- Yann Goulet
Yann Goulet (or Yann Renard-Goulet;
Saint-Nazaire ,20 August 1914 –Bray 1999) 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 theRoyal Hibernian Academy .Early career
Before
World War II , Goulet was a member of the "Breton National Party ", and a former member ofSFIO . His artistic career began at theÉcole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts , where he studied art and architecture, and learned sculpture withAuguste Rodin 's assistant,Charles Despiau . His works in France includebas-relief s shown at the Exposition International de Paris (1938), and the monument to the youth of the French empire inLille (1939). He was part of the Breton artistic movementSeiz Breur .Goulet's involvement in Breton nationalism led to accusations that he had orchestrated the destruction the "Monument to the Breton-Angevin Federation" at
Pontivy on18 December 1938 by Gwenn ha du, the nationalist terrorist group. He was detained, but then released.World War II
French army
In 1939, he was sent to
Strasbourg to study the art of sabotage. He participated in the beginning of World War II fighting for France, and was captured by the Germans on11 June 1940 while blowing up a bridge on theAisne with friends from a French corps.Bagadou Stourm
Later in the war, he joined the assault section of "Bagadou Stourm", Breton nationalist stormtroopers allied to the Germans. He also collaborated with the pro-Nazi nationalist newspaper
L'Heure Bretonne . In 1941 in Paris, he became head of "Bagadou Stourm" and the "Youth Organizations" of theParti National Breton . The promotion of "Bagadou Stourm" officers was named "Patrick Pearse " as a way of celebrating the 25th anniversary of Ireland's 1916Easter Rising . His aim was to bring back an Irish influence (that of the IRA) different from that ofCélestin Lainé 's rival militia groupLu Brezhon , with which relations worsened after 1941. While Lainé's group functioned as an integrated part of the German security forces, Goulet always insisted that "Bagadou Stourm" was an independent Breton army.Artistic career in Ireland
citizenship in 1952 and became an art professor.
Goulet was commissioned to create many public works commemorating the IRA and other Republicans. These included the "Custom House Memorial" in Dublin, the "East Mayo Brigade IRA Memorial", and the "Republican Memorial" in
Crossmaglen ; and the "Ballyseedy Memorial" to IRA men shot by the Free State government in theIrish Civil War .Goulet exhibited regularly at the
Royal Hibernian Academy , eventually becoming the RHA Professor of Sculpture. He was also made a member ofAosdána in 1982. [ [http://www.whytes.ie/Biographies/BiogsFtoL.htm Irish Artist's Biographies] ]Liberation Front of Brittany
Towards the end of the 1960s, he claimed to have taken the reins of the
Liberation Front of Brittany and to have been behind all their attacks. In 1968, the head of police inBrey charged him of the previous day's attack on the CRS barracks inSaint-Brieuc Fact|date=September 2007. All his supposed subordinates were volunteers. His friends called him "tonton Yann", but sceptics referred to him as "général micro". In 1969, he became secretary general for the CBL (Comité National de la Bretagne Libre).In reality, he never exerted much influence on the renewal of Breton autonomy. Goulet has always stood by his "national revolution that passed us by in 1940". His reputation in Ireland has been controversial. [ [http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/we-are-past-masters-at-nazi-denial-121051.html We are past masters at Nazi denial, by Eoghan Harris] ]
References
External links
* [http://www.artnet.com/Artists/LotDetailPage.aspx?lot_id=5E706F44FFCC26115BD1FCEC11F3E3FF Sculpture of a Group of Workmen in Procession, by Yann Goulet]
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