alfred dreyfus received support from who

They were expected to “act as a worker slave for the white man.” The African American soldiers reported that they had been taken to help with the local harvest and, unlike white peers, were not paid. Their report documented inferior housing and recreation opportunities and pay inequality. African American soldiers at the Lincoln Airfield and other military bases faced routine discrimination and poor treatment.Īs a result of the Levy court-martial, the Lincoln branch of the NAACP, the oldest civil rights organization in the U.S., conducted an investigation of African American soldiers at the airfield. military was segregated, even if bases were located outside of the Jim Crow South. Library of Congress/Corbin Historian via Getty Images A segregated militaryĭuring World War II all of the U.S. military was different than the Nazis in Germany.ĭuring World War II, African American members of the military faced routine discrimination and segregation. Morris Levy pointed out his son was suffering because he defended American citizens who were being mistreated and asked whether the U.S.

Roosevelt in 1944 asking him to review his son’s case. His father sent a personal appeal to President Franklin D. Several newspapers brought attention to Levy’s case, including a popular New York daily, “PM.” His supporters argued that he had been targeted because he was Jewish, and demanded equal treatment within the military. During his trial, the military prosecutors highlighted his Jewish identity and labor activism, and questioned his loyalty to the American government. He was assigned to hard labor, stripped of his rank and had his pay decreased. The military claimed that he was not being punished for his critiques of the military’s discriminatory policies towards African American soldiers, but for making negative statements about his commanding officer and engaging in conduct unbecoming an officer. military court-martialed him in the summer of 1943. In early 1943, he became upset over the way African American soldiers on the base were being mistreated and raised concerns with his fellow soldiers and commanding officers, as well as friends in New York City. Levy was popular with his fellow soldiers for writing funny and romantic songs about life in the Army. My recent work examines the court-martial of Al Levy, a Jewish American soldier who was stationed at the Lincoln, Nebraska airfield during World War II. My research examines how previous generations have challenged antisemitism and racism, and what we can learn to confront the same issues today. An American court-martialĪs a scholar, I explore points of commonality and conflict between Jewish and African American communities and uncover unknown stories of marginalized groups. Some of the documents used to convict him were later found to be forgeries. The case became a critical moment that divided France, forcing the country to confront deeply ingrained antisemitism and uphold impartial justice.ĭreyfus was convicted a second time after a retrial in 1899, but granted a pardon by the president and released from prison.

As Zola hoped, the letter resulted in libel charges against him, bringing widespread attention to the case.īritish writer Michael Rosen argues Zola’s intervention made it legitimate to speak out against antisemitism for the first time in France, and brought public attention to how nationalism and antisemitism limited the legal system’s ability to deliver justice. Zola published an open letter that accused the government and the military of systematic antisemitism. The most famous person that brought attention to Dreyfus’ plight was a leading French thinker and writer, Emile Zola.

During that time, support for Dreyfus grew, as it became clear how thin the evidence against him was, and pressure mounted for his release. He was held for five years in a brutal penal colony called Devil’s Island, off the coast of South America. Many newspapers ran cartoons filled with antisemitic stereotypes. Dreyfus’ loyalty to the French government was challenged in the media, with suggestions that he was part of an international Jewish conspiracy.

The Dreyfus scandal began with Alfred Dreyfus being accused of selling military secrets to the German government and sentenced to life in prison.įrom the start, antisemitism surrounded the trial.

Alfred dreyfus received support from who