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Dreyfus

Dreyfus is a surname of Alsatian origin. The name is most closely associated with Alfred Dreyfus (1859–1935), a French artillery officer whose wrongful conviction in 1894 became the focal point of the Dreyfus Affair, one of the most significant political scandals in modern France.

Dreyfus was accused of transmitting military secrets to the German embassy. He was convicted by a French

In 1899, Dreyfus was retried and again found guilty; he received a presidential pardon that year. In

Today, Dreyfus is primarily remembered as the emblematic victim of a miscarriage of justice and a catalyst

military
tribunal
in
1894
and
sentenced
to
life
imprisonment
on
Devil's
Island.
The
case
unfolded
amid
intense
political
passion
and
accusations
of
anti-Semitism.
Subsequent
investigations
and
new
testimony,
notably
by
Georges
Picquart,
raised
questions
about
the
evidence
and
the
prosecution's
case.
Supporters
of
Dreyfus,
including
writers
such
as
Émile
Zola,
helped
publicize
what
they
saw
as
injustice
and
institutional
prejudice,
culminating
in
the
open
letter
J'accuse!
in
1898.
1906
the
Court
of
Cassation
finally
exonerated
him
and
he
was
formally
rehabilitated
by
the
army.
The
affair
had
lasting
consequences
for
French
politics
and
society,
contributing
to
the
reform
of
civil
rights,
debates
about
anti-Semitism,
and
the
eventual
separation
of
church
and
state.
for
controversial
debates
about
nationalism,
justice,
and
the
role
of
the
media
in
public
life.