Alfred Dreyfus: A Miscarriage of Justice
Вставка
- Опубліковано 28 сер 2022
- On the 5th of January, 1895, Captain Alfred Dreyfus would be stripped of his rank and freedom in front of a crowd of Parisians before being deported. His crime - treason. However, his supporters believed him to be innocent, and the discovery of the real traitor resulted in what would become known as The Dreyfus Affair - one of the world's most infamous miscarriages of justice.
→ Subscribe for new videos at least twice a week!
ua-cam.com/users/biographics...
Love content? Check out Simon's other UA-cam Channels:
Geographics: / @geographicstravel
Warographics: / @warographics643
MegaProjects: / @megaprojects9649
SideProjects: / @sideprojects
Into The Shadows: / intotheshadows
TopTenz: / toptenznet
Today I Found Out: / todayifoundout
Highlight History: / @highlighthistory
Business Blaze: / @brainblaze6526
Casual Criminalist: / thecasualcriminalist
Decoding the Unknown: / @decodingtheunknown2373
Simon's Social Media:
Twitter: / simonwhistler
Instagram: / simonwhistler
What a man honestly. To be wrongfully accused by his country and vilified he still had the love and conviction to serve the country that wronged him with honour. Absolute legend
I remember reading about this and when I got to the part about the military protecting the actual spy to cover up that they’d cheerfully prosecuted the wrong man I had to stop and go AHHHHH! for a while. There’s incompetence, there’s stupidity, there’s malice, and then there’s whatever special level of crazy it took for this to happen. Yikes
Very good Simon ..I grew up in a military family in Malta .. all my elders from Colonel to Captain insisted that I read the Dreyfus Affair. Which I did . It struck me down then, and still does to this day . It's no cliche to state that the Dreyfus Affair still reverberates to this very day
Man ended up fighting in WW1 as a grunt soldier. That's a man of the upmost character
Lvl 1 grunt vs lvl 100 general
Utmost, but yes! Hell of a thing to do.
No, As a reserve officer, he re-entered the army as a major of artillery at the outbreak of World War I (at the age of 48). Serving throughout the war, Dreyfus was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was promoted to Officer of the Legion of Honour in November 1918 (the highest French order of merit, both military and civil). The man was a legend. after 4 years of false imprisonment, he still went to fight for France, a true patriot. BTW Dreyfus's son Pierre also served throughout the entire war (WW1) as an artillery officer, receiving the Croix de guerre.
If your country does this to you, is it like the Stockholm Syndrome to want to serve the Military that degraded you?
After all that, he still had pride for his country. Thats pretty telling of his immense character
The handwriting expert testified that Dreyfus had learned to forge HIS OWN handwriting. You can't make this bs up. That is INSANE
yeah, whatever "jury" signed off on that one was bought for sure.
You're right. How can Mr. Dreyfuss be perfectly capable of forging his own signature is completely illogical. It doesn't make sense.
Injustices occur all the time but man this one hit different. I’m glad that history was ultimately on his side, though it doesn’t feel anywhere near enough of a recompense.
I would’ve probably have never heard about this unless I took a specific course OR if I wasn’t subscribed to this channel! Thanks again Simon and the rest of the crew!
There's a famous movie about this - I Accuse 1958 starring Jose Ferrer. That's how I heard of this.
The actor Richard Dreyfuss produced a sort of docu ...
They're related, so he has a POV.
If you are interested, here are 3 books I own about the Dreyfus Affair:
1. Prisoners of Honor The Dreyfus Affair by David Levering Lewis
2. The Affair: The case of Alfred Dreyfus by Jean-Denis Bredin
3. The Dreyfus Trials by Guy Chapman
Much appreciated, always interested in history - opinions. Thanks
Thank you for this. Always wanted to know his story. May he now rest in peace.
Wow, that Picard guy really had some stones on him, to go against the General Staff like he did. Good for him!
