When The Germans Came - The Occupation of the Channel Islands - Production & Contact Info (original) (raw)

When The Germans Came - The Occupation of the Channel Islands Part of Channel Islands at War Week The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick ...See moreWhen The Germans Came - The Occupation of the Channel Islands Part of Channel Islands at War Week The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, consisting of Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm and some smaller islands. Although they are not part of the United Kingdom, the UK is responsible for the defence and international relations of the islands. They have a total population of about 171,916. In the summer of 1940, Britain stood perilously close to invasion. One by one, the nations of Europe had fallen to the unstoppable German Blitzkrieg, and Hitler's sights were set on the English coast. And yet, following the success of the Battle of Britain, the promised invasion never came. The prospect of German jackboots landing on British soil retreated into the realm of collective nightmares. But the spectre of what might have been is one that has haunted us down the decades, finding expression in counterfactual history and outlandish fictions. What would a British occupation have looked like? The answer lies closer to home than we think, in the experiences of the Channel Islanders - the only British people to bear the full brunt of German Occupation. For five years, our nightmares became their everyday reality. The people of Guernsey, Jersey and Sark got to know the enemy as those on the mainland never could, watching in horror as their towns and villages were suddenly draped in Swastika flags, their cinemas began showing Nazi propaganda films, and Wehrmacht soldiers goose-stepped down their highstreets. Duncan Barrett joins us on WW2TV to talk about the occupation. He is a writer and editor, specialising in biography and memoir. He grew up in London and studied English at Jesus College, Cambridge. Written by Paul Woodadge See less