Hidden London: Latimer House
Why did the prisoners talk? Because Kendrick did not rough them up, but appealed to their egos. The Germans were subject to phony interrogations before making it to the house; the British made sure to appear inept. With their defences down, Kendrick laid on the star treatment. The house had its own invented aristocrat, Lord Aberfeldy, who cosied up to the generals, taking them for walks around the grounds, stopping at mic'd-up bushes. Puffed up by the idea a lord had been sent to look after them, Hitler's top men became careless.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ITV News
2 hours ago
- ITV News
New documentary claims Nazi guards shot slave workers for entertainment in Alderney's prison camps
A new documentary on Alderney 's prison camps claims that Nazi guards lined up prisoners to shoot for sport during wartime occupation. Ghosts of Alderney, created by artist and Piers Secunda, is an upcoming documentary focused on the lives of prisoners on the island during the Second World War. In the film's trailer, Piers says he has been researching this topic for five years, adding: "There was clear evidence of atrocities". The documentary alleges that they have proof German forces used slave labourers for regular target practice in firing squads. One account from the family of a prisoner explains: "If somebody was injured at work, they were often shot [...] people were so badly beaten, they were just tipped into the sea. "This was the biggest mass murder on British soil." The Channel Islands were occupied by Germany in 1940 and remained so until May 1945. In that time, more than 7,000 prisoners were taken to Alderney and put into one of its four forced slave labour camps. They included Lager Sylt: the only Nazi concentration camp on British soil during the wartime conflict. Prisoners mainly came from Eastern Europe and were used to build fortifications for Hitler's Atlantic Wall. Last year, an investigation into Alderney's prison camps revealed that up to 1,134 prisoners died in Alderney - far greater than the previous official figure of 389. The independent film is now hoping to shed light on the treatment of prisoners on the island. Historians say these latest revelations add to the overall picture of what happened on the island. Dr Gilly Carr, an archaeologist and historian who specialises in researching Holocaust heritage, warns that the film shouldn't be used as a basis for any further death toll calculations. She explains: "The methods that we have used for calculating the numbers of deaths use very different sorts of archival records. "What I would do as a historian is to take this testimony and add it to what we know of the kind of brutality that happened in the island and the sort of atrocities. "It is another terrible example of the kind of things that happened. That is how I would use it, but I would not use it for any kind of mathematical calculation." Jersey and Guernsey were liberated on 9th May 1945, but Alderney was considered a fortress with strong defences and was not liberated until 16 May. Alderney residents did not return to the island until December 1945, as it took months for German war material to be cleared and the island's dwellings to be repaired. Despite the suffering inflicted, virtually none of the German soldiers in Alderney were ever brought to justice, as the British government handed the case over to the USSR, which also failed to seek retribution. UK Holocaust Envoy Lord Pickles - who led the new study - said the failure to bring offenders to British justice was "a stain on the reputations of successive British governments".
Economist
3 hours ago
- Economist
Might the Royal Air Force go nuclear again?
THE RUMOUR among locals in the 1960s was that the base was a secret centre for breeding chimpanzees for Britain's space programme. There was no such space programme. And there were certainly no chimpanzees. The heavily defended buildings at RAF Barnham in Norfolk were home to the nuclear bombs carried by British planes. Nuclear convoys of cargo trucks were routine. In one town's High Street, recalls an officer, the drivers 'discovered that, by blipping their throttles at the right moment they could lift the mini-skirts of the girls on the pavement alongside them.'
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
Scottish Government demands release of Madleen aid ship crew
The Madleen was boarded and seized by Israeli forces in international waters early on Monday morning, after crews sounded an alarm after seeing multiple vessels approach and reporting drones spraying a white "irritant" substance on board. The boat arrived in Ashdod port in Israel late on Monday evening, with Israel's foreign ministry attempting to depict the mission as a publicity stunt, branding the Madleen a "celebrity yacht". READ MORE: 20 more Palestinians killed and hundreds injured by Israel near aid points On Tuesday, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) – the humanitarian organisation behind the Madleen – reiterated that four of the 12 activists have been deported, while eight remain in Israeli detention. The crew members were all asked to sign documents consenting to deportation, which the coalition said was under the guise that they had entered Israel illegally. One of those still in detention is Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian Member of the European Parliament. Following the abduction and deportation, fresh calls were made for both Westminster and Holyrood to push Israel to lift the aid blockade. Gerry Coutts of Scotland for Palestine said: 'The aid boat was seized by Israel while it sailed in international waters under the British flag and its unarmed crew have been detained. Yet, we have heard no condemnation of this from our governments in the UK. 'The abduction of the crew, the seizing of the boat, the occupation of Palestine, the mass starvation of a people and the siege and blockade are all illegal - and happening in plain sight. 'Both our governments have a legal and moral duty to push their ally, Israel, to allow in life-saving aid to starving Palestinians. They must also push for an end to the cruel siege and naval blockade and more recently a complete blockade imposed on Palestinians.'
