Zola Imprisoned for J'accuse: Defending Dreyfus Costs Him Freedom
Émile Zola didn't go to prison for defending Dreyfus. He went for libel — specifically, for accusing military officers by name of fabricating evidence. His letter "J'accuse" ran on the front page of L'Aurore. 300,000 copies sold in hours. The trial lasted two weeks. Zola was convicted, fined 3,000 francs, and sentenced to a year in prison. He fled to England instead. Dreyfus was still on Devil's Island. But the letter forced a retrial. Sometimes you have to commit a crime to expose one.
February 23, 1898
128 years ago
Key Figures & Places
France
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Alfred Dreyfus
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Emile Zola
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J'accuse (letter)
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Government of France
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anti-Semitism
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Captain (OF-2)
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antisemitism
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Émile Zola
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J'Accuse...!
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Antisemitism
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Captain
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Alfred Dreyfus
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L'Aurore
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Georges Clemenceau
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January 11
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London
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le doge de Venise Pietro Tradonico et le roi d'Italie Lothaire Ier signent un pacte dit Pactum Lotharii.
consécration du pape Innocent II.
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