Channel Islands, 1940: When The Nazis Invaded England | Hitler's England | Timeline
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- Опубликовано: 6 апр 2022
- Hitler's England tells the story of the British Channel Islands under German occupation from 1940 to 1945. There was collaboration and resistance, heroism and infamy, repression and violence, denunciation and deportation. But, there was also the everyday life between the conquerors and the conquered. The story that emerges is complex, heart-rending and enthralling. It is the story of ordinary people, many of whom became extraordinary as they lived through the harsh and bitter years of the German Occupation.
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The story of the soldier who married that islander has to be the most wholesome war story ever
There are many similar stories. My great aunt also married a German PoW after the war. He was interned in Scotland, and I believe was put to work on a local farm, where they met.
Lovely guy, with a very strange German / Scots accent.
My mother in law was a Land Army girl on a farm in Oxfordshire where she met a German PoW. He had no family left in Germany as they had all been killed in bombing raids by the RAF and USAAF so stayed in England after the war and married his girl from Liverpool. When he retired in 1988 he was the manager of the same farm where he'd been a PoW.
And they were known as “Gerrybags” for marrying Germans and shunned by local society
The story of Werner Rang, the German medical orderly, presents a fascinating story of former enemies becoming firm friends. Having married Phyllis Baker, they both settled back to life in Sark with its population of only a few hundred people, where Phyllis became a prominent member of Chief Pleas - the island's government. With his medical knowledge Werner set up the island's ambulance service (horse-drawn) and became so respected in Sark that he was eventually elected to be one of the island's Constables. One of the duties of the Constables is to act as the personal bodyguards to the reigning Monarch whenever he/she is on the island. So, we have the picture Gefreiter Werner Rang of the Wehrmacht, a former enemy of the Monarch of the United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Island, escorting HM Queen Elizabeth II as her personal bodyguard as she is driven around Sark in a horse-drawn carriage. I have little doubt that the strangeness of the situation was not lost on HM.
I used to work in Sark covering the local GP when he went on holiday and I met Werner on many occasions. However, the last time I saw him was on a "Liberation Day" parade on Sark which remembers the day that the islands were liberated after WW2. Sark remembers it the day after Guernsey and Jersey as Sark had to wait until the day after them to be liberated! At the parade I could just make him out among all the other members in the contingent of the British Legion of which he, a former sergeant in the enemy forces, was now so respected that he had been elected an Honorary Member!! Talk about beating swords into plowshares!!
That's a cool story worthy of a documentary of its own.
Thank you for that unique bit of history!!
@@kennagel8088 Their story was written up in a book by a local author, Richard le Tissier, and I would be surprised if John Nettles and the producers of the programme did not come across it.
She was a tragic loss.
These are the journeys that humans undertake. Keep a kind heart and enough bravery to resist those who would seed your heart with hatred.
My grandmother from Guernsey told us a story about some Germans that lived next door to her during the occupation. She had a daughter that used to play in the garden and the Germans would always smile and say hello and they loved her smile and laughter. The Germans became concerned when she did appear for days, so knocked on my grandmothers door. She told them that she had passed away. They wanted to pay their respects so they left the guns outside, went to her bedside and they all cried.
My grandmother was a Jersey woman. She married my grandfather, a Cornishman, and came to Canada in the 1920s but the rest of her family lived through the occupation. My great-aunt Eunice (Paisnel, nee Saout) gave some Russian POWs some produce from her farm as they were being marched past and for that she received a visit during which she was threatened by a German officer in her home. In response, without thinking, she pushed him away indignantly, and then immediately thought that she had had the biscuit, but to her surprise and great relief the officer simply left.
Neat story thanks for sharing with us
The people of the small island should be proud
What a coincidence,your grandmother marrying your grandfather.Lucky or you wouldn't be here.
@Paddy Bateman Ethnically the Cornwelsh are Brythonic Celts, not Anglo-Saxons. They have more in common genetically with the Bretons (and thus the Channel Islanders) and the Welsh.
bryaga - That never happened.
What a truly heart touching documentary. An invaluable piece of non-propaganda.
True words!
The Germans would have crushed England.
@@DestinyAwaits19 Yeah, sure grandpa. Let's get you your meds.
