German occupation of the Channel Islands
The military occupation of the Channel Islands by Nazi Germany lasted for most of the Second World War, from 30 June 1940 until liberation on 9 May 1945. The Bailiwick of Jersey and Bailiwick of Guernsey are British Crown dependencies in the English Channel, near the coast of Normandy. The Channel Islands were the only de jure part of the British Empire in Europe to be occupied by Nazi Germany during the war. Germany's allies Italy and Japan also occupied British territories in Africa and Asia, respectively.
"Occupation of Jersey" redirects here. This article is about the occupation of Jersey by Nazi Germany between 1940 and 1945. For other occupations of Jersey by hostile force, see History of Jersey.Anticipating a swift victory over Britain, the occupying German forces initially experimented by using a moderate approach to the non-Jewish population, supported by local collaborators. However, the situation grew gradually worse and ended in near-starvation for both occupiers and occupied in the winter of 1944–45. Armed resistance by islanders to the German occupation was nearly non-existent. Many islanders were employed by the Germans, and Germany imported thousands of forced labourers to build extensive defensive works. Island leaders maintained some authority, independence, and autonomy from the German occupiers.
Before occupation[edit]
Early months of the Second World War[edit]
Between 3 September 1939, when the United Kingdom declared war on Germany, and 9 May 1940, little changed in the Channel Islands. Unlike in the UK, conscription did not exist, but a number of people travelled to Britain to join up as volunteers. The horticulture and tourist trades continued as before; the British government relaxed travel restrictions between the UK and the Channel Islands in March 1940, allowing tourists from the UK to take morale-boosting holidays in the traditional island resorts.[1] On 10 May 1940, Germany attacked the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg by air and land, bringing the war closer. The Battle of France was reaching its climax on Empire Day, 24 May, when King George VI addressed his subjects by radio, saying, "The decisive struggle is now upon us ... Let no one be mistaken; it is not mere territorial conquest that our enemies are seeking. It is the overthrow, complete and final, of this Empire and of everything for which it stands, and after that the conquest of the world. And if their will prevails they will bring to its accomplishment all the hatred and cruelty which they have already displayed."[2]
On 11 June 1940, as part of the British war effort in the Battle of France, a long-range Royal Air Force aerial sortie carried out by 36 Whitley bombers against the Italian cities of Turin and Genoa departed from airfields in Jersey and Guernsey, as part of Operation Haddock.[3] Weather conditions resulted in only ten Whitleys reaching their intended targets.[4] Two bombers were lost in action.[3]
Demilitarisation[edit]
On 15 June, after the Allied defeat in the Battle of France, the British government decided that the Channel Islands were of no strategic importance and would not be defended, but did not tell Germany. Despite the reluctance of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the British government gave up the oldest possession of the Crown "without firing a single shot."[5] The Channel Islands served no purpose
for the Germans other than the propaganda value of occupying British territory. The "Channel Islands had been demilitarised and declared...' an open town'".[6]
On 16 June 1940, the Lieutenant-Governors of each island were instructed to make as many boats as possible available to help evacuate British soldiers from Saint-Malo. Guernsey was too far away to help on such short notice. The Bailiff of Jersey called on the Saint Helier Yacht Club for help. Four yachts set off immediately, and fourteen others were ready within 24 hours. The first yachts arrived in Saint-Malo the morning of 17 June and embarked troops from shore to waiting transport ships; the remaining yachts from Jersey arrived on 18 June and helped clear the last parties from land.[1]
On 17 June 1940, a plane arrived in Jersey from Bordeaux, evacuating Brigade General Charles de Gaulle.[7] After coffee and refuelling, the plane flew on to Heston, outside London, where the next day the general made his historic appeal of 18 June to the French people on the BBC. The last troops left the islands on 20 June, departing so quickly that they left behind bedding and half-consumed meals in Castle Cornet.[8] The Hawker Hurricane fighters of the No. 501 Squadron RAF arrived in Jersey from Dinard in France on 17 June and evacuated to England on 21 June.