January 13 1898 – 19 Tevet 5658
Emile Zola published J’Accuse,” an open letter to French president Felix Pour, on the pages of L’Aurore (Dawn) daily paper. Zola was a supporter of Alfred Dreyfus, and the letter condemned the French establishment for wrongly convicting Dreyfus while protecting the true culprits. L’Aurore was owned by George Clemenceau, who later led France to victory in World War I and served as French prime minister. Zola’s letter turned the issue of Dreyfus’ innocence into a subject of national debate, with all of French society divided into Dreyfusards and anti-Dreyfusards.