@@eddie810 England would have been destroyed.
@@DestinyAwaits19 aye but the scot’s would kick your heads in
A brilliant documentary. And from what I know all absolutely correct. I am Guernsey born in 1962 and have heard a lot about the occupation from people who were actually there. It wasnt that long ago back then.
No, emphatically not 'all correct'.Jersey has never been a part of England, but a 'crown dependence'.
@@endamcdonald6166 I've not watched the documentary yet, it might be a good documentary, but I was put off looking at the title *"Channel Islands, 1940: When The Nazis Invaded England"* I was thinking, what idiot could have written that title?
My mother and her family come from Alderney. My grandmother talks about being evacuated and the disruption it caused and the horror of what was left behind on their return
Wonderful show. I worked on Jersey for 6 years in the 1980's and this brought back so many happy memories. I once rounded a corner and walked onto a Bergerac set and John Nettles himself was there lol and I celebrated every Liberation Day with the Islanders. It was a lovely place, lovely people, and Bob Le Sueur looks extremely familiar to me! I shall say a prayer for Louisa Gould, an angel on earth. Please God let there be no more wars on our beautiful planet ever. We all, every nationality, have had enough and just want to live in Peace together. 🕊
That never happened.
The title should read ' When the Germans invaded' - by no means all Germans were Nazis and this is what should never be forgotten..
Absolutely correct. When Britain declared war in 1939, Prime Minister Chamberlain's words were "This country is at war with Germany" not "at war with the Nazis." Makes me wonder how much else is wrong in this video.
incredible doc. speechless. thank you.
People are people no matter where you go on the planet. They have loves, spouses, children, homes. It's the ones in charge who tend to muck it all up so we can't all be friends. I have to admit the two that got married after the war made me cry.
Me, too, but, uh, I was, uh, chopping onions, so that was probably why.
I family come from the channel islands to New Zealand.
Great comment..
Love sometimes wins out!👍🏻
Sorry but people put others in power and enforce social norms. People are not just ignorant participants in history.
Loved the documentary!! Being an American not born until 1951 it is so nice to learn of this little known history!! Thank you so much!!
William. A brief aside, this is the Jersey that New Jersey gets it's name from.
@@philipsmithers4826 you can go on forever with this Phil,,,,New York, New Hampshire...the French jumping in now with New Orleans...and here are the spanish with New Mexico.
@@peterwhitaker4038 I was brought up there from the age of 7 in 1952 leaving at 15 in 1961, so I know a lot of this history. I mentioned New Jersey because Jersey is such a small Island (9 x 5 imperial miles), and yet it is so famous. Google Jersey cows
@@philipsmithers4826 very good Phil. Just out of interest, where did you go to from Jersey?
@@peterwhitaker4038 I went into the Royal Navy. My biological father came from Montgomery, Alabama. I don't know of any other way to chat , do you? It is just that we are going of the topic.
Did not know all this ….amazing details of how the people involved survived and adapted their lives and relationships…a fascinating insight into a period of the WWII that is not normally publicized
Watch the documentary Europa the last battle. It is alot in there that i didnt know and I have watched alot of ww2 docs. I guess there is things they wish we dont know.
Great documentary. That poor woman Louisa Gould RIP
She died with a good conscience.
This is a great documentary! I learned a lot from it! Thanks for the upload!
I’m not gonna lie this is TRULY the Greatest Channel on the WHOLE of RUclips!!! No other channel comes even remotely close to y’all!!! Keep up the EXCELLENT Work!!!!
Edit:
I know that the British people have a different outlook/treatment with the Germans. As an American who had many of family members who fought against both the Germans and the Japanese. My PawPaw told me they hated the Japanese because of Pearl Harbor, and the War Crimes the Japanese did to Americans is why they hated the Japanese, but my PawPaw’s life was saved by a German POW that was captured in North Africa where my PawPaw was fighting at. My PawPaw caught Desert Fever, and the German POW that nursed him back to life was a Medic in the German military. My PawPaw also taught me that the all of the German soldier’s were as he called them Gentlemen Warriors, and they believed in the rules of war that most European nations practiced. Don’t get me wrong my PawPaw killed his fair share of the Nazis, and during the war he didn’t like them. Because they were the enemy, but just because he didn’t like them doesn’t mean he hated them.
