Bezen Perrot
Encyclopedia
The Bezen Perrot was a Breton
collaborationist force during the Nazi occupation of France
that grew from the earlier Lu Brezhon militia. Led by Célestin Lainé
and Alan Heusaff
, as many as 70 to 80 people joined the ranks of the Bezen Perrot, or "Perrot Unit", at one point or another. They fought under German uniform and command, as the Bretonische Waffenverband der SS.
Before the war Lainé had created the organization Gwenn ha du
as a Breton nationalist direct action unit modelled on the IRA
. The activists behind this were defined as members of a group called Service Spécial. This unit had formed the basis of an elite militant group affiliated to the nationalist militia Bagadou Stourm.
In the later stages of World War II
Lainé decided to separate from Bagadou Stourm and integrate with the SS in the face of the assassination of several leading figures of the Breton cultural movement. One of those assassinated was priest and Breton language
defender Abbé Perrot
, killed by the French Resistance
. The militia had originally been named Bezen Kadoudal, after the anti-Jacobin Breton rebel Georges Cadoudal
. The 1943 assassination of the priest prompted Lainé to change the organization's name in honor of Perrot during December of that year.
It had already been envisaged by German strategists that in the event of Allied invasion the Breton nationalists would form a rearguard, and that further nationalist troops could be parachuted into Brittany. However, the rapid American advance from Normandy into Brittany forced the group to retreat along with the German army. In Tübingen
many members were provided with false papers by Leo Weisgerber
. Following the war many of the organization's members, including Lainé, Heusaff and the nationalist poet Fant Rozec
fled to Ireland
.
Breton people
The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...
collaborationist force during the Nazi occupation of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
that grew from the earlier Lu Brezhon militia. Led by Célestin Lainé
Célestin Lainé
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 lived in Ireland.- Breton terrorism :He was born in 1908 in Nantes...
and Alan Heusaff
Alan Heusaff
Alan Heusaff, also Alan Heussaff was a Breton nationalist, linguist, dictionary compiler, prolific journalist and lifetime campaigner for solidarity between the Celtic peoples...
, as many as 70 to 80 people joined the ranks of the Bezen Perrot, or "Perrot Unit", at one point or another. They fought under German uniform and command, as the Bretonische Waffenverband der SS.
Before the war Lainé had created the organization Gwenn ha du
Gwenn ha du (terrorism)
Gwenn ha Du was a Breton-based terrorist group founded at the end of 1930 in Paris by Célestin Lainé. It advocated Breton nationalism through "direct action" and published a secret manual aimed at instructing readers in terrorism...
as a Breton nationalist direct action unit modelled on the IRA
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
. The activists behind this were defined as members of a group called Service Spécial. This unit had formed the basis of an elite militant group affiliated to the nationalist militia Bagadou Stourm.
In the later stages of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Lainé decided to separate from Bagadou Stourm and integrate with the SS in the face of the assassination of several leading figures of the Breton cultural movement. One of those assassinated was priest and Breton language
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
defender Abbé Perrot
Jean-Marie Perrot
The abbé Jean-Marie Perrot, in Breton Yann Vari Perrot , was a French priest, Breton independentist and collaborator assassinated by the communist resistance. He was the founder of the Breton Catholic movement Bleun-Brug.- Early life :Perrot was raised in a provincial Breton-speaking family...
, killed by the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
. The militia had originally been named Bezen Kadoudal, after the anti-Jacobin Breton rebel Georges Cadoudal
Georges Cadoudal
Georges Cadoudal , sometimes called simply Georges, was a French/Breton politician, and leader of the Chouannerie during the French Revolution....
. The 1943 assassination of the priest prompted Lainé to change the organization's name in honor of Perrot during December of that year.
It had already been envisaged by German strategists that in the event of Allied invasion the Breton nationalists would form a rearguard, and that further nationalist troops could be parachuted into Brittany. However, the rapid American advance from Normandy into Brittany forced the group to retreat along with the German army. In Tübingen
Tübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
many members were provided with false papers by Leo Weisgerber
Leo Weisgerber
Leo Weisgerber was a Lorraine-born German linguist specializing in Celtic linguistics. He developed the "organicist" theory that different languages produce different experiences...
. Following the war many of the organization's members, including Lainé, Heusaff and the nationalist poet Fant Rozec
Meavenn
Meavenn was the pen name of Francine Rozec, also known as Fant Rozec, a Breton language poet, novelist and playwright linked to Breton nationalism.-Biography:...
fled to Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
.
External links
- Bezen Perrot: The Breton nationalist unit of the SS, 1943-5, by Daniel Leach