Latest news with #NaziOccupation
Wall Street Journal
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
‘Marseille 1940' Review: Port of Exit
The author of 'Marseille 1940' suggests by his title that we focus on a specific place and time. The events that unfold in his book occur mainly from May to July 1940 in Marseille, the second-most populous city in France. It was then the largest port on the European Mediterranean and a short trip to North Africa and Spain, destination points for all those, both French and others, fleeing Europe. During a brief period, this coastal metropolis was the most important port in Nazi-occupied Europe. The Wehrmacht invaded France in May 1940 and within a month had defeated the Continent's largest and most admired army. The rest of Europe was stunned, and all anticipated that the United Kingdom would be the next victim of this ferocious dictatorship. The U.S. was especially anxious, for it had believed that France and the U.K. would keep the Atlantic safe from the German navy. The German invasion had succeeded so quickly and definitively against the French army that thousands upon thousands of French citizens, along with refugees from a dozen other nations threatened by Adolf Hitler, sought immediate safety in Marseille. Uwe Wittstock, a German journalist, has done extensive research in the latest available archives and explains in his book how chaos replaced order in what had previously been a confident nation. The Germans soon realized that they could not occupy all of France bureaucratically and militarily, so they established a collaborationist government, with Marshal Philippe Pétain, the famed hero of the Great War, as its leader. Pétain was allowed a small armed force to police resisters, mostly communists, who had immediately formed in response to the Nazi occupation. It had taken the Vichy police and the Gestapo weeks to control the port, and many saw Marseille as their last option for escape. Mr. Wittstock's book, ably translated by Daniel Bowles, is replete with examples of those persons—both domestic and foreign—who felt they had to flee France in 1940 or else be arrested by the Gestapo. Paris proper had a population of two million; about half that number had already fled. These included Jews and others who believed they might be targets of German oppression. Many of the latter eventually returned to their homes but, for the first few months after the invasion, the bombed railroads and major thoroughfares prevented Paris from being repopulated.
BBC News
5 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Secret plan to liberate Channel Islands found in dusty box
A copy of the top secret plan for the liberation of the Channel Islands at the end of World War Two will go up for auction next week - after it was discovered in a dusty cardboard Operation Nestegg, the 50-page document spelled out the plan in detail, from which beaches to land on to the number of water bottles each soldier would Crowson, from Hansons Auctioneers, said: "It's an incredible story - the document had been part of a dusty box of papers in a UK saleroom, the value of which was considered negligible."But on closer examination the vendor came across a piece of World War Two history detailing the freeing of the only Nazi-occupied area of the British Isles." It will go under the hammer at Hansons' auction house in Etwall, Derbyshire, on 13 August, with a guide price of £800-£1,200. The Channel Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and Herm had been under German Occupation since June drastically worsened for islanders after D-Day in June the Allies recaptured parts of France, the islands became cut off from food, coal and medicine an estimated 40,000 German troops still guarding the islands, the document showed the potential dangers the British and Guernsey, the two largest islands, were to be liberated "as nearly simultaneously as possible", to reduce the risk of the German troops reacting to news from the other island, said the beaches deemed suitable for landings, such as St Aubin's Bay in Jersey and L'Ancresse in Guernsey, had a treacherous 33ft (10m) tidal difficulty of landing troops simultaneously on both islands meant three 700-man battalions and engineer units were needed. The top secret document set out further detailed instructions."Personnel will embark and land in khaki working dress of regulation pattern. Officers in No. 5s, or working dress as convenient," it said."All personnel will carry large and small packs, two days landing rations, water bottle (filled to capacity), mackintosh (or oilskin) ground sheet and Army type blanket."Despite the difficulties, Operation Nestegg was a success and both islands were liberated without any bloodshed on 9 May with a population of 470, was liberated the next day while Alderney, where most of the population had left, followed on 16 May. Story of freedom Mr Crowson said the top secret document "really brings home the suffering of the Channel Islanders during the German Occupation".He said about 2,300 islanders were deported to German prison camps. "By the time of the liberation in 1945 many [islanders] were close to starvation," he said."The essential role played by the men and women involved in Operation Nestegg, and their story of freedom, cannot be underestimated."Mr Crowson said the fact the document "came to light in the 80th anniversary year of Liberation Day" made it "even more special".
ITV News
14-07-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
Jersey's capital St Helier spray-painted with dozens of swastikas, racist and homophobic slurs
Jersey's capital St Helier has been defaced with dozens of swastikas and highly offensive language. An all-girls primary school, public parks, a bus stop and toilets are among the places affected. Benches, roads, bins, walls and pavements have all been targeted. Much of the graffiti is too extreme to repeat but includes racist and homophobic slurs. Two of the messages read, "N****** LEAVE NOW" and "STOP GAY PRIDE" next to swastikas. Another says, "MEN DESERVE JUSTICE". The island's Chief Minister, Deputy Lyndon Farnham, says he is "deeply disturbed" and has strongly condemned the "cowardly and destructive act". Deputy Farnham adds: "Jersey is an inclusive, tolerant, and respectful society. There is no place here for messages of hate or division. Such behaviour not only damages property, but it attempts to undermine the very values that bind us together: mutual respect, dignity, and compassion." The head of the Jersey Jewish Congregation, Martha Bernstein, says she is "disappointed and shocked" by the widespread graffiti, adding that it "stirs up unpleasant memories" for those who lived through the Nazi Occupation of the Channel Islands. Just two months ago, thousands gathered in Jersey and Guernsey to celebrate Liberation Day - marking 80 years since the end of German rule. The States of Jersey Police says it is investigating and reviewing CCTV footage, with the first report made at 7:30am on Friday 11 July. It states "numerous logs regarding offensive graffiti" have been made, including at West Park, People's Park and Helvetia School - involving vehicles, buildings and general public areas. Anyone who witnessed suspicious activity overnight or has nearby CCTV is asked to contact officers on 01534 612612 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 111 555. The affected areas are being cleaned up by local people and government teams.
Wall Street Journal
17-06-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Trump's Tariffs Weaken America's Military
Eighty years ago, the U.S. Army Air Forces staged an exhibition beneath the Eiffel Tower. Thousands of Parisians gathered to admire the B-17 Flying Fortress—an American-built aircraft that helped liberate Europe from Nazi occupation. Primitive by today's standards, those bombers were the product of a national industrial base operating at full capacity. They were deployed by a trans-Atlantic alliance that shared logistics, intelligence and purpose. That model of coordination is what we need now—but it's being tested by a trade agenda that favors confrontation over cooperation. As I co-lead the congressional delegation to this week's Paris Air Show, the world's largest defense aerospace expo, I find myself asking: Is the greatest obstacle to America's security not China or Russia but our own trade policy?
