The Dreyfus Affair: France's Anti-Semitic Military Scandal

REDACTED: Declassified Mysteries with Luke Lamana

Wondery | Ballen Studios

History, True Crime

4.3 • 668 Ratings

🗓️ 8 July 2025

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1894, Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish French officer, was falsely accused of espionage and sentenced to life in prison on the remote Devil’s Island in French Guiana. As evidence came to light pointing to his innocence, a bitter national debate erupted that would change France forever. Some maintained Dreyfus was guilty, while others, like writer Émile Zola, demanded justice for Dreyfus accusing the military of anti-Semitism, corruption, and cover-up.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Wonderry Plus subscribers can listen to Redacted, declassified mysteries early, and ad-free right now.
0:07.0	Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts.
0:14.9	On Saturday, January 5th, 1895, a 35-year-old army captain named Alfred Dreyfus waited anxiously in the hall of the Ecole Militaire in Paris.
0:31.6	Once a student at this prestigious academy, he now stood under police guard.
0:36.6	Dreyfus straightened his cap and did his best to muster his inner strength.
0:41.8	He had spent the last two and a half months in a military prison
0:45.3	and was about to face an officer's worst nightmare,
0:48.3	a public humiliation to remove his military honors.
0:53.3	The door swung open and five soldiers marched Dreyfus into the courtyard.
0:58.9	Nearly 4,000 troops stood at attention around the square, while another 20,000 people leered
1:05.0	at him from outside the gates.
1:07.4	They were there to witness his downfall.
1:10.1	Dreyfus had been convicted of selling French military secrets to Germany.
1:14.5	It was considered a heinous crime against his country. Dreyfus heard the clock bells strike nine in the morning.
1:21.7	He wondered if his punishment had been scheduled on a Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, specifically to disrespect his faith.
1:29.7	A general on horseback ordered him to step forward. The spectators fell silent as a military
1:35.7	clerk read the verdict. Dreyfus was guilty of espionage and treason. He shouted that he was innocent,
1:43.2	but his protests fell on deaf ears.
1:47.1	The crowd erupted into screams of traitor and death to the Jew. Dreyfus couldn't believe
1:53.2	he was being betrayed by the country he had faithfully served. He shouted, long live France.
2:00.0	Then he felt someone grabbed the front of his jacket.
2:02.9	A sergeant stripped his uniform bear,
	...

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