January 5 1895 – 9 Tevet 5655
French Jewish army officer Alfred Dreyfus was stripped of his ranks, publicly degraded and sent to Devil’s Island in the lowest point of the infamous Dreyfus Affair. Later, it was proven that Major Esterhazy and Colonel Henry, Dreyfus’ chief accusers, had forged the evidence.Yet a new trial was not begun until 1899. The Dreyfus Affair brought on a torrent of anti-Semitism that spawned the modern Zionist movement. It tore at the fabric of French society and for decades later, there was still a political divide between the “Dreyfusards,” those who believed in Dreyfus’ innocence, and those who wanted to believe that he was a traitor. In the end, Dreyfus was cleared of all blame, his rank was restored and he returned to active service in the French army, doing reserve and later front line duty as a major and then a lieutenant colonel in World War One. He was promoted in November 1918 to the rank of Officer of the French Legion of Honor.
Feel free to share
