France promotes Jewish soldier Alfred Dreyfus, 130 years after wrongfully convicting him of treason

[question everything]

France Tuesday promoted Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army captain wrongly convicted of treason in 1894, to the rank of brigadier general as an act of reparation in a notorious case of anti-Semitism that has caused outrage for generations.

The law is seen as a symbolic step in the fight against anti-Semitism in modern France, at a time of growing alarm over hate crimes targeting Jews in the country in the context of the Gaza war. President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu signed the promotion into law on Monday, and it was published in the so-called Official Journal of new legislation on Tuesday.

(snip)

Dreyfus, a 36-year-old army captain from the Alsace region of eastern France, was accused in October 1894 of passing secret information on new artillery equipment to a German military attache. The accusation, based on a comparison of handwriting on a document found in the German's wastepaper basket in Paris, kicked off what would become known as the "Dreyfus affair".

Dreyfus was put on trial amid a virulent anti-Semitic press campaign. But novelist Emile Zola then penned his famous "J'accuse...!" (I accuse) pamphlet in support of the captain. Despite a lack of evidence, Dreyfus was convicted of treason, sentenced to life imprisonment in the infamous Devil's Island penal colony in French Guiana and publicly stripped of his rank.

More..

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20251118-france-promotes-jewish-soldier-dreyfus-130-years-after-scandal

[elleng]

1. WOW!

Merci!

[70sEraVet]

3. I applaud that 'symbolic step' which costs France nothing!

At the same time, I condemn the symbolic steps the US is taking, to erase from our history the many heroic acts of our darker-skinned citizens -- which costs us a great deal (our decency!)

[stopdiggin]

2. While Dreyfus was pardoned, reinstated, and later decorated ..

The reasoning here runs that - save for his original unjust victimization - Dreyfus would have almost certainly risen to the very top echelon of France's military.

Oh - and the man guilty of the original crime Dreyfus was charged with? (passing military secrets to the Germans) Acquitted.

[JustAnotherGen]

4. This is one good thing this week!

Thank you. He truly deserves this honor.

[nycbos]

5. What I find most amazing is that Dreyfus continued to serve...

… the country that betrayed him.

[Behind the Aegis]

6. It's what we do.

Of course, no matter what we do, it is NEVER good enough for many.

[nycbos]

7. Yup Dreyfus also reminds me of 442 group of the US Army...

.. in World War II. It was made up of mostly Japanese-Americans who served in Europe while their families were in interment camps.