The Dreyfus affair played an important part in establishing the powers of journalism - keeping tabs on the powerful.
The events that lead up to the affair were the defeat of Sedan 1874 and the Paris commune.
The defeat of Sedan 1871was the result of the Franco-Prussian war; Napoleon was dragged into the war without any allies. He was defeated and captured at Sedan. The French army failed the country, despite how proud of the army they were. Those in Paris chose to keep faith in the french and defy the Prussians, instead of backing down like the rest of France and paying them compensation for a war they were tricked into. They were also forced to give up the key industrial provinces', Alsace and Corrine.
The Prussians became the Germans in 1871 and had Paris surrounded throwing more problems at the french; lack of food and a humiliated army.
The Paris Commune;
As landlords returned, rent was demanded with interest. The new government were demanding a monarchy, but the people feared that this would spur on another war and so this lead to a revolt. The people fought back between March 18th and May 28th 1871. in a way that would be described as the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, dropping the government and working together for the masses. Though, the formation was essentially a council, but gave a lot of power to women at the time meaning new reforms for women's suffrage scaring the monarchies greatly. Leading to the destruction of the commune- 20 to 30,000 people were executed and highlighted the significance of the power of the people, and women were targeted because of their new powers, people were found guilty for being in Paris; the monarchies fought back. It changed European politics dramatically; what Marx had written years before was shown to be almost achievable, yet at the same time showed the consequences of ignoring the monarchy.
The Dreyfus affair;
The army was in a fragile state because of the overseas empires of 1874. The Jews were beginning to be blamed for undermining French greatness and the Parma council bribe from them absent money; sparking anti-antisemitism. The french were still paranoid about another war and so their military gathered spies for all European countries.
The affair itself pit the right against the left; Army and Catholics were against (anti Dreyfusards), the republicans and the Jews were for (Dreyfusards).
The secret information of the French was found in the German embassy, passed on to the military and found by French spies and were determined to find out who had betrayed them - the army implicated Capitain Dreyfus - he was a Jew, intelligent and from Alsace (almost foreign). He was found guilty of treason, then banished to Devils Island in 1894.
After Dreyfus' conviction, an officers declares that the defence is wrong, but the supervisors do not care because Dreyfus is a Jew. The court took the case to trial officer called Esterhazy he was tried but then acquitted.
A journalist Emile Zola wrote the famous article J'accuse, which named the men who wrongly convicted Dreyfus. But was then convicted of libel. He fled then fled to London after anti Jew riots were popping up all over France, right wing news papers called for the removal of all Jews citizenship. The army being to see weaknesses in documents of the case and saw it was weak. An officer called Henry was praised for patriot forgery and described as a martyr to the Jewish syndicate. A change of government brings Dreyfus back to France, but he is found guilty once again with "extenuating circumstances".
Lazare; Anti-Semitism and Nationalism
- A nation is described as an agglomeration of individuals who have shared language, religion territory , law, customs, manners, spirit and historic mission.Though many question this and argue that a nation is purely a concept not of reality.
- The nation continues as long as this self-consciousness and the consciousness of the community of thought and interest have not disappeared. This is important for the Jews because they do not have a father land. Instead they are integrated into other nations. This is where anti-Semitism can spring from.
- The Jew does not exist as a race, rather a nation with various elements possessing unity.
- The Jewish nation stays strong because of religion, social condition and the external conditions forced upon them.
- To be part if this nation one has to accept that god and the laws emanating from him.
- Torah; outlines laws of God. Then became the laws of Israel.
- The Jews have lived like a people who had a fatherland of its own.
- Their education preserved their traditions, as well as their language and lived in similar conditions sharing their religion which all constitutes a nation.
- Though, they have ever considered themselves exiles and have deluded themselves with a dream of restoration if Israel’s kingdom on earth.
- They have preserved ancient patriotism, even their chauvinism, despite disasters and misfortunes, and have religiously kept the idea of their supremacy. Looking with disdain upon all who are strangers to this law.
- Talmud taught them to be this way (considered antisocial and the most abominable code of law and ethics).
- This law is very different from those of the countries they live and they follow their own codes, before those of that country.
- Anti-Semitism was one of the ways the peoples would try to reduce these strange individualities.
- Jews appeared a danger they were a people whose mentality did not agree with the national mentality, whose concepts were opposed to that ensemble of social and intellectual conceptions which constitutes nationality.
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