''L'Heure Bretonne'' ("The Breton Times") was a

Breton nationalist Breton nationalism (Breton: ''roadelouriezh Brezhoneg'', French: ''nationalisme Breton'') is a form of regional nationalism associated with the region of Brittany in France. The political aspirations of Breton nationalists include the desire ...

weekly newspaper which was published from June 1940 to June 1944. It was the organ of the

Breton National Party The Breton National Party (French ''Parti National Breton'', Breton ''Strollad Broadel Breizh'') 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 o ...

and was strongly associated with collaborationist politics during

World War II 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 opposin ...

Origins

In July 1940, after the

Fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...

, the pro-German Breton nationalists François Debeauvais and

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 a ...

called the Congress of

Pontivy Pontivy (; ) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It lies at the confluence of the river Blavet and the Canal de Nantes à Brest. Inhabitants of Pontivy are called ''Pontivyens'' in French. Map History ...

, at which they created the Breton National Committee to coordinate Breton nationalist projects. The committee decided to found the weekly newspaper ''L'Heure Bretonne''. The first issue was symbolically dated 14 July (

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...

) 1940. The paper was in practice a continuation of the nationalists' earlier journal '' Breiz Atao''.Piette, Gwenno (2000) ''Breton Literature During the German Occupation (1940-1944) Reflections of Collaboration?'', presented at University of Ulster, Coleraine, at a conference on the theme of ‘Celtic Literature in the 20th Century’

Publication

The newspaper was published in Rennes in the headquarters of the Breton National Committee. 201 issues were published between July 1940 and June 1944.

Morvan Lebesque Morvan Lebesque (January 11, 1911 in Nantes, France – 4 July 1970 in Brazil), was the Breton language name of Maurice Lebesque, a Breton nationalist activist and French journalist. Lebesque was born in Nantes, at the Quai Barbin (now dock Barbus ...

was its first editor, for two months in 1940. He later said he left when it became obvious that the Committee wanted the paper to pursue a pro-Nazi line. He was followed as editor by Jean Merrien, a close associate of Olier Mordrel, who left when Mordrel was ousted from the leadership of the Breton National Party. By 1942 ''L'Heure Bretonne'' had a circulation of about 25,000 and employed fifty members of staff at its offices in Rennes. In August 1940, some nationalists selling ''L'Heure Bretonne'' were detained at

Quimper Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department. Geography The ...

by the Germans, but after this incident, the paper was published and circulated without problems until June 4, 1944. Its editorial line was consistent with German propaganda. It attacked Jews, leftist "Jacobins" and the English. However, it also attacked the French in general, on behalf of the "Breton race ", and new "Aryan" Europe in which the Bretons would take an active role.

Content

The content of the newspaper reflects its intransigent separatist politics and repeated challenge to the Vichy government. The newspaper took particular care to avoid offending the German occupying forces. However it did not adopt explicitly Nazi ideological rhetoric, despite its solidarity with Germany's war effort, with weekly articles recounting the exploits of the Wehrmacht in Russia. The attitude of the paper was expressed by former communist

Abeozen François Eliès, born Fañch Eliès Garzanti p. 1 and better known by the pseudonym Abeozen, (1896 Saint-Sauveur, Finistère – 1963 La Baule) was a Breton nationalist, novelist and dramatist who wrote in the Breton language. Abeozen was also ...

in November 1940:

I would rather clasp vigorously the hand of the passers-by, singing their conquest song, and stare right into their eyes without the least hatred. Because I have sound reasons for believing that the conquerors of the West will not hinder us in the slightest in the success of our task : to build a New Brittany on the ruins of the old World.

The main themes addressed by the newspaper are the history of Brittany, the misdeeds of

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

and a repeated and extreme

Anglophobia Anti-English sentiment or Anglophobia (from Latin ''Anglus'' "English" and Greek φόβος, ''phobos'', "fear") means opposition to, dislike of, fear of, hatred of, or the oppression and persecution of England and/or English people.''Oxford ...

. It also covered daily life in Brittany, with articles on the peasantry, crafts, modern Breton design, and so on.

Antisemitism

Following the

mass arrest A mass arrest occurs when police apprehend large numbers of suspects at once. This sometimes occurs at protests. Some mass arrests are also used in an effort to combat gang activity. This is sometimes controversial, and lawsuits sometimes result. ...

of Jews in Paris known as the

Vel' d'Hiv Roundup The Vel' d'Hiv' Roundup ( ; from french: Rafle du Vel' d'Hiv', an abbreviation of ) was a mass arrest of foreign Jewish families by Vichy France, French police and Gendarmerie, gendarmes at the behest of the Nazi Germany, German authorities, tha ...

on 16 and 17 July 1942, ''L'Heure Bretonne'' published a front page article entitled ''À la porte les juifs et les enjuivés'' ("Show Jews and the Judaized the Door") under the signature "DR" (No. 105, July 18, 1942). In the same vein,

Job Jaffré Joseph-Marie Jaffré, better known as Job Jaffré (May 6, 1906 - March 12, 1986), was a French journalist and Breton nationalist. He also published under pseudonyms, most notably as Jos Pempoull. Jaffré was born in Berné, Morbihan. His journali ...

, under his pseudonym "Tug", published a denunciation of the bombings committed by the forces of "youtre-Atlantique", a wordplay on "''outre-Atlantique''" ("over the Atlantic") and "''youtre''", a derogatory term for "Jew" (April 1943, No. 142). Later in the same year, he wrote that he expected a "reversal of alliance... when the Jewish problem has been eliminated" (October 1943, No. 171, under the initials St. K.)

Bibliography

* Bertrand Frélaut, ', Brasparts, Beltan, 1985. * ''L'Heure bretonne''. , from July 1940 to (Mai 1944)

References