So he hesitated for a brief moment of struggle between his conscience and what he believed to be the interest of the military.
J’accuse ! It was even claimed that he himself was the forger, that he had fabricated the letter-telegram in order to destroy Esterhazy . We are told of the honor of the army; we are supposed to love and respect it. Ce qu'on ignore, c'est qu'elles furent d'abord imprimées en une brochure, comme les deux Lettres précédentes. A man of honor, as he had been all his life, he believed that the truth would speak for itself, especially since it appeared to him plain as day. What a nightmare it is for all who know it in its true details. Can you understand this: for the last year General Billot, Generals Gonse and de Boisdeffre have known that Dreyfus is innocent, and they have kept this terrible knowledge to themselves? It is for this serene trust that he is now being so cruelly punished. Colonel Sandherr had died and Lt. Colonel Picquart was sent away on official duty. I am stating simply that Major du Paty de Clam, as the officer of justice charged with the preliminary investigation of the Dreyfus case, is the first and the most grievous offender in the ghastly miscarriage of justice that has been committed.
Regarding Lt Col Picquart, even this despicable deed was perpetrated: a French tribunal allowed the statement of the case to become a public indictment of one of the witnesses [Picquart], accusing him of all sorts of wrongdoing, It then chose to prosecute the case behind closed doors as soon as that witness was brought in to defend himself. He was hard-working, and strove to be well informed: a crime! The investigation lasted from May to September 1896, and what must be said loud and clear is that General Gonse was at that time convinced that Esterhazy was guilty and that Generals de Boisdeffre and Billot had no doubt that the handwriting on the famous bordereau was Esterhazy’s. My fiery protest is simply the cry of my very soul. It is a crime to exploit patriotism in the service of hatred, and it is, finally, a crime to ensconce the sword as the modern god, whereas all science is toiling to achieve the coming era of truth and justice. 1. He charged various high-ranking military officers and, indeed, the War Office itself of concealing the truth in the wrongful conviction of Dreyfus for espionage.
But this is not about that army, whose dignity we are seeking, in our cry for justice. I realise that you have no power over this case, that you are limited by the Constitution and your entourage.
Newly appointed to his position, he had the authority to bring out the truth. And so, by all means imaginable, by press campaigns, by official communications, by influence, the War Office covered up for Esterhazy only to condemn Dreyfus once again. From then on, it became a duel between Lt Colonel Picquart and Lt Colonel du Paty de Clam, one with his face visible, the other masked. And now the image of France is sullied by this filth, and history shall record that it was under your presidency that this crime against society was committed. I can feel Mr. Scheurer-Kestner’s soul withering and I believe that one day he will even feel sorry for having failed, when questioned by the Senate, to spill all and lay out the whole mess. And how childish the language is, how groundless the accusation! The same goes for Lt Colonel Picquart, who, guided by the highest sentiment of dignity, did not wish to publish General Gonse’s correspondence. The crime had been committed and the General Staff could no longer admit to it. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. J'Accuse Lettre au président Félix Faure ÉMILE ZOLA I Ces pages ont paru dans L'Aurore, le 13 janvier 1898.
Here I cannot help seeing the handiwork of Lt Colonel du Paty de Clam, with the trademark fruits of his fertile imagination. Source: Chameleon Translations; First Published: L’Aurore, 13 January 1898. The next step would take them both to civil court. To what end? So they rendered an iniquitous verdict that will forever weigh upon our courts martial and will henceforth cast a shadow of suspicion on all their decrees. Colonel du Paty de Clam, who was at the time a mere Major. Zola J’accuse . The public was astounded; rumors flew of the most horrible acts, the most monstrous deceptions, lies that were an affront to our history. J’accuse, (French: “I accuse”) celebrated open letter by Émile Zola to the president of the French Republic in defense of Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer who had been accused of treason by the French army. He carried no compromising papers: a crime! The public, naturally, was taken in. We have before us the ignoble spectacle of men who are sunken in debts and crimes being hailed as innocent, whereas the honor of a man whose life is spotless is being vilely attacked: A society that sinks to that level has fallen into decay.
Letter to the President of the Republic I accuse!
Zola was prosecuted for libel and found guilty. And this is how the case proceeded, like some fifteenth century chronicle, shrouded in mystery, swamped in all manner of nasty twists and turns, all stemming from one trumped-up charge, that stupid But now we see Dreyfus appearing before the court martial.