3. Alfred Dreyfus was the victim of antisemitism in 19th century France, being wrongly and summarily convicted of treason
Alfred Dreyfus (October 9, 1859 – July 12, 1935) was a French-Jewish Army officer wrongly convicted of treason in 1894. Forced to relocate at the age of 10 due to the Franco-Prussian War, Dreyfus resolved to pursue a military career and enrolled at the École Polytechnique military school in Paris upon turning 18 in 1877. Graduating in 1880, Dreyfus received his commission and attended the artillery school at Fontainebleau between 1880-1882; an able officer, by 1889 Dreyfus had been promoted to the rank of captain but his advancement had been hindered by his ethnic and religious status, with his marks during the War College examination reduced by General Bonnefond on the grounds that “Jews were not desired” in French military establishments.
In 1894, after learning that strategically important information concerning French artillery was being acquired by rival nation Germany, on October 15, 1894, Dreyfus was arrested and charged with treason; summarily convicted in a secret court-martial, Dreyfus was stripped of his rank and sentenced to life imprisonment in French Guiana. As was customary within the French Army for disgraced officers, Dreyfus was forced to endure the public indignity of having his uniform torn from him and his sword broken in the courtyard of the École Militaire before an abusive crowd of soldiers and members of the public; during this humiliation, Dreyfus appealed to the crowd stating: “I swear that I am innocent. I remain worthy of serving in the Army. Long live France! Long live the Army!”.
In August 1896, evidence emerged revealing the true traitor to be Major Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy; when Chief of French military intelligence Lt. Col. Picquart attempted to report this finding, he was transferred to Tunisia. After reports leaked of a cover-up, Esterhazy was tried and inexplicably found innocent before fleeing to England. In light of these mistakes, Dreyfus was granted a fresh trial in 1899 but was again found guilty despite the new evidence proving his own innocence; however, public opinion grew too great and Dreyfus was offered a pardon by President Loubet the same year. Eventually, in 1906, Dreyfus was formally exonerated and was readmitted to the French Army with an accompanying promotion to Major; Dreyfus would retire in 1907, before re-entering service during the First World War including on the front-lines during the Battles of Verdun at the age of 58.