The Breton National Party (

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

''Parti National Breton'',

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

: ''Strollad Broadel Breizh'') was a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

party in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

that existed from 1931 to 1944. The party was disbanded after the

liberation of France The liberation of France () in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance. Nazi Germany in ...

in World War II, because of ties to the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

History

The PNB was formed in the aftermath of split between

federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

s and nationalists within the

Breton Autonomist Party The Breton Autonomist Party ( or PAB, ) was a political party which existed in Brittany from 1927 to 1931. Origin The party was created at the first congress of the nationalist journal '' Breiz Atao'' in Rosporden in September 1927. It followed fr ...

(PAB), following the Congress of Guingamp in August 1931. Following the collapse of the PAB, the federalists led by

Morvan Marchal Morvan Marchal (; 31 July 1900, Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine – 13 August 1963, Paris; also known as Maurice Marchal) was an architect and a prominent member of the Breton national movement. He is best known for having designed the national fla ...

formed the Breton Federalist League; the nationalist faction, led by

Olier Mordrel Olier Mordrel (29 April 1901 – 25 October 1985) 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 ...

, decided to found a new party with a clearly nationalist agenda, namely seeking Breton independence from France. This revived the programme of the previous

Breton Nationalist Party The Breton Nationalist Party (''Parti nationaliste breton'', or PNB) was a French political party that advocated independence for Brittany. It existed from 1911 to 1914. Origins It was founded in October 1911 under the patronage of a committee o ...

, which had existed from 1911-1914. A congress was held in

Landerneau Landerneau (; , ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. It lies at the mouth of the Elorn River which divides the Breton provinces of Cornouaille and Léon, east of Brest. The name is from Lan Ter ...

on December 27, 1931. The following year, activists led by

Célestin Lainé Célestin Lainé (25 October 1908 – 7 October 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 engin ...

bombed a sculpture in

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

representing Breton unity with France. The creation of this sculpture had spurred the foundation of the earlier party in 1911. The party was influenced by international

Celticist Celtic studies or Celtology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to the Celtic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers of Celtic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art history ...

ideas, and modelled its aspirations on Irish independence movements. It was also closely associated with

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

ideology. Because of its connections with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

the party was banned in France on the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1939, but after the defeat of France it was revived, becoming closely associated with Breton collaborationism. During the occupation France the PNB established a paramilitary, Bagadoù stourm, influenced by the SA that adopted a flag similar to that of the

Reichskriegsflagge The term (, ) refers to several war flags and war ensigns used by the German armed forces in history. A total of eight different designs were used in 1848–1849 and between 1867–1871 and 1945. Today the term refers usually to the flag from ...

. An explicitly Nazi faction broke away in 1941 under the name

Breton Social-National Workers' Movement The Breton Social-National Workers' Movement () was a nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to pro ...

. During its existence, the PNB published a newspaper, ''

L'Heure Bretonne ''L'Heure Bretonne'' ("The Breton Times") 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 Wor ...

''.

Literature

* Daniel Leach "'A sense of Nordism’: The impact of Germanic assistance upon the militant interwar Breton nationalist movement", in: ''

European Review of History The ''European Review of History'' (French: ''Revue européenne d'histoire'') is a peer-reviewed history journal. It covers all disciplines, geographic regions, and chronological periods of history, with a focus on the history of the European co ...

'', Vol. 17 (2010), No. 4, pp. 629–646.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Breton collaborators with Nazi Germany Breton nationalist parties National liberation movements Political parties in Brittany 1931 establishments in France 1944 disestablishments in France Fascist parties in France

History

Literature

See also

References

External links