--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Understand this! A year ago General…" description: "\"“Understand this! A year ago General Billot and Generals de Boisdeffre and Gonse knew that Dreyfus was innocent, and they have kept this frightful thin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/mile-zola-1188_dreyfus_understand-this-a-year-ago-general-billo_830914.jpg" --- # Understand this! A year ago General Billot and Generals de… ![“Understand this! A year ago General Billot and Generals de Boisdeffre and Gonse knew that Dreyfus was innocent, and they have kept this frightful thing to themselves. And these men sleep and have wives and children whom they love!” quote by Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/mile-zola-1188_dreyfus_understand-this-a-year-ago-general-billo_830914.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/mile-zola-1188_dreyfus_understand-this-a-year-ago-general-billo_830914.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/mile-zola-1188_dreyfus_understand-this-a-year-ago-general-billo_830914.jpg) > ““Understand this! A year ago General Billot and Generals de Boisdeffre and Gonse knew that Dreyfus was innocent, and they have kept this frightful thing to themselves. And these men sleep and have wives and children whom they love!”” [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Zola condemns the silence of powerful officials who knew the truth about Dreyfus yet concealed it, highlighting moral cowardice and the personal cost of injustice. **In simple terms:** Powerful people hid truth, hurting many. Key Takeaway Speak truth despite risk. Themes justice silence morality politics Mood ouaged defiant somber Type historical political ethical When to use this quote - journalism - legal advocacy - public protest - whistleblowing Key Concepts ethical responsibility institutional betrayal courage Questions to Reflect On - Who have you seen stay silent about injustice? - What would you risk to expose truth? A Different Perspective Silence may protect the guilty but harms the innocent and erodes trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreyfus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreyfus/) ## Related quotes > [As you know, I am a novelist, and I really want to write novels. But I knew enough about the Dreyfus case to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-begley/as-you-know-i-am-a-novelist-and-i-really-want-to-write-novels-but-i/) [Louis Begley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-begley/) > [“On the summit of a desolate rock on Devil’s Island, far from the few palm trees on the shore, a small hut of four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/on-the-summit-of-a-desolate-rock-on-devil-s-island-far-from-the-few/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“The preconceived opinion which they brought to the Bench was evidently this: “Dreyfus has been condemned for the crime of treason by a Court-Martial;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/the-preconceived-opinion-which-they-brought-to-the-bench-was/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“In January 1898 Zola took an important part in the defense of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a French Jew unjustly accused of selling military secrets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/in-january-1898-zola-took-an-important-part-in-the-defense-of-captain/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [My views about the safety of Jews in the world have not been changed by the work on the Dreyfus affair or, for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-begley/my-views-about-the-safety-of-jews-in-the-world-have-not-been-changed/) [Louis Begley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-begley/) > [“...it has always been my temperament to prefer a tiny amount of the excellent to a plenitude of the mediocre...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/it-has-always-been-my-temperament-to-prefer-a-tiny-amount-of-the/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [The Dreyfus Affair is an exceptional case. It's true that here and there you can find some dregs of anti-Semitism, but the situation is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-marie-le-pen/the-dreyfus-affair-is-an-exceptional-case-it-s-true-that-here-and/) [Jean-Marie Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-marie-le-pen/) > [“How many people live in the moment? A few? How many people live for tomorrow at the sacrifice of today?" Dreyfus opened his fist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doetsch/how-many-people-live-in-the-moment-a-few-how-many-people-live-for/) [Richard Doetsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-doetsch/) > [“We forgive the crimes of individuals, but not their participation in a collective crime.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-forgive-the-crimes-of-individuals-but-not-their-participation-in-a/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [From my point of view, the Dreyfus affair is most interesting because it was sparked by a single cause celebre. Just one court case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/from-my-point-of-view-the-dreyfus-affair-is-most-interesting-because/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [“It was not, however, to these Fascist groups, numerically unimportant as they were, that the Third Republic owed its collapse. On the contrary, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/it-was-not-however-to-these-fascist-groups-numerically-unimportant-as/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“Saddened by the misfortune of the Jews, remembering his friendship with Christians, increasingly mannered and affected as time went on for reasons to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/saddened-by-the-misfortune-of-the-jews-remembering-his-friendship/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## More by Émile Zola > [“Hélène, her eyes once more raised and remote, was deep in a dream. 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A few? How many people live for tomorrow at the sacrifice of today?" Dreyfus opened his fist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doetsch/how-many-people-live-in-the-moment-a-few-how-many-people-live-for/) [Richard Doetsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-doetsch/) > [“We forgive the crimes of individuals, but not their participation in a collective crime.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-forgive-the-crimes-of-individuals-but-not-their-participation-in-a/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [From my point of view, the Dreyfus affair is most interesting because it was sparked by a single cause celebre. Just one court case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/from-my-point-of-view-the-dreyfus-affair-is-most-interesting-because/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [“It was not, however, to these Fascist groups, numerically unimportant as they were, that the Third Republic owed its collapse. On the contrary, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/it-was-not-however-to-these-fascist-groups-numerically-unimportant-as/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“On the summit of a desolate rock on Devil’s Island, far from the few palm trees on the shore, a small hut of four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/on-the-summit-of-a-desolate-rock-on-devil-s-island-far-from-the-few/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) [Browse all 13 Dreyfus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreyfus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Understand this! A year ago General Billot and Generals de Boisdeffre and Gonse knew that Dreyfus was innocent, and they have kept this frightful thing to themselves. 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