Three Jews, Alfred Dreyfus, Mendel Beilis, and Leo Frank, were charged with heinous crimes in the generation before World War I, Dreyfus of treason in France, Beilis of ritual murder in Russia, and Frank of the murder of a young girl in the United States. Quite aside from the lurid details and sensational charges, larger issues emerged, among them the power of modern anti-Semitism, the sometimes tragic conflict between the freedom of the press and the protection of individual rights, the unpredictable reactions of individuals when subjected to extreme situations, and the inevitable ambiguities of campaigns for truth and justice when political advantage is to be gained from them. In attempting to untangle myth and reality many surprises emerge; heroes appear less heroic and villains less villainous, while real factors appear more important than most accounts of the affairs have recognised.
Reviews
'Lindemann takes anti-Semitism out of the realm of fantasy and stereotype and places it firmly in the realm of history. Lindemann pursues this approach through a painstaking analysis. He certainly manages to shed a new light on the most well-known of these affairs: the sequence of lies, bungles and brave gestures surrounding the arrest for espionage of the French Jew Alfred Dreyfus.' The Times Higher Education Supplement



Book Information
ISBN 9780521447614
Author Albert S. Lindemann
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 490g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 18mm