| Date | November 2016 | Marks available | 20 | Reference code | 16N.3op5a.HL.TZ0.7 |
| Level | Higher level only | Paper | Paper 3 (Aspects of the history of Europe and the Middle East) - last exams 2016) | Time zone | TZ0 |
| Command term | Evaluate | Question number | 7 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
Evaluate the impact of the Dreyfus affair in France.
Markscheme
Candidates are required to review the impact of the Dreyfus Affair on French politics and society. Candidates could argue that it changed France greatly or that it merely confirmed pre-existing conflicts within French society.
Indicative content
- The Dreyfus affair (1894–1906) involved a Jewish Army officer, Captain Albert Dreyfus, condemned in a closed military court martial for selling secrets to Germany.
- While Emile Zola took an active part in defending Dreyfus, French political parties, newspapers and public opinion were sharply divided. Broadly speaking, those on the Left argued that he had been unfairly treated, while those on the Right affirmed that such arguments were an attack on the honour of the French Army. Dreyfus was eventually cleared in a civilian appeal court in
1906. - Politically, the immediate impact of the affair was to create a degree of unity among the pro-Republican parties that led to the Waldeck Rousseau “government of Republican defence” of June 1899 (against the anti-Dreyfusards who were perceived to be threatening the Republic). This government was the first time a French Socialist, Millerand, had held cabinet office in the
Third Republic. - In the longer term, the Dreyfus affair galvanized both anti-Semitism on the Right and anti-clericalism on the Left in France. In the latter case, this led to the expulsion of most religious orders from France, the closure of most religious schools and the separation of Church and State in 1905.
- It is arguable that the Dreyfus affair prevented the development of a moderate Catholic political party supportive of the Republic. Instead, a section of the Right developed into Action Française, a movement that emphasized the supremacy of the state and a national community based on “blood and soil” and which stood against French Revolutionary ideas.
The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. However, the list is not exhaustive and no set answer is required.
Examiners are reminded of the need to apply the markbands that provide the “best fit” to the responses given by candidates and to award credit wherever it is possible to do so.
[20 marks]
Examiners report
[N/A]
