Basque writers’ reports in Eskualduna during World War One

Basque writers’ reportages in Eskualduna, during World War I

World War I: Media, Entertainments & Popular Culture

Chester, 3th and 4th July 2015

Eneko Bidegain [email protected]

✦ Basque weekly magazine (1887-1944)

✦ In continental Basque Country (France)

✦ Bonapartist and Catholic ✦ 7,000 copies

Basque writers’ reportages in Eskualduna during World War I

Basque Country Very rural land

The population did not speak French

Government of France Great strides in education:

✦ the French language ✦ the territoriality of France ✦ patriotism ✦ military movements


1914 20,000 Basque men mobilized

The youngest writers of Eskualduna sent to the front lines This handicap became a great opportunity: they wrote personal reportages about life on the frontline


What they did write? They were French soldiers,

in spite of their Basque identity


There is very little research into the Basque people in the First World War, and their relationship to French identity

Hypothesis and method

Basque writers’ reportages in Eskualduna during World War IBasque writers’ reportages in Eskualduna during World War I


Testimonies of soldiers -writers ✦ Jean Saint-Pierre (1884-1951) ✦ Jean Elizalde Zerbitzari (1883-1961) ✦ Jean Etxepare (1877-1935) ✦ Jules Moulier Oxobi (1888-1958)


Interesting texts, with their: ✦ point of view on the causes of the war ✦ political opinions ✦ hatred of the Germans ✦ testimony of the life on the front and behind the lines


Glorifications of the French army’s acts Consistent exhibition of their Basque identity

The main hypothesis These writers felt French, in spite of their Basque identity and the fact that they were homesick


3,422 articles analyzed and classified


French nationalism

Basque nationalism

FranceIdentity

engagement

sacrifice

homesickness

family

home

Basque culture

religion

politics

society

combat


Discourse’s analysis ✦ the main article (editorial) ✦ general news of the war ✦ testimonies of Basque writers ✦ local news

Results



Main opinion of Eskualduna ✦ the Germans were “animals” ✦ France and England represented civilisation ✦ God sustained France and England


Military news lacked precisionThey were not allowed to give any information about the location of regiments

They avoided negative news


Soldiers’s lives in detail✦ the organization of trenches ✦ the bad hygiene


Homesickness They wanted news of their birthplace

“Into one of those dark interiors, the Basque gazette quickly lightens hearts”

Jean Saint-Pierre. 30/7/1915


Soldiers wanted news of their birthplaces

Basque soldiers planned to create a magazine for soldiers in Basque


Landscapes References to the mountains and sea of the Basque Country

“Basque people are soon happy seeing the shadow of mountains; the pleasant, small, hidden houses… the green of the forests. More than anywhere, we heard the hearth’s call: go back to the Basque Country!”


CONTRASTBasque writers’ reportages in Eskualduna during World War I

Basque landscapes Devastated terrain

“Good-bye, all citizens. Good-bye too, large mountains of the Basque Country; good-bye our beautiful sea. Thank you for the warmth that you have given me in my heart. When I leave you to return here, is it strange if I should shed a tear?”

Jean Elizalde. 11/2/1916


Importance of the people from the villageSmoking to alleviate the sorrow


Landscape and “small homeland”

One aspect of the identity Attachment to the land

created by God(Pérès 2003; Thiesse 1997)


Familiar food and objects Important linkers with home


“He remembers his home, dry clothing and shoes there, a warm bed and the hearth; and his heart shrinks. […] And the souvenirs that we send them will do them good in their hearts, and will help them to better bear the snow and the mud.”

Blaise Adéma. 15/12/1916


Psychological function The value of food was symbolic, because of the emotions

“Yesterday, I found two eggs, and I shared them with a friend. He had not eaten an egg since the start of the war. He told me: I saw my last eggs on the second of August, cooked by my mother, in the morning… I left them there”



Hearth of home Mothers, grandmothers and the nostalgia of childhood

“It is very hard for us; to stay away, to stand with gun in hand, in lashing rain and in the harsh cold, while it would be nice to be near the fire, with Mum telling stories”



Homesickness based on the love of family Languages have an emotional side, linked to love

(Baconnier, Minét & Soler, 1989)


Farmwork Worry about the loneliness of their wives

“If we knew that our families did not suffer because we are here, imagine how we could fight! It is their grief that worries us”



Leaving one’s loved ones The pain endured by the soldiers and their families

“The child was two years old when I went off to the war. I have experienced nothing more heartrending than realising that the poor child did not recognise its father. But within a day, we had become friends. Unfortunately, I have to go back far too soon.”

Manex Hiriart-Urruti. 26/7/1915


Prepared to put up with the dreadful

conditions Torn between hope, sadness,

suffering and prayer(Becker 1993)


Family, friends and church, very important in the soldiers’ hearts Their village was the location and reference whereas the French nation remained an abstract concept


The war itself encouraged them to regard their villages as part of the (French) nation

(Pérès 2003)

‘Morts pour la Patrie’


Basques together, whenever they could

The absence of Basque friends made them feel homesick


Soldiers from the same area …at the beginning

At the end, they were mixed up


“Sir, you asked me whether there are many Basque soldiers in Serbia. I have yet to see a single one, even though I am always asking. However, there had been one close to me but I did not get to know him. Later I found out that he hailed from the Donapaleu area, from Domintxaine. It isn't easy to come across one another; the area where the troops are stationed now is quite big.”

A.I. 28/1/1916


“There were no other Basques but two priests, one the parish priest of a small village, a very pleasant man, the other a missionary who had come from Africa or Madagascar. Both were ordinary soldiers and very courageous men.”

