Célestin Lainé
Encyclopedia
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.
and was brought up in Ploudalmézeau
, Finistère
. He later entered the École Centrale. He became closely linked to Guillaume Berthou, a fellow chemist and Breton separatist. Contrary to myth, he denied any involvement with the secret society
Kentoc'h Mervel (Sooner Death), formed by Berthou in 1929, though Berthou had approached him to join. Instead, in 1930 he set up with Hervé Helloco the terrorist
organisation, Gwenn ha du
('white and black'). It was named after the colours of the flag of Brittany
, designed by Morvan Marchal
in 1925. Lainé published an article summarizing its creed under the title Nos deux bases, Irlande et Prusse (Our two models: Ireland and Prussia), referring to the revolutionary zeal of the IRA
and the authoriarian discipline of Prussian militarism. The gang perpetrated several bombings. Lainé claimed he made the first bomb in his bedroom from nitroglycerin in a condensed milk
carton with a detonator supplied by a forestry worker.
Kristian Hamon claims it was not he but fellow nationalist André Geffroy who placed the bomb which blew up Jean Boucher
's statue depicting the Unity of Brittany and France in Rennes
. It happened on the morning of 7 August 1932. According to Hamon, Geffroy placed the bomb on the monument, which portrayed the duchess Anne of Brittany
kneeling before King Charles VIII of France
.
Two people were crossing the Town Hall Square at the time but they subsequently refrained from saying what they had seen, despite the offer of a reward. The explosion tore the mass of bronze from its niche and smashed it on the ground. All the windows within a hundred metres were shattered. Parts of the sculpture have been preserved.
In 1936 Lainé created the Kadervenn (Combat tool), a paramilitary
unit based on the IRA model, comprising a dozen members engaged in military manoeuvres. This organisation instructed new recruits and in 1938 participated in exercises in the Landes de Lanvaux, a belt of heath and woodland north of Vannes
. The following year he spent a period in Germany
where he organised the delivery of a batch of arms, which was shipped on board the ship Gwalarn. However the ship beached at Locquirec
in the night of the 8th and 9 August 1939. The arms were recovered and stored in the abbey at Boquen.
, Lainé sided with the Germans. He favoured aggressive tactics and sought to establish a distinct Breton army to work with the Nazis against the French state. ("We will continue the tradition of those who, throughout the centuries, have struggled, arms in hand, to affirm our national rights.") With Yann Goulet
he participated in the creation of the Bagadou Stourm (Stormtroopers). He also set up a unit of volunteers that he controlled personally, called the Service Spécial (or Lu Brezhon in Breton). This paramilitary unit was in charge of the maintenance of order within the Breton National Party
.
In 1941, Lainé helped to oust Olier Mordrel
from the leadership of the Breton National Party when it became evident that the Germans objected to his strident anti-Vichy position. There followed a split between the Bagadou Stourm and the Service Spécial, as Lainé became increasingly close to the Nazis. On the 11 September 1943, at Rennes, he and Colonel Hartmut Pulmer (chief of the Sicherheitsdienst
at Rennes) signed the foundation convention of a new unit to be called Bezen Kadoudal, named after the Breton rebel Georges Cadoudal
. In 1944 it took the new name Bezen Perrot
(Perrot Militia), the name referring to Abbé Perrot, a parish priest and ardent defender of the Breton language
who had recently been assassinated by the French Resistance
. His group brought together around a hundred people; his deputy was Alan Heusaff
. In 1943, the organisation functioned as an auxiliary police force for the Nazis fighting against the Resistance. The soldiers of Bezen Perrot enrolled in the Sicherheitsdienst, wearing Nazi uniforms. In May 1944, he symbolically founded a new Breton national party on extreme nationalist lines. At the Liberation
of France, these collaborationist activities brought opprobrium on the whole of the Breton movement.
, from which many stayed in Germany under false identities, assisted by Leo Weisgerber
. Sentenced to death In absentia
, Lainé fled to Ireland, where he lived until his death in 1983 in various locations around Ireland, notably County Dublin and Oranmore in County Galway.
Olier Mordrel
, co-founder of the Breton independence party, wrote that he "was a strange man. He had become the prophet of a Celtic religion made for himself, where Nordic racism was married to the Nietzschian
will to power, and not without flirting with an air of romantic druidism."
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...
and collaborator
Collaborationism
Collaborationism is cooperation with enemy forces against one's country. Legally, it may be considered as a form of treason. Collaborationism may be associated with criminal deeds in the service of the occupying power, which may include complicity with the occupying power in murder, persecutions,...
during the Second World War who led the SS affiliated 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. His 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...
name is Neven Hénaff. He was a chemical engineer
Chemical engineer
In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is the profession in which one works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products, and deals with the design and operation of plants and equipment to perform such work...
by training. After the war he lived in Ireland.
Breton terrorism
He was born in 1908 in NantesNantes
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....
and was brought up in Ploudalmézeau
Ploudalmézeau
Ploudalmézeau is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France.The village and the small port of Portsall is part of the commune...
, Finistère
Finistère
Finistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...
. He later entered the École Centrale. He became closely linked to Guillaume Berthou, a fellow chemist and Breton separatist. Contrary to myth, he denied any involvement with the secret society
Secret society
A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...
Kentoc'h Mervel (Sooner Death), formed by Berthou in 1929, though Berthou had approached him to join. Instead, in 1930 he set up with Hervé Helloco the 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...
organisation, 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...