Very interesting, really liked it. I would love to see a video about Yitzhak Rabin, I hope you do one soon.
The follow up to this has to be Theodore Herzl. He was really inspired by this affair. He is always the next person talked about in Jewish history courses.
Yea, but I would be surprised if Simon does a Bio on Theodore Herzl. That is my sense about Simon.
@@dovbarleib3256 Why?
I'm surprised Simon hasn't covered him yet.
Ok, here is the bombshell. I am not surprised. Simon is busy covering the previous set of lies against Jews in the 19th Century, but the ones in the 20th Century in particular against Israel and Zionism, he believes, like a lot of English, Irish, and Scots believe. It is easy to expose and debunk the previous set of lies to demonize Jews, the ones that many believed 120 years ago. It is quite another expectation to bravely debunk the modern existing lies, the ones that are being used today to shed Jewish blood. The test is harder because G-d is only testing our decency on our acceptance of today's lies, not yesteryear's lies.
So from Hertzl on down, I expect nothing objective on this channel dealing with Zionism or the State of Israel for the above reason.
@@samuelstephen8147 because he thinks Jews went to israel in 1948 only because of the Shoah. He doesn’t have a perspective based in historical fact when it comes to israel and Zionism
Biographics is one of the best things to ever watch and I love their content
But have you seen “decoding the Unknown” or “casual criminalist” the podcasts where he acts like himself when he reads thr scripts make it even better fact boy content 🤣
Future Video suggestion -
Eamon DeValera (1882-1975) - prominent political leader in 20th century Ireland who, after the Irish war of independence from 1919 to 1921, was in the public eye for over forty years from 1922 until his death were he served as head of government (Taoiseach) and head of state (president). He was nearly executed in the Easter Rising in 1916 and was key in putting into place the new constitution on 1937. A very prominent figure in Irish history.
The long whore also robbed our country blind.
He was a terrorist
I remember learning of the Dreyfus affair for the first time in an art history book I had as a teen. It mentioned briefly in a chapter about the Art Nouveau movement how a number of prominent French artists (most notably the glass designer Emile Galle, who was second only to Tiffany at the time for fame and prestige) were pro-exoneration for Dreyfus, and their businesses suffered quite a lot for this stance. It really rammed home how deeply the poor man's case divided French society.
As far as I can tell about Dreyfus himself from my own research, he sounds like he was a bit of an unlikeable stiff. But there's no law against being so and even if there was, it wouldn't be on the same tier as treason. It's absolutely hideous what happened to him, even over a century later.
A bit of an unlikeable stiff?
That's about the best definition of any French guy I've ever met...
If you needed any other proof he was a French patriot, you just got one more in your hands.
@@yehoshuadalven I've got some VERY French relatives from the region Dreyfus was from and yeah, they really do be that way. Have my like, good sir; you made me giggle and reminded me to give them a call today.
@@Replicaate your giggle is my pleasure LOL
I'm sure my French sister in law will giggle with agreement.
@@yehoshuadalven lmao man... Speaking of, French can be great friends.
I remember studying the Dreyfus Affair in my high school and the watching The Life of Emile Zola 1937 with Paul Muni (who also was in The Story of Louis Pasteur 1936). Great movies.
Thank you for covering this.
That is so unfortunate that that happened to him. There is no justice in this world. Poor guy 😔
1:40 - Chapter 1 - Secrets & lies , traitors & spies
3:55 - Chapter 2 - Dishonor
6:35 - Chapter 3 - The fight begins
9:00 - Chapter 4 - J'accuse !
11:25 - Chapter 5 - The breaking point
13:55 - Chapter 6 - National Shame
17:35 - Chapter 7 - Rehabilitation & legacy
- Chapter 8 -
PS: Do i smell a Casual Criminalist on the makings ?
Zola should get his own Biographics treatment!
What's disconcerting about this story is how even the French minister of defence was prepared to sacrifice more than one innocent man's life, just to cover up that he had pushed for the prosecution of the wrong man.
