Dreyfusgate

The Saga

Strictly speaking, the campaign to have the case reopened is dated as 1898, when Zola's J'accuse appeared and also triggered a veritable outburst of anti-Semitism both in France and in Algeria. At the end of January 1898, there were anti-Jewish riots practically all over France, particularly in Paris, Nantes, Bordeaux, Marseilles, Lyons, Nancy, Versailles, Clermont-Ferrand, La Rochelle, Poitiers, Angouleme, and so on. Jewish shops were pillaged and boycotted. Jews were attacked physically and an atmosphere of insecurity reigned. Levaillant commented: "Anti-Semitism has invaded every single partt of the country and has permeated all society."

As passions were thus unleashed, Jews reacted in very different ways.

* Some, like Fernard Ratisbonne, a retired Jewish officer, openly disassociated themselves from the pro-Dreyfus camp, condemning a campaign designed to shed discredit on the Army.

* Gaston Pollonais, director-general of the newspaper Le Soir, also opposed reopening the case and roundly denounced the presence of Jews in the "syndicate", demanding that they choose between France and "I know not what abominable religious solidarity":

"When the dastardly leaders of cosmopolitan Semitism dared invoke racial interests in order to bring about a universal solidarity between all Jews, I refused to enlist in this foreign legion, I refused to desert the flag, and, faithful to unwavering, uncompromising principles, I concluded that the religion of France was superior to all others. If called upon to choose between the Dreyfus-Zadoc Kahn-Reinach triumvirate and my country, it would be to my country that I should dedicate all my energy and all my devotion."

* Arthur Meyer, director of Le Gaulois, proclaimed similar sentiments.

* Other Jews openly spoke out in favour of Dreyfus:

This was the case of Joseph Reinach, who later lost his parliamentary seat. It was also the case of a committee established on the initiative of Zadoc Kahn, French Chief Rabbi, whose members were drawn from the ranks of literature, science, law, finance and politics. Led by Narcisse Leven, this committee financed the publication of brochures against anti-Semitism and initiated discreet action. Other Jews were involved in the establishment of a Human Rights League, including Victor Basch, Michel Breal, Alfred Berl, Gustave Kahn, Silvain Levi, Henri See, and others.

Indeed, the whole of France was split. The two camps clashed mainly outside the courtroom. Cartoonist Caran-d'Ache ironically sited the drama at the dinner table of a lower-middle class family. "Let us make quite sure that we don't talk about the Affair", is the text, and later, where it shows the same individuals, the table littered with broken china and a general brawl going on: "They talked about it". The second attempt to have the case re-opened had failed. "Reasons of State" had triumphed.

Picquart and Zola had been eliminated from the game; Jaures, Clemenceau and Reinach were out of parliament (they were not re-elected in the elections at the beginning of 1898): what chance did the pro-Dreyfus camp have of getting the case re-opened? Zola wrote, "All my hopes are now pinned on something unknown, something we cannot foresee: we need a bolt from the blue". That bolt from the blue was the discovery, on August 13, 1898, of the Henry forgery.

August 30, 1898, Havas News Agency report:

"Today, in the War Minister's office, Lieutenant-Colonel Henry admitted that he was the author of the letter dated October 1896 implicating Dreyfus. The War Minister immediately ordered the arrest of LieutenantColonel Henry, who was taken to the Mont-Valerien Fortress."

The cat was out of the bag. Shaken by the press campaigns maintaining that there had been no material proof against Dreyfus, General Cavaignac, the new War Minister, had ordered a new investigation. An anti-Dreyfus officer on his staff, Captain Cuignet, had noticed that the document signed "Alexandrine", which the Minister had made public, was written on a different kind of paper. He informed Cavaignac, who immediately summoned Henry. At first, Henry denied the charge, but eventually he admitted that he had forged it "to make the case more watertight". The next afternoon, Henry cut his throat with a razor in his cell.

The anti-Dreyfus press was dismayed. La Libre Parole eulogized Henry: "A simple soul, a believer in uniform, the victim of the Jewish campaign."

But, on the whole, the press recognized the need to reopen the case. L'Univers analyzed public opinion as follows:

"It is campaigning to reopen the case: it is reopening it."

Lucie Dreyfus filed an application to reopen the 1894 trial. The decree ruling that the Affair was to be sent back to the Court-martial was published on June 3, 1899, on grounds of illegal communication to the judges of the secret document, known as "this scoundrel D.", during the original court-martial, and the new expert opinions on the bordereau.

The decree had immediate consequences: Zola, who had fled to England, returned to France; Picquart was released; Mercier was accused of illegally handing over the item. The Dreyfus camp had won a notable victory.