The Sun
29-05-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Britain's ‘Nazi Islands' haunted by scandal of ‘Jerrybags' who bedded Hitler's henchmen & saw ‘traitor' babies shunned
Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player... THEY were witnesses to Nazi rule on British soil - and they had to choose whether to collaborate, resist, or walk the line between them. In June 1940 Nazi Germany took control of the Channel Islands in an occupation that would last 1,774 days. 20 20 20 As the Swaztika hung over the islands, strict rules were brought in for Jewish residents, with many deported to concentration camps in Europe to their deaths. Other islanders had their homes commandeered to house German officers, and informers and young women who chose to strike up relationships with the occupying soldiers were ostracised by their friends and neighbours. Now a new Channel 4 documentary has used diaries and memoirs from the wartime occupation to bring to life the stories of those who lived under Nazi rule - including some heroes of the resistance. Historian Dr Louise Willmot says: 'Some people did collaborate, and some people did resist. I'm very glad I never had to make that choice. 'There was also Hitler's own obsession with the Channel Islands, for him it was a propaganda prize.' On 15 June 1940, Churchill ordered the withdrawal of all military troops from the Channel Islands, leaving 94,000 islanders behind. Residents were given the choice to evacuate - but 69,000 chose to stay in their homes on the islands, undefended by the British military. Hitler's propaganda began straight away. Winifred Harvey, a 51-year-old middle class Guernsey housewife wrote in her diaries: 'The story goes that, at a concert in Jersey, the Kommandant addressed the crowd and asked who could speak German. "Three or four people put up their hands. Then he asked those who could not speak German to put up their hands. "Hundreds did - and immediately a photograph was taken and was published in a German paper as the Jersey people 'heiling' Hitler.' This is one of the safest Channel Islands 20 20 Historian Dr Willmot explains: 'Hitler insisted that the Channel Islands be turned into an impregnable fortress and not taken back. "He wanted to turn St Peter Port into some kind of U-boat base, the rest of the islands he wanted to use as a holiday resort. It is Hitler's obsession that it will become permanently part of German territory." But he wasn't counting on the bravery of some of the islanders - including local journalist Frank Falla, who launched an underground newspaper to debunk the German propaganda, and artist and anti-fascist Claude Cahun, who risked her life to try to encourage mutiny amongst the German troops. Claude lived with her 'step-sister' Suzanne Malherbe, who changed her name to Marcel Moore. But the pair were in fact lovers. Claude had a Jewish father and in 1937 the had pair escaped tensions in pre-war Paris and bought a house in Jersey. When the Germans arrived, they believed it was their duty to make a stand. They scribbled anti-Nazi slogans on cigarette packets, strewn where Germans would find them. Then in 1942 they began distributing leaflets, typed in German, under the pseudonym 'The Nameless Soldier' – seemingly a rebel Nazi stirring dissent. The leaflets were rolled up like 'paper bullets' and left inside shops and cafes, pushed through the windows of army vehicles, slipped into the pockets of soldiers' uniforms and stuffed into postboxes. These paper bullets were small, but the impact was significant. In Claude's diaries she wrote: 'I write the news bulletins in English, manifestos and slogans in French. I want to give the Germans the illusion that there are several typewriters. 20 20 20 "I make every effort to vary the strikes and format to make it look like several typists. My imaginary creation becomes an organised group and not just a solitary writer." As Cahun and Moore grew bolder, their messages instructed troops not to fight, and called Hitler a vampire, with slogans like: "Idiot that you may die, so the Fuhrer may live a little longer!" Claude wrote: 'I have to do whatever I can - by speaking or writing. When I try to induce German soldiers to lay down their arms, I'm true to my principles. "I am against war and against repression by our enemies. Perhaps Jersey is almost the only place where that luxury can be indulged.' They smuggled leaflets into labour camps to boost morale and helped escaped slave workers. Historian Dr Louise Willmot says they knew they were risking their lives to do so: "By choosing to do this work, they were saying, 'I am prepared to die in order to do this work, which is so important.' 'And it worked for a long time. The Germans did think that there must be a number of people involved and some of them must be German soldiers. "They were able to do it for almost three years before they were caught.' 