J’accuse

Front page of the newspaper L'Aurore, January 13, 1898, with the open letter “J'accuse” written by Émile Zola about the Dreyfus affair.

J’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. It was published in the newspaper L’Aurore on Jan. 13, 1898. The letter, which began with the denunciatory phrase “J’accuse,” blamed the army for covering up its mistaken conviction of Dreyfus. It was instrumental in generating public response to what became known as the Dreyfus affair. Zola was brought to trial on Feb. 7, 1898, and was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment and a fine of 3,000 francs after being found guilty of libel. As a result of the new attention focused on the affair, Dreyfus underwent a new court-martial. Although still found guilty, he was pardoned by the president of the republic. Not until 1906 was Dreyfus cleared of all wrongdoing.