“La prison militaire de Rennes,” (The Military Prison at Rennes)

“La prison militaire de Rennes,” (The Military Prison at Rennes)

Le Petit Journal, Supplément illustré, 9 July 1899

After a lull in press coverage, Dreyfus re-entered the news in 1899. By then, his authorship of the bordereau had been undermined by mounting evidence against Esterhazy, and Dreyfus was permitted to return to France for retrial. In this image, Dreyfus enters the military prison in Rennes as curious bystanders look on. Though he was stripped of military rank, he salutes as he enters into a new imprisonment.

Dreyfus’s trial at Rennes ended, once more, in his conviction, though several days later, he accepted a presidential pardon. He and his supporters advocated for a review of the Rennes verdict and a complete annulment of the charges against him. In 1904, the Criminal Chamber agreed to their pleas, and in 1906, Dreyfus’s name was cleared. Nevertheless, French anti-Semitism raged on: in 1908, Dreyfus was shot and wounded by a journalist, Louis Gregori, at a public ceremony where Zola’s ashes were placed in the Pantheon.