Émile ZOLA launches his campaign to support Alfred DREYFUS.

Emile Zola (1840.1902)

Autograph letter signed to a collaborator of Le Figaro.

A ¼ in-8° page. Paris. December 13, 1897.

Important letter from Zola accelerating his campaign of support for Alfred Dreyfus and launching the publication of his brochure “ The Dreyfus affair, letter to youth ”. The writer is determined: The Truth is on the move.

“My dear colleague, here is the little note which Mr. de Rodays was kind enough to promise me to include. I find it necessary for Le Figaro, and for me. I am also sending you a proof of the brochure. Consider whether it would be appropriate and useful for an extract to accompany the note. I am not asking for anything , I simply want you to do what is best for our common interests. Besides, I will try to shake your hand this evening. Sincerely yours. Emile Zola. »

At the end of 1897, Zola, revolted by the injustice of the nationalist press, decided to write several articles in Le Figaro in favor of the Dreyfusard movement. The first, entitled " M. Scheurer-Kestner ", appeared on November 25, 1897. At the conclusion of this text, this prophetic sentence, the standard of the Dreyfusards, was chanted for the first time: "  The truth is on the move and nothing will stop it  ". During December, Zola continued his fight by another means: the distribution of brochures, thus appealing no longer to the readers of a single newspaper but to the entire French population. The first of these brochures (mentioned here) was therefore published on December 14, 1897, by Fasquelle, and titled “ The Dreyfus affair, letter to youth ”. On January 13, 1898, Zola gave yet another dimension to the Dreyfus affair. Scandalized by Esterhazy's acquittal three days earlier, the author decided to strike a blow and published a six-column article on the front page of L'Aurore , in the form of an open letter to President Félix Faure: " I accuse ".

Emile Zola. Letter to youth. O youth, youth! I beg you, think of the great work that awaits you. You are the future worker, you will lay the foundations of this next century, which, we have deep faith, will resolve the problems of truth and equity posed by the ending century. We, the old, the elders, we let us leave you the formidable mass of our investigation, many contradictions and obscurities perhaps, but certainly the most passionate effort that ever century has made towards the light, the most honest and solid documents and the very foundations of this vast edifice of science that you must continue to build for your honor and for your happiness. And we only ask you to be even more generous, more free-spirited, to surpass us through your love of life normally lived, through your effort put entirely into work, this fertility of men and of the earth which will know finally make the overflowing harvest of joy grow, under the brilliant sun. And we will fraternally give way to you, happy to disappear and rest from our part of the accomplished task, in the good sleep of death, if we know that you continue us and that you make our dreams come true.

Youth, youth! Remember the sufferings your fathers endured, the terrible battles they had to overcome, to gain the freedom you enjoy at this time. If you feel independent, if you can come and go as you please, say in the press what you think, have an opinion and express it publicly, it is because your fathers gave of their intelligence and their blood. You were not born under tyranny, you do not know what it is like to wake up every morning with the boot of a master on your chest, you did not fight to escape the dictator's saber, the weights forgery of the bad judge. Thank your fathers, and do not commit the crime of acclaiming lies, of campaigning with brutal force, the intolerance of fanatics and the voracity of the ambitious. The dictatorship is over. Youth, youth! Be always with justice. If the idea of ​​justice were obscured in you, you would go to all perils. And I'm not talking to you about the justice of our Codes, which is only the guarantee of social bonds.

Of course, it must be respected, but there is a higher notion, justice, one which posits in principle that all judgment of men is fallible and which admits the possible innocence of a condemned person, without thinking of insulting the judges. Isn't this an adventure that should arouse your burning passion for law? Who will stand up to demand that justice be done, if not you who are not in our struggles of interests and people, who are not yet involved or compromised in any shady business, who can speak loudly, in all purity and in all good faith?

Youth, youth! Be human, be generous. Even if we are wrong, be with us when we say that an innocent person suffers incredible pain and that our rebellious hearts break with anguish. Let one admit the possible error for a single moment, in the face of such disproportionate punishment, and the chest tightens, tears flow from the eyes. Certainly, the security guards remain insensitive, but you, you who still cry, who must be won over to all the miseries, to all the pities! How do you not have this chivalrous dream, if there is somewhere a martyr succumbing to hatred, to defend his cause and deliver him? Who then, if not you, will attempt the sublime adventure, will launch into a dangerous and superb cause, will stand up to a people, in the name of ideal justice? And aren't you ashamed, finally, that it is elders, old people who are passionate, who are doing your work of generous madness today?

Where are you going, young people, where are you going, students, who beat the streets, demonstrating, throwing into the midst of our discord the bravery and hope of our twenty years? “We are going to humanity, to truth, to justice! ".