“Fear! That is their political means. They engender it, they inoculate it, and, once they’ve frightened a certain class of citizens, they present themselves as saviors” – Leon Gambetta

Welcome back to The Land of Desire, a French history podcast dedicated to exploring all the weird adventures, mysteries and surprising backstories behind French cultural icons. This week we continue our series on The Dreyfus Affair: one of the most definitive moments in French history. When a French soldier named Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason, his trial became a national sensation, and his banishment was a triumph. There was just one teensy little problem: Alfred was innocent. Over the next six weeks we’ll take on the crime of the century, a tale of betrayal, espionage, religious fanaticism, and a conspiracy which stretched from the meanest criminal all the way to the President himself. This week, enjoy part one of our series on one of the most definitive moments in French history: “The Dreyfus Affair”.

 

Episode 9: “The Dreyfus Affair, Part 2”

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Further Reading:

 

I found it handy to keep this Chronological History of the Dreyfus Affair handy.

Sources:

Dawn of the Belle Époque (Mary McAuliffe, 2011)

 

For The Soul of France: Culture Wars in the Age of Dreyfus (Frederick Brown, 2011)

The Affair: The Case of Alfred Dreyfus (Jean-Denis Bredin, 1986): If you get one single volume history of the Dreyfus Affair, make sure it’s this one!

“Trial of the Century” (Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, September 28, 2009)

“Dreyfus Was Vindicated, But What Of The French?” (Alan Riding, New York Times, July 7, 2006)