Théophile Jeusset (25 April 1910 – 14 May 1968) was a

Breton nationalist Breton nationalism (, ) is the nationalism of the historical province of Brittany, France. Brittany is considered to be one of the six Celtic nations (along with Cornwall, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Scotland and Wales). Breton ''nationalism'' wa ...

writer and

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 ...

political activist. He is also known by his

Breton language Breton (, , ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic languages, Celtic language group spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albei ...

pseudonym Jean-Yves Keraudren. Born 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 ...

, Jeusset adopted militant Breton nationalism from his youth. Initially associated with 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 ...

, Jeusset broke away from it to form the fascistic

Breiz da Zont Breiz da Zont (Brittany of the Future), was a Breton nationalist periodical active during the 1930s. It was affiliated to an extremist offshoot of the Breton Autonomist Party. Initially, Breiz da Zont was the organ of the nationalist grouping know ...

movement and its political wing, the ''Parti nationaliste intégral breton'' (Breton Integral Nationalist Party: PNIB). The party was, however, tiny. Jeusset later joined with fellow nationalist extremists

Gwilherm Berthou Gwilherm Berthou (10 May 1908, Paimpol – 14 March 1951, Rennes) was a Breton nationalist and Neo-druidic, neo-Druidic bardic poet. He was a member of the Breton artistic movement Seiz Breur. Terrorism Berthou was born in Paimpol, Côtes-d'Armor ...

and

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 ...

to found ''Kentoc'h Mervel'' (Sooner Death), a group dedicated to direct action. Lainé, however, insisted that a more tightly organized group was necessary, going on to create the terrorist cell '' Gwenn ha du''. After ''Gwenn ha du'' performed its first violent act, blowing up a sculpture, Jeusset was one of six nationalist militants who were arrested and detained. Jeusset linked Breton nationalism to

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

, writing in 1931:

It is due to our particular resistance to the conquest of sovereign French territory by the corrupting ideas which emanate more or less from the Jews - 'freemasonry', 'secularism' - etc, that the Bretons were decimated during the last world war: over 200,000 of them. It is easy to invoke military explanations for this carnage, but that does not alter the fact the actual organizer of troop dispositions was the Jew Abrahami, born... in the ghetto of Constantinople.

Jeusset was later associated with

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 ...

who founded the Breton National Party on the model of the Nazi Party. During

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 ...

Jeusset broke away from Mordrel to create his own party once more, the

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 ...

, but he was unable to obtain many followers. Jeusset eventually joined Lainé's Bezen Perrot militia, which was affiliated to the SS. Captured after the war, Jeusset was sentenced to forced labor for life, albeit he was released from prison in 1951. In 1965 he published an autobiographical memoir: ''A Contre-courant'' (''Against the Current'').Ecrivans de Bretagne
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeusset, Theophile 1910 births 1968 deaths Politicians from Rennes Breton Autonomist Party politicians Breton National Party politicians Breton Social-National Workers' Movement politicians Breton collaborators with Nazi Germany French fascists French prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment French Waffen-SS personnel Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by France People convicted of indignité nationale