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Primary sourceNewspaper article13 January 1898

J'accuse…!

Émile Zola · 13 January 1898

Émile Zola's 1898 open letter defending Alfred Dreyfus, published on the front page of Clemenceau's newspaper L'Aurore, which gave it its famous headline.

Clemenceau, as editor of L'Aurore, published this letter and wrote its headline, becoming a leader of the Dreyfusard cause.

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Front page of the newspaper L'Aurore, Thursday 13 January 1898, with the large headline J'Accuse...! Lettre au Président de la République, par Émile Zola. Dense columns of printed text fill the page.
Émile Zola, "J'accuse...!", L'Aurore, 13 January 1898.

About this source

What it is

This is an open letter written by novelist Émile Zola, addressed to the President of France, accusing the French government of antisemitism and of wrongly convicting army officer Alfred Dreyfus of treason. It was published on the front page of the newspaper L'Aurore on 13 January 1898.

Why it matters

Georges Clemenceau, as editor of L'Aurore, published Zola's letter and gave it the headline "J'Accuse...!", turning it into one of the most famous newspaper articles in history. The letter made Zola a target of prosecution for libel, but it galvanised the Dreyfusard campaign for a retrial and shows Clemenceau's early role as a crusading journalist defending justice against antisemitism in the army and government.

Look closer

  • Why would Zola address his accusation directly to the President rather than to a court?
  • What role did Clemenceau, as a newspaper editor, play in shaping how this letter was received?
  • Why might publishing such an accusation have been risky for both Zola and Clemenceau?

This newspaper article is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Georges Clemenceau on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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