Head of a Woman with a Hat -Amedo Modigalini Painting

Dreyfus was a captain in the French army and his family owned cotton mills. His only fault was that he was an honest Jew. Many superior officers were jealous of his straightforwardness and happy life. In September 1894, when he was a captain in the army, he was falsely charged by another Army officer named Henry with delivering secret papers to Prussia (Germany). He was courtmartialled, dismissed and transported to Devil’s Island prison for life. The storm of protest started by his wife and family, whipped up a period of pro-Jewish and anti-Jewish rivalry lasting several years. The cursive writing found in papers was more or less similar to Dreyfus which put him on charges of treason and sedition. The anti-Jew Press spread rumours and created an inimical atmosphere for him.