Louis-Paul Némo (18 November 1900 – 29 June 1978), better known by the pseudonym Roparz Hemon, was a
Breton author and scholar of
Breton expression. He was the author of numerous dictionaries, grammars, poems and short stories. He also founded ''
Gwalarn Gwalarn ("Northwesterly") was a Breton language literary journal. By extension, the term refers to the style of literature that it encouraged. 166 issues (numbered from 0 to 165) appeared between 1925 and May 1944.
The journal was founded by Ropar ...
'', a literary journal in Breton where many young authors published their first writings during the 1920s and 1930s.
Life and works
Surprisingly, Roparz Hemon, who was born as Louis Nemo in
Brest, was not a native speaker of the
Breton language
Breton (, ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic languages, Brittonic language of the Celtic languages, Celtic language family spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic languag ...
.
His father, Eugène Nemo, was born illegitimately, but was discreetly provided for by his biological father, and went on to become both a mechanical engineer and an officer in the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
. His mother, Julie Foricher, was a girl's school teacher. Although Hemon's Foricher grandparents were native Breton speakers, they had both chosen to speak only French to their children and grandchildren. By the time of Hemon's birth on 18 November, 1900, the family was upper middle class.
Despite the
religious persecution
Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs or affiliations or their lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within societies to alienate o ...
of the
Affaire des Fiches
The Affair of the Cards (french: Affaire des Fiches), sometimes called the Affair of the Casseroles,The appellation is certified by Paul Naudon1. In the slang of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, “casserole” meant someone who cooked to ...
, the Nemo family remained practicing Catholics and attended traditional Breton
Pardon
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ...
s, particularly those in
Le Folgoët and
Locronan. Hemon's sister later recalled that her brother took great delight in hearing the Breton sermons and
hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
s, which he kept trying to recite afterwards, despite not understanding them.
Hemon served in the
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...
at the beginning of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, where he was wounded and taken prisoner by the Germans.
Back in Brest in August 1940, he took back publishing ''Gwalarn''. In November 1940, he was appointed as director of programmes at ''
Radio Roazhon-Breizh'', a
Breton language
Breton (, ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic languages, Brittonic language of the Celtic languages, Celtic language family spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic languag ...
weekly broadcast set up by the ''
Propagandastaffel''.
[Breton literature during German Occupation](_blank)
, Mercator, The University of Wales From 1941, he directed the weekly publication ''Arvor''. In October 1942, Hemon was appointed by
Leo Weisgerber
Johann Leo Weisgerber (25 February 1899, Metz – 8 August 1985, Bonn) was a Lorraine-born German linguist who also specialized in Celtic linguistics. He developed the "organicist" or "relativist" theory that different languages produce differen ...
to help found the "Celtic Institute of Brittany". Hemon rendered other services to the Germans, like helping in compiling files against ''
préfet
A prefect (french: préfet, plural ''préfets'') in France is the state's representative in a department or region. Subprefects (French: ''sous-préfets'') are responsible for the subdivisions of departments, known as arrondissements. The offi ...
'' Ripert.
At the Liberation, Hemon fled to
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, where he was imprisoned. After one year of jail he was sentenced by the
Fourth French Republic
The French Fourth Republic (french: Quatrième république française) was the republican government of France from 27 October 1946 to 4 October 1958, governed by the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Third Re ...
to ten years of "
dégradation nationale" for the offence of "
Indignité nationale".
He decided therefore to go in exile to
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
. He worked there for the
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) ( ga, Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a statutory independent research institute in Ireland. It was established in 1940 on the initiative of the Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, in Dub ...
.
He would never go back to Brittany. Despite all this he never stopped working for the Breton
language revival
Language revitalization, also referred to as language revival or reversing language shift, is an attempt to halt or reverse the decline of a language or to revive an extinct one. Those involved can include linguists, cultural or community groups, o ...
, and wrote for instance ''A Historical Morphology and Syntax of Breton'' in 1975. He created the magazine ''Ar Bed Keltiek'' that resembled ''Kannadig Gwalarn'' or ''Arvor''. He died in 1978 and was buried in Brest.
Attack on his reputation
Hemon's reputation as a scholar led to the naming of institutions in Brittany after him. In 2000 controversy erupted over this, as Hemon's role as a Collaborator during the Occupation was researched and publicised. Some of his statements made at the time were also disinterred, particularly the
anti-French opinions expressed in ''Ni hon unan''. As a result, the Breton-medium school, or
Diwan in
Le Relecq-Kerhuon, and the Cultural centre of
Guingamp
Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 6,895 as of 2017, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Guing ...
, which had been named after Hemon, had to change names.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemon, Roparz
20th-century lexicographers
20th-century French poets
1900 births
1978 deaths
Breton collaborators with Nazi Germany
Breton language activists
Breton-language writers
Breton-language poets
Francophobia in Europe
French lexicographers
French Army personnel of World War II
French prisoners of war in World War II
World War II prisoners of war held by Germany
Writers from Brest, France