('white and black'). It was named after the colours of the flag of Brittany
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...
, designed by Morvan Marchal
Morvan Marchal
Morvan Marchal , is the Breton name of Maurice Marchal, an architect and a militant Breton nationalist. He is best known for having designed the national flag of Brittany.-Biography:...
in 1925. Lainé published an article summarizing its creed under the title Nos deux bases, Irlande et Prusse (Our two models: Ireland and Prussia), referring to the revolutionary zeal of 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...
and the authoriarian discipline of Prussian militarism. The gang perpetrated several bombings. Lainé claimed he made the first bomb in his bedroom from nitroglycerin in 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 with a detonator supplied by a forestry worker.
Kristian Hamon claims it was not he but fellow nationalist André Geffroy who placed the bomb which blew up Jean Boucher
Jean 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...
's statue depicting the Unity of Brittany and France in Rennes
Rennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
. It happened on the morning of 7 August 1932. According to Hamon, Geffroy placed the bomb on the monument, which portrayed the duchess Anne of Brittany
Anne of Brittany
Anne, Duchess of Brittany , also known as Anna of Brittany , was a Breton ruler, who was to become queen to two successive French kings. She was born in Nantes, Brittany, and was the daughter of Francis II, Duke of Brittany and Margaret of Foix. Her maternal grandparents were Queen Eleanor of...
kneeling before King Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII, called the Affable, , was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. Charles was a member of the House of Valois...
.
Two people were crossing the Town Hall Square at the time but they subsequently refrained from saying what they had seen, despite the offer of a reward. The explosion tore the mass of bronze from its niche and smashed it on the ground. All the windows within a hundred metres were shattered. Parts of the sculpture have been preserved.
In 1936 Lainé created the Kadervenn (Combat tool), a paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
unit based on the IRA model, comprising a dozen members engaged in military manoeuvres. This organisation instructed new recruits and in 1938 participated in exercises in the Landes de Lanvaux, a belt of heath and woodland north of 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...
. The following year he spent a period in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
where he organised the delivery of a batch of arms, which was shipped on board the ship Gwalarn. However the ship beached at Locquirec
Locquirec
Locquirec is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-International relations:Locquirec is twinned with: Drumshanbo, Co. Leitrim, Ireland-References:** ;-External links:* *...
in the night of the 8th and 9 August 1939. The arms were recovered and stored in the abbey at Boquen.
Collaboration
Before and during the Second World WarWorld 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 sided with the Germans. He favoured aggressive tactics and sought to establish a distinct Breton army to work with the Nazis against the French state. ("We will continue the tradition of those who, throughout the centuries, have struggled, arms in hand, to affirm our national rights.") With Yann Goulet
Yann Goulet
Yann Goulet was a sculptor, Breton nationalist and war-time collaborationist with Nazi Germany who headed the Breton Bagadou Stourm militia. He later took Irish citizenship and became professor of sculpture at the Royal Hibernian Academy.-Early career:Goulet was born in Saint-Nazaire...
he participated in the creation of the Bagadou Stourm (Stormtroopers). He also set up a unit of volunteers that he controlled personally, called the Service Spécial (or Lu Brezhon in Breton). This paramilitary unit was in charge of the maintenance of order within the Breton National Party
Breton National Party
The Breton National Party 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 of ties to the Nazi party....
.
In 1941, Lainé helped to oust Olier Mordrel
Olier Mordrel
Olier Mordrel 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 as an architect. His architectural work was influenced by Art Deco and the International...
from the leadership of the Breton National Party when it became evident that the Germans objected to his strident anti-Vichy position. There followed a split between the Bagadou Stourm and the Service Spécial, as Lainé became increasingly close to the Nazis. On the 11 September 1943, at Rennes, he and Colonel Hartmut Pulmer (chief of the Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
at Rennes) signed the foundation convention of a new unit to be called Bezen Kadoudal, named after the 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....
. In 1944 it took the new name 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...
(Perrot Militia), the name referring to Abbé Perrot, a parish priest and ardent defender of 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...
who had recently been assassinated 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...
. His group brought together around a hundred people; his deputy was 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...
. In 1943, the organisation functioned as an auxiliary police force for the Nazis fighting against the Resistance. The soldiers of Bezen Perrot enrolled in the Sicherheitsdienst, wearing Nazi uniforms. In May 1944, he symbolically founded a new Breton national party on extreme nationalist lines. At the Liberation
Military history of France during World War II
The military history of France during World War II covers the period from 1939 until 1940, which witnessed French military participation under the French Third Republic , and the period from 1940 until 1945, which was marked by mainland and overseas military administration and influence struggles...
of France, these collaborationist activities brought opprobrium on the whole of the Breton movement.
Exile
Hunted out of Brittany by the defeat of the Nazis, the last fighters of this unit found themselves at TübingenTübingen
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:...
, from which many stayed in Germany under false identities, assisted 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...
. Sentenced to death In absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
, Lainé fled to Ireland, where he lived until his death in 1983 in various locations around Ireland, notably County Dublin and Oranmore in County Galway.
Olier Mordrel
Olier Mordrel
Olier Mordrel 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 as an architect. His architectural work was influenced by Art Deco and the International...
, co-founder of the Breton independence party, wrote that he "was a strange man. He had become the prophet of a Celtic religion made for himself, where Nordic racism was married to the Nietzschian
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
will to power, and not without flirting with an air of romantic druidism."