Bidspirit auction | (ANTISEMITICA). ERNEST CRÉMIEU-FOA. La Campagne

(ANTISEMITICA). ERNEST CRÉMIEU-FOA. La Campagne Antisémitique: Les Duels, les Responsabilités. Mémoire avec Pièces Justificatives. FIRST EDITION.  pp. viii, 103. Brittle. Original printed wrappers, loose and chipped. Lg. 4to. Paris Alcan-Lévy, 1892 The notorious antisemitic publicist Eduard Drumont played a critical role in creating the hate-filled atmosphere that paved the way for the infamous Dreyfus Affair. In the summer of 1892, responding to Drumont’s attacks, a Jewish army officer, Captain André Cremieu-Foa, challenged Drumont to a duel. The clash was bloodless and neither party could claim satisfaction. A series of duels followed, ultimately leading to the death of a Jewish officer, Captain Armand Mayer. When Cremieu-Foa himself wanted to engage in another duel, the Minister of War abruptly posted him to a war zone in North Africa, where he succumbed to a combination of wounds received in battle and a fever. Ironically, for his duel with Drumont, Captain Cremieu-Foa chose as his second a Captain Walsin-Estherhazy - the same officer who was later shown to be the true perpetrator of the treachery of which Alfred Dreyfus was falsely convicted. Cremieu-Foa’s brother Ernest memorialized his brother’s heroism and that of other Jewish officers in this work, which chronicles this violent prologue to the Dreyfus Affair.