History
Creation
The journal was first published in January 1919. Initially the editorial group focussed mostly on cultural aspects of Brittany, but very soon the journal evolved into the official forum of the Breton French-speaking autonomist movement. Its founders were Camille Le Mercier d'Erm, Job Loyant, Morvan Marchal and Job de Roincé. It was founded by the Groupe Régionaliste Breton, presided by Job Breiz, collaborating with Korentin Kerlann). They were soon joined by young French speaking intellectuals Yann Bricler, Olier Mordrel and François Debauvais, who soon took up important roles within the group.
Breiz Atao organised a congress (in French) in September 1927 in Rosporden at which the Breton Autonomist Party (Parti Autonomiste Breton, or PAB) was founded. At its first meeting Maurice Duhamel was charged with maintaining links with wider French speaking political movements in France, in particular the French left wing, and became chief-editor of Breiz Atao. He gave the PAB a leftist and federalistic stance.
However during the 11 April 1931 congress, the PAB fractured into different factions. The factionalism led to the abandonment of the journal Breiz Atao, which was briefly replaced by the journal "War Sao", run by the nationalist faction in Trégor, Goëlo and Cornouaille, who were preaching (in French) full Breton independence.
Drift towards fascism
On 27 December 1931, in Landerneau, the first congress of the new Parti National Breton took place. Breiz Atao reappeared as the mouthpiece of the militants led by Olier Mordrel and François Debauvais.
In March 1933, Breiz Atao published a draft political programme, drawn up by Mordrel. In this program, Mordrel created a proposed constitution for an independent Breton state, to which the French state should concede some of its resources, including overseas colonies, art, libraries, industrial equipment etc. Its borders would be determined "by way of a plebiscite". He also suggested the exclusion of foreigners from citizenship, and of all persons of mixed race; people from a Nordic background would be given preference. The new state should ensure "control of youth's education, designed to make men physically and morally healthy".
In July 1940, at a Pontivy congress, Debeauvis and Mordrel decided on editing a new journal, L'Heure Bretonne (The Breton Hour). This journal succeeded Breiz Atao. However Célestin Lainé, head of Bezen Perrot, an SS-affiliated militia, printed a one-off special issue in 1944, containing the recently deceased Debeauvais's statement of support for Lainé's activities.
Célestin Lainé (1908–1983) was a Breton nationalist and collaborator during the Second World War who led the SS affiliated Bezen Perrot militia. His Breton language name is Neven Hénaff. He was a chemical engineer by training. After the war he lived in Ireland.
Breton nationalism is a form of regional nationalism associated with the region of Brittany in France. The political aspirations of Breton nationalists include the desire to obtain the right to self-rule, whether within France or independently of it, and to acquire more power in the European Union, United Nations and other international institutions.
The Breton Social-National Workers' Movement was a nationalist, separatist, and Fascist movement founded in 1941 by Théophile Jeusset. It emerged in Brittany from a deviationist faction of the Breton National Party; it disappeared the same year.
Olier Mordrel is the Breton language version of Olivier Mordrelle, a Breton nationalist and wartime collaborator with the Third Reich who founded the separatist Breton National Party. Before the war, he worked as an architect. His architectural work was influenced by Art Deco and the International style of Le Corbusier. He was also an essayist, short story writer, and translator. Mordrel wrote some of his works under the pen names Jean de La Bénelais, J. La B, Er Gédour, A. Calvez, Otto Mohr, Brython, and Olivier Launay.
Before and during World War II, the various Breton nationalist movements were generally right-wing, and sometimes fascist. The extent to which this led to collaboration with the Nazi occupiers of France during the war, together with their motivations, is a matter of historical controversy.
The Breton National Party was a nationalist party in Brittany that existed from 1931 to 1944. The party was disbanded after the liberation of France in World War II, because of ties to the Third Reich.
François Debeauvais was a Breton nationalist and wartime collaborator with Nazi Germany. His name is also spelled in many "Breton" variants: François Debauvais, Fransez Debeauvais, Fransez Debauvais, Fañch Debeauvais, Fañch Debauvais, Fañch deb.
The Breton National Committee was a Breton nationalist body founded on July 3, 1940 at the so-called "Congress of Pontivy", headed by François Debeauvais and Olier Mordrel. It was designed to promote Breton independence from France by collaboration with the occupying German forces. They drew up a proclamation of eighteen points, known as "Pontivy Programme". They also created a new journal, l'Heure Bretonne. 201 issues appeared between July 1940 and June 1944. Its first editor was Morvan Lebesque until December 1940, then Jean Merrien.
Morvan Marchal, is the Breton name of Maurice Marchal, an architect and a militant Breton nationalist. He is best known for having designed the national flag of Brittany.
The Bezen Perrot, officially the Breton SS Armed Formation was a small collaborationist unit established by Breton nationalists in German-occupied France during World War II. It was made up of personnel from Lu Brezhon, a Breton nationalist militia, under the leadership of Célestin Lainé.
The Breton Federalist League was a short-lived Breton political party in the 1930s. A new organization with the same name was created in the 21st century.
The Breton Autonomist Party was a political party which existed in Brittany from 1927 to 1931.
Maurice Duhamel was the pen-name of Maurice Bourgeaux, a Breton musician, writer and activist who was a leading figure in Breton nationalism and federalist politics in the years before World War II.
Breiz da Zont, was a Breton nationalist periodical active during the 1930s. It was affiliated to an extremist offshoot of the Breton Autonomist Party.
Théophile Jeusset was a Breton nationalist writer and fascist political activist. He is also known by his Breton language pseudonym Jean-Yves Keraudren.
Gwilherm Berthou was a Breton nationalist and neo-Druidic bardic poet. He was a member of the Breton artistic movement Seiz Breur.
Youenn Drezen is the Breton language name of Yves Le Drézen, a Breton nationalist writer and activist. He is also known as Corentin Cariou and Tin Gariou.
François-Joseph-Claude Jaffrennou was a Breton language writer and editor. He was a Breton nationalist and a neo-druid bard. He is also known as François Taldir-Jaffrennou, since he also used the Druidic name Taldir. He was one of the pioneers of the Breton autonomist movement.
Camille Le Mercier d'Erm was a French poet, historian and Breton nationalist. He later adopted the neo-Bardic name Kammermor. He is also known as Kamil Ar Merser 'Erm, the Breton language form of his name. His work as a poet and historian is marked by nationalist claims and calls to rebellion against the French state on the model of Irish nationalism.
L'Heure Bretonne was a Breton nationalist weekly newspaper which was published from June 1940 to June 1944. It was the organ of the Breton National Party and was strongly associated with collaborationist politics during World War II.
