9. The Dreyfus Affair
The Dreyfus Affair was a political scandal in France from 1894 to 1906, centering on Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish artillery officer wrongfully convicted of treason for allegedly passing military secrets to Germany. Despite flimsy evidence, Dreyfus was sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island. In 1896, evidence emerged implicating Major Ferdinand Walsin-Esterhazy as the true culprit, but the military suppressed this information. The case exposed deep-seated anti-Semitism and divisions within French society, leading to widespread public outcry and debates over justice and national identity. Dreyfus was eventually exonerated and reinstated in the army (britannica.com).