A.I. 31/1/1915

The motivation for participating in the war was intensified by the fact that each one was with people from his own area

(Cochet 2005)


The bond between Country and language

They sang Basque songs together


Speaking Basque and learning French

“We were born at a good time. In this war we have been going on many free journeys. Through hearing French we are learning it more or less… without having to pay any teacher any fees.”



Basque Country customs They used to sing, dance and play Basque pelota

“The Basques win at races and singing, too. You see in the morning, When it gets light…”



Over hundreds of kilometres The songs reminded them of the Basque Country

“Will you sing it as beautifully as here? The colonel was surprised at the beautiful song the Basques sang. The Basques could only see the cottage on the mountainside mentioned in the song far away, very far away, through the eyes of their hearts.”



Dance and song to spend their free time


Pelota and grenade throwers Pelota and Basque Country

“I saw one from Azkaine and another from Itsasu in the middle of the road playing pelota with an apple. Further away, four from Azkaine were talking to someone from Ortzaize.”



“After I had greeted them, they all streamed towards a bar. Before arriving, I saw the regiment band and I approached them. I was charmed by the Basque musicians and stopped there. How beautifully they sang «Bethi Eskualdun», «Reverte», «Kinkirri Kunkurru» ending with «Arin-Arin» ! [...] Ah, and I must not forget the nicest part: these musicians also played us a fandango arranged by a Basque: the fandango was called “Sencilla” and had been arranged by Vicendoritz of St. Juan de Luz.”



The need to forget the harsh conditions of the war The need to remember the homeland


Pelotaway of preserving Basque identity

That did not happen exclusively with te Basques(Baconnier, Minét & Soler, 1989)


Playing cards on the battlefield They often asked to send them “mus” cards

‘Mus’: a card game similar to poker using a Spanish d e c k a n d w i t h t w o opposing pairs of players; the aim is to win points


Describing a “mus” game The memory of the Basque Country atmosphere in the bars or homes


It is not nostalgia People from each area entertained themselves with their own customs

(Baconnier, Minét & Soler, 1989)


The Basque Country, the reference Pelota and “mus” as a metaphor to describe a battle


The war compared with a pelota match or “mus” game They were sure the Allies were going to win at the last moment


Comparing with the Basque Country The places, the farming practices, the surrounding area

Aube: river if France, near the battlefield Errobi: river ot the Basque Country


“Some time ago when we arrived in this region, I told you how much it resembled Itsasu. Only the cherries were in short supply. Afterwards I noticed that they weren’t in short supply after all.”



The Basque Country is the “most beautiful”


“The whiteness is not as bright as that in the Basque Country. The sun cannot play with the snow. The sky full of clouds is almost sewn to the land. There are no robins in the wood, or blackbirds, either. The crows in their hundreds live in the damp fog. When are we going to see the peach blossom in the gardens and vineyards? When is our poor robin going to jump before us and when are we going to hear the mocking of the blackbird from behind the brambles?”

Jules Moulier Oxobi. 15/5/1918


The best place:in the Basque Country


Dreaming of returning at home


“As we were retreating from Belgium, day and night, despite winning a battle, always advancing through France, someone who was in front became saddened and started to cry. He was Basque, he was with Basque men. One soldier asked him, “Why are you crying, Sir?” “Don’t you understand that we have had a big setback?” “Wait, wait, Sir: we are heading back to the Basque Country”.”



The Basques were remembering

their country Approaching their native

country warmed their hearts


“Because of all of this, their hearts are yearning for the Basque Country. They were born there, they grew up there. They want to grow old there and hobble along there. Oh my dear Basque Country!”



Desire to return… To see the mountains, to hear the songs, to watch pelota…

“So, Basque men, cheer up, the time has come. According to all accounts, in the summer we will be seeing our Country, our parents, our houses, our mountains and our sea. And perhaps, the peace that is struck then will be one that will last until our children and our children's children have grown up.”



Cultural Basque language loyalty Basque movement restricted to the cultural sphere


Distinction between Basques and French For reason of proximity


The value of the Basque language If was not in Basque, he felt he had not confessed


Call to use Basque properly Concerned about the richness of Basque

“That’s why our old Basque language will either weaken, slowly strangled by French, or will gradually emerge a little more enriched.”

Jean Etxepare. 21/1/1916


“Don’t forget Basque” The Basques learnt French and didn’t speak Basque

“But Basques love Basque. Your mother and father are Basque, you too speak Basque perfectly. Why don’t you write in Basque?”

Jules Moulier Oxobi. 1/5/1918


The most important for Eskualduna:

Basque, a tool for saving Christianity


There was no political awareness of the Basque Country in the attitude in favor of Basque

(Itçaina, 2007)

The regional language defended on the same level as the national language

(Vigier, 1997)

Regionalism?


Opposing a Basque state Basque patriotism had little influence on the Continental Basque Country


Unification ot the whole of the Basque Country? For Eskualduna, it was a wrong idea


“While regarding myself as being as Basque as anyone else, I assert the following: that to be separate it is not enough to say: “Spain is one thing and the Basque Country is another”. But those who say that should go on saying it exclusively for their own benefit. We French Basques are not asking to be separated from France: even less do we say that they are already two different things, France and this Basque Country of ours.



Even though at some point long ago we were originally only one, if time has divided us into kingdoms, if we have been divided into two parts with respect to our neighbours, would not being the intermediary or link between the two benefit all three?”



Brothers and marriage When speaking of political identity, they were in no doubt that it was a part of France

Conclusions



Basques, without political intentions They missed home and the affection of their loved ones


Basques and French Their political identity was associated with France


Eneko Bidegain [email protected]

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Basque writers’ reports in Eskualduna during World War One

Education