| The Dreyfus Affair and Anti-Semitism |
| In 1907, Henri Robert, a leading French criminal barrister said: "Alcoholism is the chief cause of the increase in criminality. Absinthe is the enemy". As a scapegoat, absinthe was a perfect choice to the extent it was even drawn into the anti-Semitism debate of the time - many of the larger absinthe producers (including most importantly the Veil-Picard family that owned Pernod Fils) were Jewish, or of Jewish origin. Fresh from the Dreyfus Affair, it was not surprising that Edouard Drumont, editor of the virulently anti-semitic La Libre Parole, called absinthe a "tool of the Jews". One absinthe distiller even labelled his bottles "Absinthe Anti-Juive" with a sub-legend "France aux Français". |
The Dreyfus Affair was a political scandal which divided
France for many years during the late 19th century.
It centered on the 1894 treason conviction of Alfred
Dreyfus, a Jewish artillery officer in the French army.
Dreyfus was, in fact, innocent: the conviction rested on
false documents, and when high-ranking officers
realised this they attempted to cover up the mistakes.
The writer Emile Zola exposed the affair to the general
public in the literary newspaper L'Aurore (The Dawn) in a
famous open letter to the Président de la République
Félix Faure, titled J'accuse! (I Accuse!) on January 13,
1898. In the words of historian Barbara W. Tuchman, it
was "one of the great commotions of history".
The Dreyfus Affair split France between the Dreyfusards
(those supporting Alfred Dreyfus) and the
Anti-Dreyfusards (those against him).
France for many years during the late 19th century.
It centered on the 1894 treason conviction of Alfred
Dreyfus, a Jewish artillery officer in the French army.
Dreyfus was, in fact, innocent: the conviction rested on
false documents, and when high-ranking officers
realised this they attempted to cover up the mistakes.
The writer Emile Zola exposed the affair to the general
public in the literary newspaper L'Aurore (The Dawn) in a
famous open letter to the Président de la République
Félix Faure, titled J'accuse! (I Accuse!) on January 13,
1898. In the words of historian Barbara W. Tuchman, it
was "one of the great commotions of history".
The Dreyfus Affair split France between the Dreyfusards
(those supporting Alfred Dreyfus) and the
Anti-Dreyfusards (those against him).
Click on the Adobe icon for a detailed overview of the
Dreyfus Affair, together with the French text and an
English translation of Zola's J'Accuse in PDF format:
Dreyfus Affair, together with the French text and an
English translation of Zola's J'Accuse in PDF format:
Click on the image to see an enlarged version (813KB).
| The anti-Druyfusard journal Psst...! featured regular contributions by Forain and Caran d'Ache. The text of the cover illustration from this 1898 issue reads: "Si le pain manque, l'absinthe est pour rien!" Click to enlarge. |
| The anti-semitic newspaper La Libre Parole campaigned against absinthe, and particularly against those distilleries in Jewish hands. This 1901 issue approvingly describes the fire that destroyed the Pernod Fils factory. Click on the image to see an enlarged version (763KB). |
The Libre Parole article
on the Pernod fire.
Click on the images to
see enlarged versions.
on the Pernod fire.
Click on the images to
see enlarged versions.
Anti-semitic agitation in Montmartre as a result of the Dreyfus Affair.
| The Dreyfus Affair in the popular illustrated journals of the day. Click on the images to see enlarged versions. |
Monnot is not recorded as a
Jewish name in France, and so
it seems likely that the Star of
David on this label is a Masonic,
not a Jewish symbol.
Click on the image to see an
enlarged version.
Jewish name in France, and so
it seems likely that the Star of
David on this label is a Masonic,
not a Jewish symbol.
Click on the image to see an
enlarged version.
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