Who was it you were talking about? I only saw it 6 TIMES in one paragraph.
@@GottaWannaDance I counted 5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
War crimes like Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
@@GottaWannaDance- Noun. papaw (plural papaws) (US, dialect, Southern US) Alternative form of pawpaw, a grandfather, especially one's paternal grandfather. (US, dialect, Southern US, less commonly) A father. - Wiktionary
I had no idea that John Nettles was also an Historian, in addition to being an actor.
An excellent piece, thank you.
Thank you for enlightening ALL of us on the WW2 Channel Islands. I served with a David Le Sueur in the Royal Scots Greys,
Germans sir, Germans,
I wish you people would stop trying to replace a political ideology with the actual nationality of the perpetrators!
Very good & informative; even moving!
My Father was part of the British Liberation Forces that arrived in 1945. Until his final days he used to love telling stories of his time there. He stayed with a couple on Gurnsey, Frank & Norah Gurney.
Your father lied to you.
@@jonhohensee3258 you seem to think everyone is a liar don’t you sweetie?
@@DeborahLatimer Everyone, snoookums.
After just returning from a jersey holiday I came over this on RUclips, and must say found it absolutely gripping what a fantastic programme a real credit to its makers. I throughly enjoyed it thank you.
Wonderful documentary,thank you.
So sad the brutality and at the same time, sometimes, showing the face of compassion. War is declared by Governments, but the common folks bear the brunt, for better or ill.
Thanks for sharing the information. I wish peace and harmony 🙏🏼
What a great documentary, and what an inspired choice to get John Nettles involved.
To this day, wherever John Nettles goes, someone gets murdered.
Brilliant film, when my grandmother passed, my dad was sent to stay with family in Jersey, similarities to the blitz. This is where as a child, he became fascinated with WW2 and then passed that onto me.
Wow you have my name. Simon Richards.
As others below point out, Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark are not in or part of England. They never have been, even before 1707 when England existed as a sovereign country. The Channel Islands are Crown Dependencies and are not part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. So the title 'Hitler's England' is wrong too.
Exactly what I came on here to say (and that chap at 5:10 does as well)
They mention it in the video, the title is a German piece of propaganda
Yes to the Germans it was England - it's a play on words
This is one of the most informative documentaries I’ve seen. The same fate happened to another young Jewish lady in the Channel Islands when the family for whom she was a nanny decided to rush back to England. She was not allowed to go and ended up in the same terrible condition as the young lady shown here. I’m sure it was the same scenario repeated hundreds or thousands of times. Such a terribly sad fate.
I wouldn't have allowed my nanny to be left behind and rounded up. I'd have sneaked her out to England and hidden her away. Neither would I have allowed the persecution of the Jewish grocer. The people should have banded together and protected him. There were more of the Jersey people than the stinking Nazi's. They should have kicked tem out, thrown them off the cliffs, anything but allow te=hem to walk in and take over.
So, it says 1 reply. I'd like to read it. There is no reply, but it still says 1 reply. This would be 2 replies, but as it's my 1 reply, thereis only 1 reply now when there should be 2.
@@GottaWannaDance It might have been deleted by whoever posted it, or deleted by YT if they considered it inappropriate. I recently, for the first time ever,had a comment censored by YT and removed......
@@GottaWannaDance ruclips.net/video/VAKxW6nj6E0/видео.html
@@juanitarichards1074 ruclips.net/video/VAKxW6nj6E0/видео.html
My great grandmother and some of her daughters lived through the occupation of Jersey. I still have letters from them sent to my grandmother in England with swastika "approval" stamp marks on them.
That’s fascinating. Imagine how much those letters would go for at a antiques fair?
@@matty6848 Would never part with them. Maybe my kids will though.
We loved tuning in to Bergerac once a week in the 80s. Always dramatic stuff.
t'would seem so. . .
Thank you so much for uploading this video. It is helping me get through the pandemic!
Thank you for this wonderfully clear video. I have learnt so much.
Thank you so much, very interesting. Knowing a lot about WWII has never come across this historic information.
