As was the case elsewhere in Europe, virulent anti-Semitism emerged as a significant force in French political life in the late nineteenth century. In the decades following France’s humiliating defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), a variety of anti-Semitic organizations and publications rose to prominence, each identifying the Jews as the root cause of all that was unjust or dysfunctional in French life. In this article that appeared in the May 23, 1892, edition of the anti-Semitic newspaper La Libre Parole, a full two years before the Dreyfus affair, the journalist Édouard-Adolphe Drumont (1844–1917) decried the presence of Jews in the French army. As you read it, think about the connections Drumont made between the army and the nation. Why, in his opinion, was the presence of Jews in the army of particular concern?

Longer than the rest of contemporary society, the army has avoided Jewish influence. This immunity is due to the army’s traditional esprit and to the very nature of its mission.

What would the kikes do in its ranks? . . . Why wear oneself out, why rough it, why always have empty pockets, when it is so easy, on the stock market or through shady business dealings, to make a fortune without hardship and without deprivation?

If Jews cared little about entering the army, the army cared even less about having them. Beyond all religious consideration, there exists among the vast majority of military men a feeling of instinctive repulsion against the sons of Israel. One sees in them the usurer who completes the ruination of the indebted officer, the tradesman who speculates on the soldier’s hunger, the spy who traffics without shame in the secrets of national defense. Everywhere and always, in peace and in war, the army has seen the Jew stand against it — against its duties, against its well-being; against its honor.

Since 1870 and the adoption of compulsory military service, the situation has altered. Israelites are no longer allowed to exempt themselves, for an average of two thousand francs, from all duty toward the fatherland. . . .

They had barely placed a foot in the army when they searched, by every means, to gain influence. They understand the opportunity there for the spread of power; already lords of finance and administration, already dictating judgments to the courts, they will definitely be masters of France on the day they command the army. Rothschild will deliver the mobilization plans — and one can imagine toward what end!

Happily, we are not there yet. The Semitic invasion is like the breeding of microbes: When the environment is not favorable, the growth process suffers. Though there have been some hints of weakness, the army has joined the combat with a remarkable strength of resistance. In undertaking this series of articles, we want to encourage the army in this holy struggle. At the same time, we want to uncover the criminal deeds that would have the immediate effect of endangering the country’s interests. . . .

The tendency to avoid the army, which was widespread before 1870, has abated since then in a very notable way. But there remains a considerable proportion of Jews who, unable to find careers with the state, turn to positions offered by private industry, commerce, or banking.

Those Jews who have entered the army have found a way of setting themselves up in the most agreeable posts . . . in the choicest situations. With each opening that attracts twenty qualified candidates, it is the Jew who climbs over his nineteen Christian competitors. . . .

Are these statistics not striking testimony to the favoritism enjoyed by the sons of Israel?

Source: Marvin Perry and Frederick M. Schweitzer, eds., Antisemitic Myths: A Historical and Contemporary Anthology (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2008), pp. 95–96.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER