‘Britain Under the Nazis' review: Riveting documentary lifts the lid on the Nazis' overlooked occupation of the Channel Islands
Strangely, the factual story of Germany's five-year occupation of the Channel Islands has been, if not exactly ignored, notably under-exploited by fiction writers, historians and even documentarians.
The superb two-part documentary Britain Under the Nazis: The Forgotten Occupation (Channel 4, Thursday, May 29, 8pm) should go some way towards rectifying the imbalance.
Winston Churchill's famous 'we shall fight on the beaches' speech didn't extend to the beaches of Guernsey, Jersey or their neighbouring islands, despite his pledge to defend them.
Since the islands were of no strategic importance, he withdrew all military presence from them on June 14, 1940, leaving 94,000 islanders on Guernsey to fend for themselves.
Ships were laid on for those who wished to evacuate and 25,000 people left. But a breakdown in communication meant Germany didn't know the islands had been demilitarised. On June 30, the Luftwaffe struck, killing 44 people.
The occupation proper began on July 1. Director Jack Warrender's film uses the first-hand testimony of islanders, drawn from their personal diaries, to tell the story of life under occupation, while historians Prof Gilly Carr and Dr Louise Willmot provide context with a light touch.
Actors deliver the words straight to camera. Despite the irritating tic of occasionally showing the camera crew filming them, which takes us out of the story a little, it's a riveting account of a complex chapter in wartime history.
'I feel the tremor of bombs being dropped in the distance,' wrote Frank Falla, a reporter with the Guernsey Star. 'For the first time since the outbreak of the war, the full impact of what it means hits me. Despite the sunshine, I feel cold.'
With one German soldier for every three islanders and the Swastika raised over government buildings, it must have felt like the war had already been lost.
Falla and his colleagues had opted to remain at their desks, even if it meant being censored by the Nazis, rather than let the newspaper come completely under their control.
ADVERTISEMENT
Learn more
He and others distributed their own underground newsletter featuring the news from the BBC. Hitler regarded seizing the Channel Islands as a valuable propaganda tool, even to the extent of drafting in slave labourers to build the Atlantic Wall.
A picture in a Wehrmacht newspaper showed some islanders seemingly giving the Nazi salute. In fact, they were raising their hands in response to being asked if they spoke French or German.
One Jersey islander who tried to spread the truth was artist and anti-fascist activist Claude Cahun, who shared a house with her 'stepsister' – in reality, her lifelong partner.
As a lesbian and a Jew, she was in double peril. Nonetheless, she tried to persuade German soldiers to rebel by distributing notes she described as her 'paper bullets'. Viewed as incitement to mutiny, this was punishable by death.
Women who had affairs, and even babies, with German soldiers were labelled 'Jerrybags' and ostracised after the war
In one startling diary extract, Jersey's bailiff Alexander Coutanche wrote of keeping relations with the German officer in charge cordial. 'We agree mutually that we are enemies, but at least we can behave like gentlemen.'
Things weren't quite so cordial later in the occupation when the mass deportation of Jews, as well as residents born elsewhere, began, and when concentration camps were built on Alderney. The tiny island is officially recognised as a Holocaust site.
The lone German voice here is that of German officer Hans Max von Aufsess, who appears to have treated his time on Jersey as a holiday. He wrote euphemistically about the 'good understanding between German soldiers and English girls'.
Women who had affairs, and even babies, with German soldiers were labelled 'Jerrybags' and ostracised after the war.
Eighty years on, the collaboration, whether sexual or otherwise, of some islanders with the Nazis has left scars that still hurt.
Both episodes of 'Britain Under the Nazis' are streaming on Channel4.com from today.
