Brittany, France

We really learned a ton about Brittany and the Breton language. Apparently this little area of Celtic France has always considered itself very independent from France. It does, after all, have its own language, history, and traditions. The French government has never been too keen on this independent spirit, and has, historically, tried to quench anything that was not truly French. Despite political oppression the Celtic way of life continued - and was passed down from parent to child in these small fishing villages and town of the area. Everything changed with WWII. The Germans were greeted as liberators by the leaders & intellectuals of Brittany. The hope was that the Germans would allow Brittany to become independent from occupied France. The Germans moved in - set up submarine bases but never allowed independence. Eventually the area was liberated but the Breton language had become too closely associated with the collaboration with the Germans. People were embarrassed to speak the language.... and the language really suffered. As a new generation has grown up, however, there has been a renewed interest in the language and the Breton culture has lost a lot of the stigmatism that it once had. The language is being used again, and children are learning it once more.