News & Events
Foundation Vice Chair Delivers Presentation on “Dreyfus Affair” in Rouen
Once again, Dr. Lorraine Beitler has played a significant role in promoting understanding and respect among diverse groups worldwide. On May 21, 2007, she appeared at the inauguration of the international conference for the Ordre des Avocats de Rouen (The Court of Appeals), France. Her presentation, “The Dreyfus Affair: An American Perspective – Visual Culture and History,” focused on the manner in which she assembled her unique collection of related artifacts over a period of two decades.
From left, Paris’ National Research Center scholar Michel Drouin, Dr. Lorraine Beitler, Charles Dreyfus, grandson of Alfred Dreyfus, and Yaël Ruiz, great-granddaughter of Alfred Dreyfus.
Beitler’s world-renowned collection on the “Dreyfus Affair” consists of a broad range of original artifacts from the period. Exhibited over the years across three continents, it tells the story of Jewish French Army Captain Alfred Dreyfus who, in 1894, was accused of selling military secrets to Germany. Convicted of treason in a rigged court martial and sentenced to life imprisonment, Dreyfus became the focus of a frenzy of anti-Semitic protests and articles in the French press. After being imprisoned on Devil’s Island for 12 years, Dreyfus’s cause was taken up by the great French writer Emile Zola.
“Zola’s public letter, ‘J’Accuse,’’” says Dr. Beitler, “which led, ultimately, to the exoneration of Alfred Dreyfus, has become known worldwide as one of history’s most impassioned and eloquent calls for justice.” Beitler’s exhibition highlights the history and issues of the “Dreyfus Affair,” particularly as they relate to the complexities of today’s world. The “Affair” underscores the responsibility of individuals to act when democratic values are in peril.
Among the many honors that have been bestowed on Dr. Beitler is the New York City College of Technology Foundation Award “for service and commitment to the needs of the students of City Tech,” where she serves as vice chair of the foundation’s board of directors. Other honors include the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Interfaith Committee on Remembrance and the Moses Mendelssohn Medaille for her “tireless commitment in the struggle against intolerance, discrimination and persecution in all fields of public life.”
Dr. Beitler has accepted an invitation to deliver an address at an international conference to be held in Paris in June 2008. The event will celebrate the centenary of the burial of Zola’s ashes at the Pantheon, the tomb devoted to perpetuating the memory of France’s greatest men and women.
