In 1894, French artillery officer Alfred Dreyfus was falsely accused of passing military secrets to Germany. These swirling accusations and the subsequent degradation and humiliation suffered by Dreyfus constitutes one of history's most notorious incidents of antisemitism. Maurice Samuels speaks to Danny Bird about why the military top brass were so determined to persecute the Jewish officer, and how the Dreyfus affair polarised France.

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Maurice Daniels is the author of Alfred Dreyfus: The Man at the Center of the Affair (Yale University Press, 2024)

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Authors

Danny BirdStaff Writer, BBC History Magazine

Danny Bird is Content Producer for BBC History Magazine and was previously staff writer for BBC History Revealed. He joined the History team in 2022. Fascinated with the past since childhood, Danny completed his History BA at the University of Sheffield, developing a special interest in the Spanish Civil War and the Paris Commune. He subsequently gained his History MA from University College London, studying at its School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES)

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