Gwenn ha du (terrorism)
Encyclopedia
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. The phrase "Gwenn ha du" is the nickname for the Breton flag
, which is in these colours.
marking the union of Brittany
and France
in 1532. Its unveiling some twenty years earlier triggered the first protest by Breton Nationalists
. Célestin Lainé
made a bomb
in his bedroom, consisting of a condensed milk
carton filled with nitroglycerine. In the early hours of August 7, he set the bomb behind the head of the King of France's statue in the facade opposite the mayor
's office. At 4:00 a.m., the bomb detonated, shattering the bronze
statue and all glass
within 100 metres. On August 7, the group claimed responsibility for the attack, which was intended to coincide with the 400th anniversary celebration of the union, taking place in Vannes
under the guidance of French prime minister Édouard Herriot
. L'Humanité
, the French Communist Party
newspaper, spoke out the day after, protesting that Herriot didn't mention that all Celt
ic civilisation was wiped out, the refusal to acknowledge the Breton language
and culture. The authorities arrested six militants on August 11; the six remained imprisoned for fifty days.
and Champtocé, not long before Édouard Herriot's arrival there. The train stopped in front of the damaged rails. However, Herriot eventually got to Nantes
in time to celebrate the act of the Union between Brittany and France
. Three more attacks followed: April 13, 1936, with arson
in four préfecture
s; December 18, 1938, with the blowing up of a monument
(the Monument de la Fédération bretonne-angevine in Pontivy
); and the attack in the préfecture of Quimper on February 28, 1939.
groups working with the German occupying forces. Lainé himself led the Bezen Perrot
militia, which included former Gwenn ha du activists. After the war, surviving members were either captured or fled France. Some were later associated with the Liberation Front of Brittany
, which was active in the 1960s.
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
-based terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
group founded at the end of 1930 in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
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...
. It advocated Breton nationalism
Breton nationalism
Breton nationalism is the nationalism of the traditional province of Brittany in France. Brittany is considered to be one of the six Celtic nations...
through "direct action
Direct action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
" and published a secret manual aimed at instructing readers in terrorism. The phrase "Gwenn ha du" is the nickname for the Breton flag
Flag of Brittany
The flag of Brittany is called the Gwenn-ha-du, pronounced , which means white and black in Breton. It is also unofficially used in the département of Loire-Atlantique, although this now belongs to the Pays de la Loire and not to the région of Brittany, as the territory of Loire-Atlantique is...
, which is in these colours.
Statue bombing
In July 1932, Gwenn ha Du decided to destroy a monument it found particularly offensive: a statue created by Jean BoucherJean Boucher (artist)
Jean Boucher was a French sculptor based in Brittany. He is best known for his public memorial sculptures which communicated his liberal politics and patriotic dedication to France and Brittany.-Early years:Boucher was born in Cesson-Sévigné near Rennes, Brittany...
marking the union of Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
and 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...
in 1532. Its unveiling some twenty years earlier triggered the first protest by Breton Nationalists
Breton nationalism
Breton nationalism is the nationalism of the traditional province of Brittany in France. Brittany is considered to be one of the six Celtic nations...
. 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...
made a bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
in his bedroom, consisting of a condensed milk
Condensed milk
Condensed milk, also known as sweetened condensed milk, is cow's milk from which water has been removed and to which sugar has been added, yielding a very thick, sweet product which when canned can last for years without refrigeration if unopened. The two terms, condensed milk and sweetened...
carton filled with nitroglycerine. In the early hours of August 7, he set the bomb behind the head of the King of France's statue in the facade opposite the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
's office. At 4:00 a.m., the bomb detonated, shattering the bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
statue and all glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
within 100 metres. On August 7, the group claimed responsibility for the attack, which was intended to coincide with the 400th anniversary celebration of the union, taking place in Vannes
Vannes
Vannes is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2000 years ago.-Geography:Vannes is located on the Gulf of Morbihan at the mouth of two rivers, the Marle and the Vincin. It is around 100 km northwest of Nantes and 450 km south west...
under the guidance of French prime minister Édouard Herriot
Édouard Herriot
Édouard Marie Herriot was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic who served three times as Prime Minister and for many years as President of the Chamber of Deputies....
. L'Humanité
L'Humanité
L'Humanité , formerly the daily newspaper linked to the French Communist Party , was founded in 1904 by Jean Jaurès, a leader of the French Section of the Workers' International...
, the French Communist Party
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
newspaper, spoke out the day after, protesting that Herriot didn't mention that all Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic civilisation was wiped out, the refusal to acknowledge the 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...
and culture. The authorities arrested six militants on August 11; the six remained imprisoned for fifty days.
Later attacks
The Gwenn ha du, which presented itself as the unofficial military wing of the Parti National Breton, followed up with a few months of action. On November 20, Gwenn ha du members detonated a bomb on the railway line between IngrandesIngrandes
Ingrandes may refer to the following communes in France:* Ingrandes, Indre, in the Indre department* Ingrandes, Maine-et-Loire, in the Maine-et-Loire department* Ingrandes, Vienne, in the Vienne department...
and Champtocé, not long before Édouard Herriot's arrival there. The train stopped in front of the damaged rails. However, Herriot eventually got to Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
in time to celebrate the act of the Union between Brittany and France
Union between Brittany and France
In August 1532, King Francis I of France absorbed the independent Duchy of Brittany into the Kingdom of France. The union of Brittany and France was a step toward the unification of modern-day France.-Context:...
. Three more attacks followed: April 13, 1936, with arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
in four préfecture
Préfecture
A prefecture in France can refer to :*the Chef-lieu de département, the town in which the administration of a department is located;*the Chef-lieu de région, the town in which the administration of a region is located;...
s; December 18, 1938, with the blowing up of a monument
Monument
A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or simply as an example of historic architecture...
(the Monument de la Fédération bretonne-angevine in Pontivy
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.-History:...
); and the attack in the préfecture of Quimper on February 28, 1939.
Dissolution
A last attack was suspected on 13th of May 1941 against Carhaix gendarmerie station after a statement was sent to members of the National Council in Vichy, threatening more attacks if the borders of the traditional province of Brittany were not recognised. After this the group ceased to function, its members becoming part of various miliceMilice
The Milice française , generally called simply Milice, was a paramilitary force created on January 30, 1943 by the Vichy Regime, with German aid, to help fight the French Resistance. The Milice's formal leader was Prime Minister Pierre Laval, though its chief of operations, and actual leader, was...
groups working with the German occupying forces. Lainé himself led the Bezen Perrot
Bezen Perrot
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...
militia, which included former Gwenn ha du activists. After the war, surviving members were either captured or fled France. Some were later associated with the Liberation Front of Brittany
Liberation Front of Brittany
The Liberation Front of Brittany is a militant group founded in 1963 to promote the "liberation of Brittany from France". Brittany is a province in northwest France, and formed an independent Duchy of Brittany until the treaty of union in 1532....
, which was active in the 1960s.
Members of Gwenn ha du
- Célestin LainéCélestin LainéCélestin 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...
- Francis Bayer du Kern
- MeavennMeavennMeavenn was the pen name of Francine Rozec, also known as Fant Rozec, a Breton language poet, novelist and playwright linked to Breton nationalism.-Biography:...
(pseudonym) - Hervé Le Helloco
- Guillaume Berthou
- Théophile JeussetThéophile JeussetThéophile Jeusset, was a Breton nationalist writer and fascist political activist. He is also known by his Breton language pseudonym Jean-Yves Keraudren....
- Augustin Catelliot