Beautiful and restrained. A most tragic and infuriating story that should have been stoppd long before it was, and only continued because of the childishness of the 'old guard' in the Armee. I read of the story while reading the biography of Zola, and was facinated at the fanaticism on both sides in the affair - how Zola was forced to flee to England and how the Dreufussards were vilified by sections of the press (indeed, one of your previous videos, mentioned that one of the anti-Dreyfus newspapers was influential in the start of the Tour de France ... look it up)
Not just childishness, downright stubborn ego.
Simon you legend! I love when you post on the older channels (I do love the newer channels as well though) it takes me back to when I first found your channel and you weren't beard blazing yet
they basically threw Dreyfuss under the bus from the start the army knew that they had apotentially damming casethey needed a patsy
I found that one to be... strangely emotive. I remember covering it (well, 2 lines about it) in school but I didn't realise that the injustice was only righted so so belatedly.
I'd like to suggest a video on Michael Collins, who died 100 years ago, this week. Or even a video about him vs Eamon De Valera - two men with the same goals (Ireland's independence) but of very very different characters, methods and ends.
Check out the Irish Independence videos on the Warographics channel for some of Simon's excellent content on this
Bertillon was the one who insisted the handwriting belonged to Dreyfus, even though he wasn't even an expert in comparative handwriting - but his immense status as the French 'Father of Forensic Science' meant his word held huge sway.
He died still insisting the writing was Dreyfus'. [edit] An episode covering Bertillon would be most appreciated!]
Thanks, Simon. My first time hearing the whole story.
The Actor Richard Dreyfus is descended from Alfred. They look alot alike.
It must still be a bitter pill in the family because I only recall him talking about it once and he seemed unhappy to be asked about it. Understandable.
If a movie were ever made on The Affair, he ××w be perfect for the role. It probably brings up too much pain for him to ever accept the role.
Forge his own handwriting? Okay, then... That has to be the most idiotic accusation I have ever heard!
This case is a grim reminder to Jews everywhere about how we're never fully members of any country that we call home. At any time, our nation could turn against us.
Well narrated...excellent.!
This reminds me of Desmond Doss, a Solider who was repeatedly punished for literally doing nothing, but wanting to serve his country.
what was his crime?
'The Movie "Hacksaw Ridge" was about him. Worth seeing.
Poor Dreyfus. He didn't deserve what happened to him.
Since you did Dreyfus, I guess it's only a matter of time until you'd do Emile Zola? I sure hope so.
Great video as always!
Needed this one Simon! Thank you
Really well explained. I enquired about this many times while living in Francd and never got such a clear explanation. Thanks.
Great bio,! The past was the worst. He is ancestor of American actor Richard Dreyfuss
Great vid as always. Could you do Michael Collins (Irish leader in Irish war of independence and Irish civil war) he was assassinated 100 years ago this year
Good idea, guv.
Yes! This would be a fantastic biographic to do! He is such an interesting figure head in irish history and he eventually got Irelands independence from Britain as well!
Alfred Dreyfus was definently a gigachad
My college introduction seminar was The Dreyfus Affair. The professor had a field day explaining Felix Faure died mid-sex with a mistress and gave the opportunity of sacrificing the Jewish Dreyfus to be cleared.
*Military injustice such as this case sound remarkably similar to Korean Admiral Yi and American once-been segregated military. It is also unfortunate that one of Dreyfus family members perished in the Holocaust as well*
The famous "J'accuse" by Poet Zola!
As usual, Simon, an excellent presentation. You could talk about house bricks and I'd be riveted. Thank you.
Damn. This is heartbreaking and really makes me angry!
I was only an NCO, but I had to get a sword for a stupid detail I was volunteered for. One day my girlfriend was mad at me and was studying for a degree in military history. So in her head breaking my sword would be the worst possible thing to do to me. Long story short, I had to take her to the ER for staples and emergency tendon repair surgery the next day...
