Founded | 1919 |
---|---|
Political alignment | Groupe Régionaliste Breton (1919-1927) Breton Autonomist Party (1927-1931) Breton National Party (1931-1939) |
Language | Breton, French |
Ceased publication | 1939, briefly revived in 1944 |
Country | France |
Breiz Atao (also Breizh Atao) (in Breton Brittany For Ever cf. Breizh atav), was a Breton nationalist journal in the mid-twentieth century. It was written in French, and has always been considered as a French nationalist journal by the non-francized Bretons. The term is also used for the broader movement associated with the journal's political position.
Founded in 1918 in the aftermath of World War I, Breiz Atao would exist throughout the inter-war years. It was highly influenced by the Irish War of Independence, which began in 1916 and whose aftermath ran into the 1920s. Early on it adopted an official pan-Celtic policy, and a strong pan-Latin use of the French language. In its later years it became associated with a Nordicist blood and soil ideology with aspects in common with Nazism. It ceased publication in 1940, but was revived for an individual issue that appeared in 1944.
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.
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 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 moved to Ireland.
Breton nationalism is the nationalism of the historical province of Brittany, France. Brittany is considered to be one of the six Celtic nations.
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.
Long before World War II, the various Breton nationalist organizations were often anti-French and anti-colonialist, opposed to the Central Government's policy of linguistic imperialism, and critical to varying degrees of post-French Revolution-style Republicanism. Some Breton nationalists were openly pro-fascist. The extent to which this led Breton nationalists into collaboration with the Axis Powers and their motivations, remains a matter of often bitter historical controversy and debate.
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.
Feiz ha Breiz is the principal weekly journal in the Breton language. It originally appeared from 1865 to 1884, then was revived from 1899 to 1944, and then again from 1945 onwards.
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.
Morvan Marchal was an architect and a prominent member of the Breton national movement. 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.
René-Yves Creston, born René Pierre Joseph Creston, was a Breton artist, designer and ethnographer who founded the Breton nationalist art movement Seiz Breur. During World War II he was active in the French Resistance.
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.
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.
The bomb attack of 7 August 1932 in Rennes was aimed at a work by the sculptor Jean Boucher, symbolizing the union of Brittany and France, and placed in a niche in Rennes City Hall. Since its inauguration in 1911, the statue, representing Anne of Brittany, had been considered degrading by the Breton movement, due to its kneeling position before the King of France.