Podcast Summary

Podcast: New Books Network

Host: Geraldine Gudefa
Guest: Maurice Samuels, Professor of French at Yale and Director of the Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism
Episode: Maurice Samuels, "Alfred Dreyfus: The Man at the Center of the Affair" (Yale UP, 2024)
Date: October 21, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores Maurice Samuels' newest book, "Alfred Dreyfus: The Man at the Center of the Affair" (Yale University Press, 2024), situating it in the context of Dreyfus scholarship, Jewish history, and the continuing relevance of the Dreyfus Affair. Samuels and host Geraldine Gudefa discuss how the book centers Dreyfus's Jewishness, the seldom-explored biographical aspects of Dreyfus's life, and the impact the affair had both on his family and the Jewish communities worldwide—especially in America. The conversation highlights the significance of understanding the Dreyfus Affair through Dreyfus himself, not just as a political or intellectual episode, but as a deeply personal and communal tragedy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins of the Book & Samuels' Approach

• Maurice Samuels was approached by Yale to write this biography due to his extensive work on 19th-century French Jews and his experience directing the Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism.

  • "I was really primed to write about Dreyfus... I was looking for a new project and I thought, yes, I can do that. Although I was wondering what I could add to all the literature on Dreyfus." (02:12, Maurice Samuels)

• The book aims to write a “Jewish life” of Dreyfus, positioning his Jewishness centrally—something often glossed over in the vast Dreyfus literature.

  • "What would it mean to write a Jewish Life of Dreyfus?... It’s very seldom the center of the story." (05:17, Maurice Samuels)

2. Recentering Dreyfus & His Jewishness

• Existing scholarship often treats the Dreyfus Affair absent Dreyfus's personal narrative—a fact even reflected in titles like “L’Affaire Sans Dreyfus.”
• Samuels corrects the misconception that Dreyfus was a fully assimilated, secular Jew; rather, Dreyfus was acculturated but still lived in a closely Jewish milieu.
  • "If we think assimilated means he had given up his Jewish identity, that's far from the truth." (06:15, Maurice Samuels)
• The book draws on rich archival resources, including family ritual objects and private correspondence, to demonstrate the presence of Jewish practices and community ties.

3. Antisemitism & Its Centrality to the Affair

• Antisemitism was not a footnote but central—both to why Dreyfus was accused and why his case provoked such massive public reaction.
  • “I argue that it was his Jewishness... it was because the Jewish question had come to the fore in... France, but really throughout the west... The Jewish presence was really calling into question the fundamental nature of citizenship.” (08:10, Maurice Samuels)
• The suspicion towards, and subsequent framing of, Dreyfus by the French army was inseparable from rampant antisemitic attitudes.

4. Dreyfus Family & Alsatian Jewish Roots

• Dreyfus came from a well-to-do Orthodox family in Mulhouse, Alsace—a borderland pivotal in the Franco-German relationship.
• After the Franco-Prussian War, the family chose French citizenship, reflecting loyalty to France for its earlier emancipation of Jews.

5. Dreyfus in the French Army & Early Antisemitism

• The French military became more meritocratic post-1870, allowing more Jews to rise in the ranks; about 300 Jewish officers served at the time, fueling antisemitic resentment.
• Dreyfus directly encountered antisemitism in military school and on the general staff.
  • "He protested and went to the head of the school... Dreyfus was someone willing to fight against antisemitism and very aware of what antisemitism was." (13:23, Maurice Samuels)

6. The Affair: Timeline and Key Events

• Quick Timeline by Samuels:
  • 1894: Dreyfus accused of selling secrets to Germany based on circumstantial evidence, subject to a sham court-martial, and sent to Devil’s Island.
  • Public degradation ceremony marked by cries of “Death to Judas! Death to the Jews!”
  • Family, especially his wife and brother, campaign tirelessly for his exoneration.
  • Case reignites with Emile Zola’s “J’accuse,” splitting France and leading to anti-Jewish riots.
  • After new evidence, Dreyfus is retried (again found guilty), offered a pardon, and finally exonerated in 1906. He is restored, partially, to rank and later re-joins the army for WWI.
  • "After Dreyfus article, there were pogroms basically throughout France. There were anti Jewish riots in 69 cities..." (21:45, Maurice Samuels)