'Jerrybags' scandal 20 20 20 20 It is staggering how cheek to jowl the islanders and the Germans lived - on average, there was one German soldier for every three islanders. And the occupation continued, not everyone on the islands was hostile to the enemy. Local Methodist Minister Douglas Ord wrote in his diaries: 'I saw a young Luftwaffe man walking out with a local girl, their arms intertwined behind their backs, her head on his shoulder. "Uniform fascinates a type of female, no matter what's inside it. I can't think that any woman who goes with the occupying forces has much self-respect." Journalist Frank Falla wrote: 'Because I work at night… I see the girls being driven home by their German boyfriends. Britain does not deserve these traitors even if she has given birth to them.' Even German officer Hans Max von Aufsess wrote: 'There is a good understanding between the German soldiers and English girls. "As long as it occurs in sufficient secrecy, the girls give in to temptation. English women are straightforward, uncomplicated and easy when it comes to love.' As long as it occurs in sufficient secrecy, the girls give in to temptation. English women are straightforward, uncomplicated and easy when it comes to love German officer Hans Max von Aufsess Douglas Ord later added to his journal: 'An unpleasant report is going round that a wretched woman has been holding cocktail parties for German officers and local girls. "There's another ugly rumour that before Christmas some 500 local girls will have had children to Germans.' Dr Louise Willmott explains: 'It did happen. You can argue that it's a natural thing in an occupation that lasts for five years, in which enmities break down and relationships are made." She continues: 'During the war, there was condemnation of the so-called 'Jerrybags', the women who had relationships with German soldiers. But really, they're a small minority.' The issue of young women residents left with babies after having relationships with German soldiers was brought to life in the film The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society, starring Lily James. Guernsey resident Dolly Edwards fell for German signaller Willi Joanknecht and theirs was the UK's first Anglo-German wedding after the war, in 1947 — but they were banned from returning to the island. Their marriage lasted more than 50 years, and they had five children. 'Traitor babies' 20 20 20 20 20 Hitler wanted to build an Atlantic Wall - a huge fortification down the French coast of almost 1700 miles long - so they also had to bring in 16,000 labourers to the Channel Islands. Many of these were prisoners of war, starving and emaciated, causing great conflict amongst the islanders, who felt desperately sorry for them, but were also rationed and fighting for survival themselves. Next Hitler ordered the deportation of anyone not born on the islands, then radios were banned to stop Islanders from listening to BBC news. But on 23 June 1943 the Islanders were given an opportunity to show their own resistance to the Germans. More than 400 sailors were killed when HMS Charybdis was sunk by German E-boats off the Channel Islands. The islanders were to give them a burial - and more than 5,000 people turned out to pay their respects, draping the coffins in union flags. Frank Falla wrote: 'The people of the island decide that this is their chance to show their loyalty to Britain. 5,000 of us make our way to the funeral. The Germans are completely taken by surprise. 'They're almost lost in this great mass of passive demonstrators. There can be no doubt where our true sympathies lie.' The people of the island decide that this is their chance to show their loyalty to Britain. 5,000 of us make our way to the funeral. The Germans are completely taken by surprise... There can be no doubt where our true sympathies lie Frank Falla But soon Frank's underground news service was uncovered by the Germans, and he and four others were convicted of spreading BBC news and deported to a prison in Germany. And in July 1944, Claude and Marcel's house was raided, where officers found a suitcase full of leaflets, a banned radio, camera, a typewriter and a revolver. The couple were sent to prison and sentenced to death for 'inciting the troops through propaganda'. But the threat of execution was lifted when Bailif Coutanche - the head of Jersey's government - appealed on the grounds it would traumatise the islanders. The war was declared over on May 8, 1945 - and Cahun and Moore were released the same day. In July, Frank Fall returned to Guernsey determined to get justice for victims of the islands' Nazi occupation - a fight that took him 20 years. University of Cambridge historian Professor Gilly Carr says: 'After the war, people who committed acts of resistance were ignored. "They were not recognised as having been the brave people who did the right thing. Instead, the bailiffs of the Channel Islands were given knighthoods. "Never being able to identify precisely the collaborators meant that for decades afterwards, the whole thing became a bigger taboo. 'My mother, who was from Guernsey, was told, for example, that she wasn't to talk to another girl in her class because her father was reputed to have been a German soldier. "These sorts of things go on for generations. In fact, discussion of these matters is still taboo in the Channel Islands today.' Britain Under the Nazis: The Forgotten Occupation airs on May 29 at 8pm on Channel 4 and is available to watch on Channel 4OD. 20 20 20
