[13 January 1898]I walked across Montmartre and down to the Seine today. And it struck me again how much I love this city. It is sooo beautiful.
I went past the former offices of the the Aurora, once a Paris evening newspaper. In 1898 Emile Zola offered a letter to the editor there, proving the innocence of Alfred Dreyfus. Dreyfus was a Jewish army officer who had been falsely convicted of espionage for Germany. Zola's letter to the editor became known as "J'Accuse". The resulting Dreyfus Affair tore France apart and led to among other things, the founding of Zionism.
The editor who published the letter, Georges Clemenceau, 19 years later became president of France.
Just something one sees walking down a street here.
I went past the former offices of the the Aurora, once a Paris evening newspaper. In 1898 Emile Zola offered a letter to the editor there, proving the innocence of Alfred Dreyfus. Dreyfus was a Jewish army officer who had been falsely convicted of espionage for Germany. Zola's letter to the editor became known as "J'Accuse". The resulting Dreyfus Affair tore France apart and led to among other things, the founding of Zionism.
The editor who published the letter, Georges Clemenceau, 19 years later became president of France.
Just something one sees walking down a street here.
Some see the Dreyfus affair as a beautiful controversy. What other nation woul tear its soul apart over the plight of a poor innocent Jew at that time?
ReplyDeleteA people looking for a juicy issue with which to attack the army, the church, and the conservatives?
ReplyDelete