7. Dreyfus's Dignity & the Public Eye

• The infamous ritual degradation ceremony (1895) illustrated Dreyfus's resolve and dignity amid extreme humiliation.
  • “[Dreyfus] managed to hold his head erect, his back straight… Soldiers, an innocent man is being degraded… Long live France. Long live the army.” (23:35, quoting Samuels’ book)
• Dreyfus’s inability to perform emotion or convince the public of his innocence in the emerging age of mass media worked against him, despite his deep inner life and sense of justice.
  • “People wanted a performance of innocence, whereas he really believed that he just was innocent and didn’t need to put on a show.” (27:01, Maurice Samuels)
  • “If Dreyfus had not been Dreyfus, would he even have been a Dreyfusard?” (29:40, Maurice Samuels quoting Léon Blum)

8. The Affair's Global Impact & American Jewry

• The affair catalyzed deep reflection and division in Jewish communities worldwide—among Zionists, integrationists, and socialists alike.
• Samuels’s research into Jewish newspapers from multiple countries showed the American Jewish community's anxiety and belief in American exceptionalism concerning antisemitism.
  • “The kind of ideological compromise they came to was, oh, this could happen in France... but America is different. So they really bought into this idea of American exceptionalism...” (30:49, Maurice Samuels)

9. Lasting Relevance of the Dreyfus Affair

• The episode closes discussing the ongoing resonance of the Dreyfus Affair in an era of rising antisemitism.
  • “Many of the reasons that Dreyfus was accused are still very relevant for understanding antisemitism today. This idea of a Jewish conspiracy, you know, conspiratorial thinking that Jews control the press and the media…” (34:49, Maurice Samuels)
• Dreyfus’s unwavering pursuit of justice and truth provides a model for resilience.
  • “How to survive when it seems like everyone is against you… those lessons from the affair are still very relevant today” (36:26, Maurice Samuels)

Memorable Quotes & Notable Moments

• On why Dreyfus is often missing from his own story:

  • “The affair itself played out without him. There’s been a tendency… to put him more at the center… but the Jewish dimension… is very seldom the center of the story.” (05:17, Maurice Samuels)

• On Dreyfus’s response to humiliation:

  • “I recall the memory of my wife and children. He managed to hold his head erect, his back straight… Soldiers, an innocent man is being degraded…” (23:35, Geraldine Gudefa quoting the book)

• On fighting antisemitism as a Jewish officer:

  • “He protested… said this isn’t fair… But I think it shows that Dreyfus was someone willing to fight against antisemitism and very aware of what antisemitism was.” (13:23, Maurice Samuels)

• On American Jewish responses:

  • “The kind of ideological compromise they came to was… America is different… they really bought into this idea of American exceptionalism.” (32:25, Maurice Samuels)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Maurice Samuels' scholarly background (02:12 - 03:44)
• Centering Jewishness in the Dreyfus Affair (05:17 - 10:31)
• Dreyfus family history and roots in Alsace (11:06 - 13:13)
• Dreyfus’s army experience and early antisemitism (13:23 - 15:54)
• Summarizing the timeline of the Dreyfus Affair (16:58 - 23:35)
• Dreyfus’s public degradation and dignity (23:35 - 26:27)
• Media, personality, and public perception (27:01 - 30:05)
• Impact on global Jewry, focus on American Jews (30:49 - 34:49)
• Modern resonances and lessons of the Affair (34:49 - 37:12)

Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is scholarly yet accessible, marked by deep empathy for Dreyfus and clear admiration for Samuels's comprehensive and original approach. Geraldine Gudefa’s tone conveys enthusiasm and appreciation, making the academic discussion inviting to a broader audience. Samuels’s biography stands out for rehumanizing Dreyfus and foregrounding the Jewish experience at the affair’s heart, reminding listeners of the continuing need to confront and understand antisemitism both historically and today.

Recommended for: historians, students, and anyone interested in justice, Jewish history, and the complicated story of national belonging.