But on 19 June 1940, as the German army advanced through France, and mere days after new prime minister Winston Churchill<\/a> had declared \u201cwe will fight on the beaches\u201d \u2013\u00a0it was decided that the Channel Islands (made up of the Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey and including the smaller islands of Alderney, Sark and Herm) were too difficult to defend, and of questionable strategic significance to warrant military protection. Occupation by the German forces was now inevitable.<\/p>\n Through hurried and confused messaging, residents of the islands were given the choice to evacuate \u2013 which meant leave their homes, jobs, families, and lives as they knew them\u2013 or decide to remain and face an unknown enemy.<\/p>\n Ships were sent to evacuate anyone who wished to leave, and queues formed in St Helier that lasted for days. Ralph Mollet was secretary to the Bailiff of Jersey, and he kept a diary of the occupation (a practice later banned by the German occupiers). On 19 June 1940, he wrote of the \u201clong queue of people five and six deep extended as far as the Opera House, Gloucester Street, some standing for at least ten hours.\u201d Most of the Channel Islands\u2019 Jewish population, aware of the imminent arrival of the Nazis who had already passed anti-Semitic laws and enacted brutal violence upon Jews across Europe, had already left for England. Twelve registered Jews remained on Jersey.<\/p>\n Panic and confusion reigned as residents decided what to do. \u201cThe telephones were working without cessation,\u201d wrote Mollet. \u201cEveryone was asking his neighbour what he was going to do. Many buried their valuables. The sound of gun fire ceased in the evening, and a considerable proportion of the population of St. Helier slept in the country.\u201d The confusing nature of the evacuation, compounded by the limited number of vessels, meant that while 23,000 islanders registered to leave Jersey, only 6,500 actually did.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were having supper when we heard the noise, the disturbance, which was the planes coming over La Rocque and we went into the back garden at home.\u201d Graham Bree was a child in Jersey on 28 June 1940, when German aerial forces targeted St Peter Port in Guernsey, and Jersey\u2019s largest town, St Helier. \u201cThere were the German planes,\u201d Bree told the BBC in 2020, \u201cwhich appeared very, very low and very menacing, approaching the house and heading towards the harbour in St Helier\u201d.<\/p>\n The subsequent, devastating aerial attack \u2013 part of the German plan for subjugation of the islands that was codenamed \u2018Operation Green Arrow\u2019 (Gr\u00fcne Pfeile) \u2013 killed 9 people on Jersey, with a further death toll on neighbouring Guernsey. \u00a0In any community such losses would be deeply felt, but particularly on such small and close-knit islands, almost every resident was connected to one the casualties. It marked the beginning of an occupation that would last almost five years.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The first German occupiers arrived in Jersey on 1 July 1940, astonished to find the islands undefended (they had mounted their previous aerial attack under the impression that civilian farming lorries moving around the island were troop carriers). German Major Albrecht Lanz\u00a0was met at the airport at 6pm by the island\u2019s Bailiff, Alexander Coutanche, and the Attorney General, CW Duret Aubin. Two hours later Coutanche, who reportedly did not wish the Union flag to be lowered by the Germans, went to Fort Regent and lowered it himself. A swastika flag was soon flown\u00a0 from St Helier\u2019s Parish Hall, and on 2 July a series of orders was issued that included the ominous line: \u201cWe will respect the population of Jersey; but, should anyone attempt to cause the least trouble, serious measures will be taken.\u201d<\/p>\n But, contrary to the fears of many in Jersey who expected that the worst was still to come, the beginning of the occupation was relatively peaceful. Compared to the occupations of France and the Netherlands, the Channel Islands experienced a much \u2018softer\u2019 occupation. The islands were a symbolic prize for Adolf Hitler \u2013\u00a0his advisors spoke of his inselwahn<\/em> or \u2018island madness\u2019 \u2013 and as well as a valuable propaganda coup, it was marked by ideological difference, as he regarded the British as more \u2018equal\u2019, a people to rule rather than oppress or eradicate.<\/p>\n Some restrictions were immediately placed on civilian life, with radios confiscated and curfews imposed. Use of German currency \u2013 Reichsmarks and pfennigs \u2013 became obligatory, most vehicles were commandeered by the Germans, and islanders were required to cycle on the right side of the road. Diaries from the time report a growing sense of isolation as news was cut off from the mainland \u2013 and in worst cases, feelings of abandonment and despair that the island communities had been left behind \u2013 but the communities were broadly unmarked by violence. For the few Jews who had remained in Jersey though, life would change drastically as measures were introduced against them. Early law changes meant that all Jewish businesses had to display a sign stating the shop was \u201cJewish owned\u201d or a \u201cJewish Undertaking\u201d, while another law banned Jews from holding the position of \u2018higher official\u2019 on the island.<\/p>\n The fact that these laws were implemented by senior Jersey officials remains as evidence, for some, of collaboration with the regime. Others have defended the approach by Bailiff Coutanche and the island\u2019s officials, asserting that they believed they were acting as a buffer between occupiers and residents, and had little choice but to accept the demands of the Germans. How far their actions went in assisting the German occupiers is a topic that remains under debate today.<\/p>\n In the early stages of the occupation, the environment was seen as one in which German troops could relax. Indeed, just one week before the invasion, Jersey was still advertised as a holiday destination. Many contemporary reports from Jersey folk mention that troops were polite and well-mannered. One Channel Island resident, Pearl White-Regan describes how the profile of the occupiers changed: \u201cThey were perfect at first because they picked the cream of Germany. The men that came over first were very polite, some had been educated at Oxford\u2026 we had all the terrible men at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n Nevertheless, the Nazi occupation of Jersey was comprehensive \u2013 there could be as many as one to two Germans per islander \u2013 there\u2019s no doubt that the German presence led to immense privation, particularly in the final years of the war. Trade with other territories halted almost immediately, and fewer destinations for important Jersey exports such as potatoes and milk contributed to widespread unemployment across the island. The demands of feeding the German troops also led to chronic shortages, and following D-Day in June 1944, the situation worsened as the Allies attempted to deprive the German occupiers. One resident Diane Conway recounted to the BBC in 2016 how \u201cpeople went down [to the beach] to get limpets\u201d to make limpet stew, until eventually \u201cthe rocks had no limpets at all\u201d.<\/p>\n The occupation, explained author Duncan Barrett in this episode of the HistoryExtra<\/em> podcast<\/a>, was characterised by a \u2018make-do-and-mend\u2019 attitude driven by personal ingenuity. Blackberry leaves became a substitute for tea, acorns for coffee and boiled sugar beet was a common source of ersatz sugar. Stinging nettles replaced vegetables, and with nothing wasted, \u2018potato peel pie\u2019 became a common treat. With cars having been confiscated, precious bikes became the mode of transport and when tires wore through, they were replaced with hosepipes. Others found they could make the soap ration stretch further by \u201cboiling ivy leaves till quite soft and adding one half packet of soap powder and one tablet of soap\u201d.<\/p>\n Listen: Duncan Barrett tells the stories of Channel Islanders under German occupation<\/a> in World War Two, on this episode of the HistoryExtra<\/em> podcast:<\/strong><\/p>\n![\""The\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/7\/2022\/02\/2APFPK3-dcb57d4-e1645187883805.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413"\" "\\"\"The\\"")
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