Alfred Dreyfus was a French army officer of Jewish descent, born in 1859. He became the center of a major political scandal in France known as the Dreyfus Affair. In 1894, he was wrongfully convicted of treason for allegedly passing military secrets to Germany, leading to widespread public outcry and debates about anti-Semitism in French society. The Dreyfus Affair highlighted deep divisions within France, as many intellectuals and activists, including writer Émile Zola, rallied for Dreyfus's exoneration. After years of legal battles and public protests, Dreyfus was eventually retried and exonerated in 1906, becoming a symbol of injustice and the fight against prejudice.