After she was healing well and going to make a full recovery, I looked her in the eyes asked her why she picked the $500 dress sabre when my $5000 custom Remington rifle was right above it. So, she wanted to hurt my pride was her response. Before my brain caught up, I said "well my car is in the garage".
A year later she totaled my Impala SS driving into a granite block wall. I still have that damn sword.
The burning question is, do you still have her? Or is that another broken piece of life?
Jesus. Hope you dropped the crazy female dog like a bad habit after that.
@@oceanberserker I didn't have to, she realized that I never told her a lie, especially when I told her that she could do whatever made her happy as long as she doesn't hurt my dogs, car, or family. I guess I sounded like I was going to break her when she tried calling me to apologize like she forgot to call and let me know she was going out with her friends. My deployment orders were up in 3 days. She abandoned most of her stuff, and moved in with family in Ohio from NC and never got within my sight since 15 years ago. I lost the love of my life...
I just spent my bonus installing a dual rotor supercharger on my leave and only had a brief night out with her but it was true love.
@@Nipplator99999999999 My guy, I don't wanna sound denigrating or anything, but if she left you, in spite of everything, I can safely presume the feeling was entirely one sided on your part.
@@tinkerstrade3553 no the impound and storage fee was too much for 2 N²O bottles, a fuel cell, and rear axle. The block was cracked and transmission ate the driveshaft as the frame buckled. She even burned my milestones album.
Insane that the "Honor of the Army" hanged on conviction of a single Jewish officer. Insane
The essay Emile Zola wrote about this, "J' accuse!", was his finest hour as a writer. Too bad it did him no good, at least in his lifetime.
They really loved giant bushy mustaches back then didn't they
I think moustache rides were extremely popular 🤣
Bushy mustaches and beards was the mark of a gentleman.
God, there were so many bastards involved in this. Glad it ended okay for the guy.
He wasn't executed, which is good I guess. But I definitely wouldn't say it ended okay for him.
I am from Nigeria and even I read about this issue and how it inspired Zionism...
Another great video from Bio.
Welldone
That was horrible and fascinating. Thanks!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I asked and you delivered. Thank you. Better than my university lecture.
Thank you for this, Simon! I'll be using this lovely and simply put video as a resource to teach about the ills of antisemitism and how it affects the Jewish population and has affected us in history.
Free palestine
@@LuisR-23 awh, you think you're an edgy keyboard warrior, don't you, kiddo?
@@LuisR-23 loser
@@LuisR-23 "Antisemitism has fucked over Jewish people for millennia and that antisemitism runs *deep*" does not mean "and therefore I agree with everything Israel has ever done." It's disingenuous to pretend otherwise.
They need to be banished from our societies. What ills you find in antisemitism?
Great vlog, as always, oh I don't know if I already told you, but you look like a younger version (from what I remember of him) of my headmaster, same accent as well lol
love your work Simon!! could you please make a video about Sir John Monash of Australian World War I fame.
I’m wondering if you all would ever be willing to do one on Governor George Wallace? I think his trip from moderate to the face of segregation, his presidential campaign and assassination attempt, all the way back to moderate is an interesting story. Just how chasing the vote and populism can change someone for the worse.
UA-cam really is deleting comments here aren't they?
@@Sara3346 I think so, you’re the only comment I can see lol
@@Sara3346 Yes 😡
It was a battle for France’s soul. The Dreyfus affair was a total embarrassment for the country and exposed structural deficiencies of the country. But despite all of that there were those who fought back and brought these issues to light. This was not the case in many countries in Europe. For all its flaws the French political and social system of the time was able to face these elements and put them aside and for that it deserves credit.
I just adore this exceptional channel and the ultra brilliant narrator of them all. I learnt pretty much all the pertinent details I hadn’t to date on this extremely damaging story and continuous twists and turns to the Commandant Alfred Dreyfus who in the process became the national hero he always was. Incredibly well presented and explained. Thank you Biographics.