Rating: Five stars
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
Comedian Russell Brand to enter pleas to rape and sexual assault charges
Comedian and actor Russell Brand is set to enter pleas to sex offence charges including rape and indecent assault. Brand (49), of Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, is scheduled to appear at London's Southwark Crown Court on Friday He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court earlier this month where he heard details of allegations against him – including that he raped a woman in a hotel room when she attended a Labour Party conference. He is also accused of grabbing a TV worker's breasts before dragging her into a toilet and orally raping her. READ MORE A radio station worker alleges Brand grabbed her by the face, pushed her against a wall and kissed her before groping her breasts and buttocks. Another alleged victim accuses the comedian of indecent assault after he allegedly grabbed her forearm and attempted to drag her into a male toilet. He was charged by post last month with one count each of rape, indecent assault and oral rape, as well as two counts of sexual assault, relating to four separate women. The allegations against Brand are said to have taken place against four women between 1999 and 2005. The actor was charged following an investigation by Channel 4 and the Sunday Times in which several women made allegations against him. He previously told his 11.2 million followers on X that he welcomed the opportunity to prove his innocence. – PA
RTÉ News
a day ago
- RTÉ News
Germany seeks to levy 10% tax on online platforms like Google
Germany is considering a 10% tax on large online platforms like Alphabet's Google and Meta's Facebook, its new culture minister told magazine Stern, in a move likely to heighten trade tensions with the Trump administration. The proposal comes as Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected to travel to Washington soon to meet with US President Donald Trump, although a trip has not yet been officially announced. Trump has in the past said he will not allow foreign governments to "appropriate America's tax base for their own benefit". Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer said his ministry was drafting a legislative proposal while also seeking talks with platform operators that he accused of "cunning tax evasion" to explore alternative solutions like voluntary contributions. "These corporations do billions in business in Germany with extremely high profit margins and benefit enormously from the country's media and cultural output as well as its infrastructure - but they pay hardly any taxes, invest too little, and give far too little back to society," he told Stern in an interview published today. Alphabet and Meta did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Germany's ruling parties agreed in a coalition deal earlier this year to impose such a digital services levy. If the government goes ahead with the tax on sales revenue generated by digital services providers within its borders, it would join a raft of other countries to have done so such as Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, India, Austria and Canada. During Trump's first term, the US Trade Representative's office launched a Section 301 investigation into unfair trade practices against several of these countries, finding they discriminated against U.S. companies, paving the way for retaliatory tariffs on certain imports. In February, Trump ordered his trade chief to revive investigations aimed at imposing tariffs on imports from countries that levy digital service taxes on US technology companies. That does not, however, appear to have deterred the new German government, which took office earlier this month. Weimer accused the big digital platforms of building up "monopoly-like structures" that not only restrict competition but also concentrate media power too heavily", posing a risk for freedom of expression. "If Google, under pressure from Donald Trump, unilaterally renames the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America - and simply decrees this due to its enormous power to shape meaning in global communication - then we can see the kinds of problems that lie within the current structures," he said.
RTÉ News
a day ago
- RTÉ News
Key moments from Musk's brief tenure as Trump's advisor
Billionaire Elon Musk has said he is leaving his role in the US government, in which he was tasked with reducing federal spending, shortly after his first major break with Donald Trump over the president's signature spending bill. While classified as a "special government employee" and "senior advisor to the president," the South African-born tycoon has left indelible marks on American politics as Mr Trump's most visible backer. The 'Nazi' salute Being Mr Trump's right-hand man took on a new meaning when the world's richest person made headlines by dramatically throwing out his arm - twice - at a rally celebrating Mr Trump's January 20 inauguration. Standing at a podium bearing the presidential seal, Mr Musk's right arm was straight, his hand open, his palm facing down. Historians agreed with Democratic politicians that the sharp gesture looked exactly like a Nazi salute. The Tesla boss - whose electric vehicles were soon dubbed "swasticars" by critics - dismissed the claims, posting on his X social media platform: "The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired." Whatever the display meant, Nazi-related jokes and memes dominated public reactions to the day meant to mark Trump's triumphant return to office. Endorsing Germany's extreme-right Hot off his salute shock, Mr Musk participated virtually at a January rally for Germany's anti-immigration, ultra-nationalist AfD party. Mr Musk told the crowd "you really are the best hope" for Germany and urged them to be "proud of German culture and German values". His endorsement of the AfD shook mainstream German parties, which said they viewed it as foreign interference by Trump's advisor. Vandals burned four Teslas in the streets of Berlin afterward. Despite record gains at the polls, AfD ultimately took second place in the election behind Germany's conservatives. Brings kid to work Dressed down in MAGA hats and t-shirts, Mr Musk became a near-constant presence in the White House. For a while, so did his four-year-old son named X. During Mr Musk's first appearance before reporters since his arrival in Washington to run DOGE, the child was trotted out and Mr Trump said: "This is X and he's a great guy." The boy was filmed picking his nose while his father boasted about his cost-cutting exploits while standing next to the Oval Office's Resolute Desk. Brings chainsaw to budget Unelected and unconfirmed by the Senate, Mr Musk has repeatedly bashed the "unelected, fourth unconstitutional branch of government, which is the bureaucracy" and immediately made brutal cuts to the federal workforce and budget. To illustrate his management style, Mr Musk donned sunglasses and brandished a chainsaw on stage at a conservative get-together in Washington. It was handed to him - not turned on - by right-wing Argentine President Javier Milei, who made the machine a symbol of slashing bureaucracy and state spending in his own country. Overshadowing Trump's cabinet At Mr Trump's first cabinet meeting on 26 February, Mr Musk had a starring role even though he is not part of the cabinet. He stood looming near a doorway, wearing a t-shirt with the words "Tech Support" across the chest as the cabinet met. Even without a literal seat at the table Mr Musk, who helped bankroll Mr Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, overshadowed the country's most powerful officials. Mr Trump downplayed this tension shortly before the meeting, posting on his social media platform: "ALL CABINET MEMBERS ARE EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH ELON." Trump the Tesla salesman With Mr Musk's Tesla car company taking a battering on the stock market and sales dropping sharply, and with vandals targeting his brand, the White House hosted a highly publicized test drive to boost Tesla's reputation. With a Tesla Cybertruck and a Model S parked on the South Portico, Mr Trump and Mr Musk mounted a sales pitch. Mr Trump even said he had purchased one. The stunt did not ultimately turn around Tesla's plummeting sales, with the electric vehicle maker reporting a 71% drop in first-quarter profits. Fails to sway court election Money can't buy you everything, Mr Musk discovered, after pouring $25 million into the most expensive court race in US history to try to get a pro-Trump Republican judge elected to Wisconsin's Supreme Court. Mr Musk paid voters $100 to sign a petition opposing "activist judges" and even handed out $1 million checks to voters, beseeching the public to select the conservative judge. The court's docket was packed with precedent-setting cases over abortion and reproductive rights, the strength of public sector unions, voting rules and congressional district boundaries. The US state instead chose a liberal judge by a wide margin in April, dismaying the billionaire - who had spent roughly $277 million in 2024 in the national race to help get Mr Trump elected. Tariff dissenter After Mr Trump announced his sweeping US tariffs, deeply affecting major trading partners China and the European Union, Mr Musk made the case for a free-trade zone between the US and Europe. This clashes with Mr Trump's trade policy. Shortly after, he called Mr Trump's economic advisor Peter Navarro, a longtime advocate for trade barriers, "dumber than a sack of bricks". Mr Navarro had taken aim at Tesla, saying the carmaker mostly sourced assembled major components from factories in Asia. Mr Musk retorted with studies he said showed "Tesla has the most American-made cars". White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt tried to play down the public feud, saying that "boys will be boys." Big, Beautiful Bill Mr Musk said he was "disappointed" by Mr Trump's divisive mega-bill, which offers sprawling tax relief and spending cuts, in a rare split with the Republican president. The tech tycoon said the "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act", which passed the US House last week and now moves to the Senate, would increase the deficit and undermine the work of DOGE, which has fired tens of thousands of people. Critics warn the legislation will gut health care and balloon the national deficit by as much as $4 trillion over a decade. "I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," Mr Musk told CBS News. Mr Musk announced he was quitting his US government role shortly after.
