Dreyfus Affair Letter Goes on Block for $130K
Moral Strength: French Jew Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason in a scandal tinged with anti-Semitism. But he was later exonerated. Image by getty images
A letter written by Alfred Dreyfus, a French-Jewish soldier who was wrongfully convicted of spying, is expected to fetch at least $130,000 at an auction in Paris.
The letter will be sold at auction next month by Sotheby’s Paris branch.
Dreyfus, a captain who was cleared of accusations that he spied for Germany, sent the letter from prison in 1895 to the French Interior Ministry, the French news agency AFP reported Wednesday.
His 1894 trial and eventual conviction for acts of treason – which came to be known as the Dreyfus Affair – were at the center of a tense political drama that included accusations of anti-Semitism toward the young Jewish officer. In 1906, Dreyfus was exonerated on all charges, rejoined the army and was promoted.
Last month, France’s Defense Ministry posted online hundreds of documents from his trial, which was later described as a determinant in the genesis of political Zionism.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
