Views on discrimination and the Dreyfus affair

We have witnessed a spike in racial and ethnic discrimination recently. Xenophobia, anti-Semitism and racism are all more prominent than ever.

When turning on television news shows, we’ve seen cities like Ferguson, Mo. and Baltimore, Md. in flames — both literally and figuratively. We read about horrendous hate crimes committed against minority communities around the world. We hear the fascist rants of a demagogue running for the highest position in the land, statements that are eerily reminiscent of those said by the infamous 20th century dictators.

But these issues are long-standing, and have afflicted nations since time immemorial. Case in point: the inherent anti-Semitism in what’s known as the Alfred Dreyfus affair.

Alfred Dreyfus was a Jewish man living in France in the late 19th and early 20th century — specifically Alsace-Lorraine, a region that has historically been annexed intermittently by both France and Germany. After Germany claimed the land during his youth, Dreyfus and his family moved to Paris, where he would train to serve his country as an honorable soldier.

When secret government papers were found in a German attaché’s trash bin, Dreyfus was charged with treason and conspiring to help the enemy (Germany). The allegations held no merit; yet, they were cast upon him because of his birthplace in what was a German-controlled territory — and his Jewish faith. Anti-Semitism in France was at its peak during this time period, and ardent French nationalists and people within the Roman Catholic Church, — who perpetuated false and utterly despicable stereotypes of the Jewish people — fanned the discrimination.

Dreyfus ended up being found guilty, leading to his unceremonious discharge from the military and life sentence on the so-called “Devil’s Island," off the coast of South America. All hope for his acquittal seemed to be lost until one very important French writer and thinker discovered the gross injustice that befell Dreyfus.