The Dreyfus case directly led to the creation of the country of Israel. A Jewish journalist covering the case realized that without a country this is what would happen to the Jewish people. And then this journalist(Benjamin Hertzl) started campaigning for a Jewish state and eventually led to the creation of Israel(even though he died before the country was independent).
If I had a nickel for everytime somebody gave someone the wrong verdict...I'd probably be loaded.
I grew up in Rennes, Brittany, France , where his second trial was held. He is part of the history of our town
It's amazing how others put their well being at risk to do what's right.
I remember learning about this in history class in high school. Prolly back in the early 2000s, ya kind of just wanted to shake the stubborn asses yelling "Just admit you made a mistake! Everyone makes mistakes!". Like, come the hell on, if you dig in your heals and lose, you'll be crucified as a villain and rightly so. The alternative? Embarrassment. It stings, one this large probably for a long time, but I guarantee there would have been people who were a tad more willing to forgive since, you know, honor. Is it not more honorable to admit a mistake than to try and deny reality? Ffs, bring him back, give him the rank he would have had, put him on a healthy pension, and let him live out his life in at least some relative luxury. Especially today, it wouldn't've been seen as much as an embarrassment had they just made best on doing the correct thing. Shorter, cheaper, and looked upon and remembered more fondly than being a damned cartoonishly evil villain. Dumbasses.
if it meant being able to sleep and look myself in the face without being disgusted, I could live with the embarrassment of admitting that I'd prosecuted the wrong person and set him free with his name restored.
@@jeffduncan9140 Ahh, but your probably not an antisemite.
I'm pretty sure they're thinking for at least some of these military folks was that if hadn't been a spy directly then he must have still been plotting against them in some other way.
@@Sara3346 too true
This was my first time coming across one of your videos, I can already tell I’ll be hooked! If you’re ever looking for interesting people, Paul Robeson is someone has a lot of depth.
Suggestion for video: August von Mackensen. A man that saw 5 Germanies from Prussia through German Empire, Weimar Republic, 3rd Reich and occupied Germany. A Field Marshal who passed away at the age of 95 near the end of 1945.
Good video 👍
What a pitiful world we live in where the right wing is acting the same foul mannered way today as then.
You should do Mikhail Gorbachev, considering he passed away today it might be fitting to look at the life of such a pivotal figure.
Aw wasn’t able to be first. Also could you make a video on Alfred the great?
He loved his country, even when so many in that country wanted nothing to do with him….
Some countries do not deserve honest and upstanding men such as him.
Some countries do not deserve honest and upstanding men such as him.
Hey Simon, can you do a biography on Gorbachev as a way to pay your respects to him ?
Your content is great! Have you considered making one on Alan Turing?
He’s already done one it’s called “The Enigma”
@@kd3283 thanks! I guess I missed it!
Fascinating story very well told (as usual). The video editing seemed a bit jerky to me; not up to the usual level.
Please may we have a video about Gorbachev. He’s just died. You can argue till the end of time if he was a good leader or not, but he was someone who just wanted peace. He didn’t want countries to just destroy each other have have an iron first of each other, and he genuinely believed in communism too… rest in peace 2022
That’s so sad, can’t believe this happened to him. He was a good man, don’t blame him at all for accepting the pardon.
I’m not really sure this video can be called Alfred Dreyfus. Is there no information on Dreyfus’ earlier life, because most of this video was just on the affair itself, not on Alfred Dreyfus himself, and who he was as a person.
It's called 'Alfred Dreyfus: A Miscarriage of Justice'. That makes it pretty clear what the focus is.
Could you do the biography of Cesare Borgia or Sasaki Kojiro next? Much appreciated.
I’d love to see Simon explain how Kojiro ended up killing Poseidon.
Please do a video on Sir Robert Walpole!
