The Dreyfus Affair was the controversy that followed the conviction and exile of Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in French Military Intelligence, on a charge of spying for Germany. When evidence suggesting his innocence emerged in 1897, the case divided French society and made the question of his guilt a broader public conflict.

Conviction and Exile

In 1894, Dreyfus was found guilty of spying for Germany and sent to the penal settlement of Devil’s Island in the West Indies. The account establishes these consequences but does not detail the trial or the evidence on which the conviction rested.

Evidence and Public Division

In 1897, evidence suggesting that Dreyfus was innocent came to light. Its emergence led to the Dreyfus Affair, dividing French society. The supplied account does not specify the evidence itself or describe the later course and resolution of the controversy.

Significance in the Book

The episode appears among notes identifying people and historical references relevant to the book. Its concise outline links a Jewish officer’s conviction and exile to the later disclosure of evidence in his favor, emphasizing the public division that followed. Beyond that outline, the account offers no basis for assigning the affair a role in the surrounding narrative.