fluency in German worked against him. He was found guilty of treason and was sentenced to transportation for life to Devil’s Island in French Guiana in South America. Two weeks before his exile, Dreyfus was publicly dishonored^[15]R. Cornelius Raby. Fifty Famous Trials (1937). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Trials Library. in a public square before an assembled troop of soldiers and members of the press. His sentence was read aloud, his insignias of rank were ripped from his uniform, and his sword was broken, as spectators shouted “Judas!” and “Dirty Jew!” ^[16]Alfred Dreyfus. Five Years of My Life, 1894-1899 (1901). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Trials Library. Throughout the entire proceedings, Dreyfus repeatedly exclaimed, “I am innocent! You degrade an innocent! Vive la France!”^[17]Richard W. Hale. Dreyfus Story (2nd ed. 1899). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Legal Classics.

A New Suspect

As Alfred Dreyfus languished on Devil’s Island, his case was largely forgotten except by his family, who continued to fight for his release. In 1896, Major Georges Picquart, working in French military intelligence, was given a telegram, or petit bleu,^[18]Richard W. Hale. Dreyfus Story (2nd ed. 1899). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Legal Classics. that, exactly like the bordereau that started the Dreyfus Affair, had been found in a wastebasket at the German embassy. The petit bleu implicated another French army officer, Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy, as the real German spy. As Picquart investigated Esterhazy, he uncovered an apparent motive^[19]Murray B. Blok, Dreyfus Affair: A Lesson in Law and Justice, The, 53 ADVOCATE (VANCOUVER) 187 (March 1995). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Bar Journals Library. for Esterhazy to betray his country: he was perpetually hard up for money. Samples of Esterhazy’s handwriting bore a similarity to the handwriting in the bordereau. Picquart took his suspicions to his superior officers, believing Dreyfus to be a victim of a miscarriage of justice, but his superior officers dismissed Picquart’s concerns^[20]Richard W. Hale. Dreyfus Story (2nd ed. 1899). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Legal Classics. and reassigned him to duty in Tunisia.

Dreyfus’ brother Matthieu^[21]Richard W. Hale. Dreyfus Story (2nd ed. 1899). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Legal Classics. took the charge against Esterhazy to the Minister of War. Esterhazy was tried on January 8, 1898 and was unanimously acquitted of all charges. But Esterhazy’s trial had reawakened the public’s interest in Dreyfus’ case. Public opinion was divided between Dreyfusards, who believed in Dreyfus’ innocence, and anti-Dreyfusards, who believed in his guilt and who viewed efforts to exonerate him as unpatriotic attempts to undermine the French army.

J’Accuse!

Days after Esterhazy’s acquittal, an open letter to French President Felix Faure was published on the front page of the newspaper L’Aurore. The letter was written by the famous novelist Émile Zola^[22]Lee M. Friedman. Zola and the Dreyfus Case: His Defense of Liberty and Its Enduring Significance (1937). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Trials Library. and was titled J’Accuse!^[23]Ephraim London, Editor. World of Law: A Treasury of Great Writing about and in the Law, Short Stories, Plays, Essays, Accounts, Letters, Opinions, Pleas, Transcripts of Testimony; from Biblical Times to the Present (1960). This book is found in … Continue reading (I Accuse!) J’Accuse! catapulted the Dreyfus Affair into an international story. It also spurred violent antisemitic riots^[24]Murray B. Blok, Dreyfus Affair: A Lesson in Law and Justice, The, 53 ADVOCATE (VANCOUVER) 187 (March 1995). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Bar Journals Library. throughout France and Algeria.

In his letter, Zola picked apart the case against Dreyfus and openly accused by name various members of the army of organizing a conspiracy to convict Dreyfus for a crime he did not commit. Zola also called out the prejudices that contributed to Dreyfus’ conviction, writing, “It is a crime to poison small and simple minds, to arouse the passions of intolerance and reaction through the odium of that miserable anti-semitism of which great and liberal France with her rights of man, will expire if she is not soon cured.”^[25]Ephraim London, Editor. World of Law: A Treasury of Great Writing about and in the Law, Short Stories, Plays, Essays, Accounts, Letters, Opinions, Pleas, Transcripts of Testimony; from Biblical Times to the Present (1960). This book is found in … Continue reading For publishing this letter, Zola was arrested and tried for libel. At his trial, Zola addressed the court, saying:

Zola was found guilty. To avoid imprisonment, he escaped to England.

The Second Trial

Two major developments in the Dreyfus Affair came in August 1898: Esterhazy confessed^[26]R. Cornelius Raby. Fifty Famous Trials (1937). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Trials Library. to being the true author of the bordereau, and Lieutenant Colonel Hubert-Joseph Henry confessed^[27]Richard W. Hale. Dreyfus Story (2nd ed. 1899). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Legal Classics. to forging several documents that were used to convict Dreyfus at his court martial. Henry was arrested and committed suicide in police custody.

Alfred Dreyfus had been imprisoned on Devil’s Island for five years, and was largely unaware^[28]Alfred Dreyfus. Five Years of My Life, 1894-1899 (1901). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Trials Library. of the cause célèbre his case had become, when he was summoned back to France for a second court martial. Despite the new evidence that had come to light, Dreyfus was again convicted. He was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment.^[29]J. Salwyn Schapiro; James T. Shotwell, Editor. Modern and Contemporary European History (1815-1936) (1934). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated.

The End of the Dreyfus Affair

Dreyfus’ second conviction prompted worldwide calls to boycott^[30]Murray B. Blok, Dreyfus Affair: A Lesson in Law and Justice, The, 53 ADVOCATE (VANCOUVER) 187 (March 1995). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Bar Journals Library. the forthcoming 1900 World’s Fair, which was to be held in Paris. The London Times, in its editorial on Dreyfus’ second conviction, wrote, “A thrill of horror and shame ran through the whole civilized world.”^[31]Murray B. Blok, Dreyfus Affair: A Lesson in Law and Justice, The, 53 ADVOCATE (VANCOUVER) 187 (March 1995). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Bar Journals Library. More due to outside pressures than out of any sense of righting a judicial wrong, Dreyfus was pardoned by French President Émile Loubet a week after his conviction.

In 1906, Dreyfus was declared innocent^[32]Arthur L. Goodhart, Three Famous Legal Hoaxes – The Tichborne Case; The Dreyfus Affair; The Alleged Conspiracy to Assassinate President Kennedy, 6 ALTA. L. REV. 1 (1968). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. by the court of appeals. He was awarded the Legion of Honor and reinstated to his position in the army. On June 4, 1908, Dreyfus survived an assassination attempt by an antisemitic journalist while attending Zola’s state funeral and internment in the Pantheon.^[33]Lee M. Friedman. Zola and the Dreyfus Case: His Defense of Liberty and Its Enduring Significance (1937). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Trials Library. Alfred Dreyfus died in 1935.

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