Dreyfus was never declared innocent. Should you visit Paris, ask where the statute honoring Dreyfus is located. Due to protests it was relocated again and again and is now in the back part of an obscure park that you can only find if you know where it is. The case however, was important in that a reporter for a newspaper Theodore Herzl understood that Jews were not safe anywhere but their own country. He developed the idea of Zionism which eventually led to creation of the State of Israel.
They all should return to Israel.
I feel sorry for the guy
I feel SORRY for the country. It has no soul. It it to be a religious country? When a county shows you who they are - believed them.
If Arabs want to blame Zionism on anyone it should be Christian Europeans who refused to allow us to assimilate no matter how hard we tried.
The Stash game was on another level
"J’accuse" by Émile Zola was a must read in my french classes, plus in history class back then (Germany) and je ne regrette rien! ;)
Wonder why Simon didn't mention it though, or did I miss something?
You missed it. He did mention that Zola was convicted of defamation and went to prison for a year because of that.
Loving all different content I first found casual criminalist the decoding the unknown then top ten now this one love all the contents on all these channels top marks from me😁👍
You found 4. Cool. Only 10 more to find. 😆
@@sandybarnes887 really wat are they🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@martinedingivan check the video description for a list. Most of them should be there
I remember watching a movie about this as a little girl. It was starring Richard Dreyfuss, and it was the first I'd ever heard of this.
Do a video of the Quakers in America
Please do a video on General Omar Bradley.
Some French YT history channels should take notes on how to gather accurate informations and show them in a nonsensical way...
Do a biographic on william joyce lord haw-haw.
Could you add the English subtitle, Simon? Thanks :)
What about a video about the last King of Portugal, D. Manuel II?
I just looked this up today. Curious.
Your claim that Jews were prosecuted in imperial Germany in the 18 hundreds is completely wrong. They were full citizens and had important positions in science, business, art etc. Antisemitism was much stronger in France. While there was some antisemitism in all European societies, it was quite weak in Germany at that time. It was stronger in Austria, but really surfaced only in the troubles post WW1 and driven by economic problems and the far right.
Not entirely true, there was several strong antisemtic politicians in Germany on the left and right, and several antsemtic scandals in the late 18th and early 19 hundreds, non as big as this of course, like there was a large scale smear campaign against a Jewish lead arms company for allegedly selling The German Army bad rifles until they had to change their name to distance themselves from it, Led by a man who was later elected into parliament, and during World War I there was something called the Jewish census to try to prove Jews weren’t joining the army or fighting on the front lines, Although it wasn’t as bad as he states in this video it was definitely there
This is true. I am Jewish American myself, my family has been in the US since the late 1870s. Prior to the US joining WW1 most US Jews supported the central powers because they viewed the tsarist Russians as the primary oppressors of the Jews. For good reason if you know anything about the pograms.
My grandpa once made a quote during a battle buddies celebration. "A soldier's biggest fear was to be forgotten...a soldier's nightmare is what he could be remembered for." At the time he was referring to something that happened in Vietnam. I do not have permission to post about it maybe one day soon.
I've heard about this Dryfus fellow from Jewish History month.
Cinnamon is for elves.
But Nutmeg is for EVERYONE
@Biographics could you do a video on Draza Mihailovic, the leader of the other resistance movement in Yugoslavia during WW2 since you did one on Tito already?
There is a very good film to this in french the name is "J'Accuse" or in english "An Officer and a Spy" wich shows the entire story, I watched the movie multiple times so, even so in German as I am a German. Still a gerate movie
Haven't been able to find it in the states due to its director (Polanski).
@@anthemrecords6424 ahh I see the movie got not realesed in the USA. I am sorry for this maybe you can watch it online on a not US based website. I am not to sure
Well, that's a title that happened xD
One of the titles ever!
good lord these people were really sadistic
I am just finishing Robert Harris' book: An Officer and a Spy. I highly recommend it.
Wow this all seems so familiar
What brand is that blazer?