After nightly scenes of antisemitic rioting, reminiscent of the antisemitic outbursts which were a regular feature of Parisian life during the Dreyfus affair over thirty years ago, “L’Affaire Dreyfus”, M. Jacques Richepin’s play on the Dreyfus affair, which has been running at the Nouvelle Ambigue Theatre, has been withdrawn, following are quiet for its withdrawal made to the management by the Prefect of Police.
The police authorities appear to have been concerned over a threat made yesterday by the Right Wing organisation of ex-soldiers, the Croix de Feu (Cross of Fire), that if the play was not withdrawn, they would take action to put a stop to it. The General Organisation of Ex-Soldiers has to-day published a statement dissociating itself from the attitude of the Croix de Feu.
Jewish circles here are much concerned over this demonstration of antisemitic strength in France, recalling the recent successes of the Hitlerists in getting “All Quiet” prohibited in Berlin and Vienna by keeping up a regular campaign of rioting, to which the authorities finally capitulated.
The antisemitic passions which ran high during the Dreyfus affair have been found by this new affair to be still alive in France, the Royalist and military circles who contended that the Jew Dreyfus was guilty appearing to have a strong following still, despite the verdict of history, even to the extent of a woman publicly proclaiming herself as Esterhazy’s daughter and making an attack in the theatre on M. Richepin, the author of the play, because it depicted Esterhazy as the traitor.
The antisemitic disturbances started in connection with the Dreyfus play have been spreading in the last few days also in other directions (as reported in the J.T.A. Bulletin of the 6th. inst.), and there is some fear lest the Nationalists, encouraged by their success in compelling the withdrawal of the Dreyfus play, organise a disturbance now to break up a lecture to be given here this evening on the Dreyfus affair by Dr. Bruno Weil, one of the leaders of the Central Union of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith, who was instrumental in uncovering the Dreyfus documents in the archives of the German Foreign Office, and has recently published an authoritative book on the Dreyfus affair, which has been translated from the German into French and several other languages.
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