ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

The Dreyfus Affair (film series)

Okay kiddo, the Dreyfus Affair is a story of a man named Alfred Dreyfus who was a soldier in the army of France a long time ago, when your grandparents were not even born yet.

So, one day some secret government documents were stolen and to find out who did it, the army started an investigation. They found some evidence that pointed towards Alfred Dreyfus.

But here's the thing: they didn't have enough proof to say for sure that he was guilty. But instead of looking for more evidence, they decided to say that he was definitely guilty anyway, and sent him to a prison in an island where people were sent if they were accused of doing something really bad.

A lot of people believed that Alfred was innocent and that the army was just trying to blame him because he was Jewish. That means that they were treating him unfairly because of his religion, which is not okay.

Some people got really upset about how Alfred was being treated, so they tried to show everyone that he was not guilty. They even made some movies and TV shows about it. These movies and TV series are called ‘The Dreyfus Affair’.

In the end, after a lot of people fought for his justice, Alfred was finally found innocent and set free from prison. It was a big win for justice and fairness, and it’s an important story that shows us how important it is to treat everyone fairly, no matter where they come from or what religion they practice.