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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

1859
Alfred Dreyfus born in Mulhouse to an Alsatian Jewish family.

1870
The young boy Dreyfus vows to become a soldier as he watches the German Army march into Mulhouse during the Franco-Prussian War.

1871
Alsace-Lorraine is annexed by Germany.

1872
The Dreyfus family opts for French nationality and after a brief stay in Basle transfers to Paris.

1880
Lieutenant Dreyfus graduates from the Ecole Polytechnique.

1886
The anti-Semite Edouard Drumont publishes La France Juive.

1890
Captain Dreyfus marries Lucie Hadamard.

1891
Colonel Schwartzkoppen appointed Military Attaché at the German Embassy in Paris.

1892
Dreyfus completes two year course at the Ecole Superieure de Guerre. Drumont launches the Catholic newspaper La Libre Parole and denounces Jews in the army.

1893
Dreyfus becomes probationer on the general staff and the only Jewish officer there.

1894
Dreyfus transferred to Army Intelligence. General Mercier appointed Minister of War.