Five Years of My Life - 1894-1899

The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that shook France around 1900. To this day, this affair is an example of miscarriage of justice and anti-Semitism.
Alfred Dreyfus was a French army captain of Jewish descent who was accused of handing over secret documents to the German Embassy in Paris. A handwritten note and a report identifying Dreyfus as the author were the only evidence.
Dreyfus, who always claimed his innocence, was found guilty of treason, sentenced to life imprisonment and deported to Devil's Island. Emile Zola stood up for the convict. His famous open letter J'Accuse...! set in motion a growing movement of support for Dreyfus and put pressure on the government to resume the case.
The affair divided France into the pro-Army, mostly Catholic "anti-Dreyfusards" and the anticlerical, pro-republican Dreyfusards.