Timeline makes the best documentaries and this one was absolutely fantastic thank you
What an outstanding video. I'd never heard the story of the people on the channel islands. If we could afford to go there I'd go in a heartbeat. This shows you don't have to be a soldier to be brave !
or cruel, grassing their neighbours up to the Bosh!
Very interesting. Thank you 👍🏾
Cracking! Thank very much.
Thank you John for a wondetfully told piece of history
Thank you Timeline, for this moving, precious account - a story about which i knew nothing.
What a peaceful and enjoyable time when compared to the Japanese invasion and occupation of the Philippines in WWII
Or Nanking………
And Russia facing the Soviet onslaught. Especially during the Russian winters when it got as cold as minus 50C. What a great place too be stationed if you were a German soldier. Those in the Channel Islands had it good compared to their counterparts in Russia.
Such a good choice as Narrator.
Perfect for this story.
Simply fascinating insight, thank you for the relatively little known occupation. Excellent in every aspect.
What a superb documentary and superb narrative from Mr nettles
I remember Molly coming into our school on liberation day to give us a talk and a first hand account, the stories were fascinating, the history of the islands are so important
I wonder if it is known who the “resentful neighbor” is; did they understand the inhumanity of their actions?
I would think so, regretfully so...
I wish they had told us. He/she should have been punished - severely. If they didn't know who it was, to begin with, there should have been an investigation to find out.
@@edwardolson8996 I read that some of the collaborations & denouncer's. Had their heads shaved & were also tard & feathered in public. They were also ostracised by the community afterwards. Hopefully this neighbour was among them.
I hope they didn't live long enough to understand anything.
Wondered the same thing.
I watched "Another Mother's Son" a few weeks ago, which eventually led me to this video. I did not expect to see the real Louisa Gould's registration card here, at 13:21. May she rest in peace. Thank you for the video.
amazing to see Bergerac talking about jerseys history with such passion and honesty.
This was fantastic!
Very interesting piece of history, well presented and documented.
The title of this documentary is entirely incorrect. The Nazis did not invade England, they invaded Jersey, Jersey is no more part of England than Scotland is. It is a Crown Dependency and is indeed associated with the United Kingdom who are responsible for its defence and relationship with foreign countries etc. but is not part of the United Kingdom. I am amazed that Timeline does not have somebody responsible for checking such outrageous inaccuracies.
And Guernsey, Alderney, Sark...
90% sure It's a re-upload from a TV channel like most of the stuff on here. Don't know which one though. That's how all the WW2 shows are it only really mentions Britain, US & Soviet Union as the only allies that did anything. Even if it's something that say involved Canada or Australia they'll only say UK or Commonwealth, also they mentioned it's not really part of Britain at the start of the show around 5:50
Learn about de facto vs de jure
Stop splitting hairs literally no one but you cares
Absolutely phenomenal.
Amazing. Very interesting. Thank you
Forgiveness and compassion is what we are here to learn
My family, on my mother's side came from Jersey and Guernsey. My grandfather rose from gunner to Brigadier General (now known as Brigadiers). I visited my grandmother's sister in St. Hellier, Jersey and she told me a story about the starvation and my great-grandmother. It was so sad. I visited the underground German hospital.
Excellent documentary. I
I just got back from holiday in Jersey. My Great Grandmother had grown up there and went to school under German occupation. Unfortunately she died four years ago but it was interesting to listen to her account of events in the early 1940's
Great documentary 🍿
Love John Nettles. This is an excellent documentary. An excellent fictional view of the Channel Islands is the television series "Island at War".
One outstanding video.
The Channel Islands aren't 'England', but I understand what he's saying.
I'm impressed that he refers to the enemy as 'The Germans'. That's who my father fought.
Have to say the Guernsey Potato Peel Society heightened my interest in this subject. Love from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.
Wonderful Documentary. Done Well. Thank you.
Wonder why the Germans didn't go fishing?
Fabulous documentary.
It would interesting to hear how the producers view the accuracy of shows like "Enemy at the Door" and "Island at War".
I really liked "Island at War"and learned alot from it.
Great documentary ,full of great facts
St Helier is the capital of the Bailiwick of Jersey, the German High Command in the CI was at Elizabeth College, in St Peter Port, Guernsey. Guernsey has a larger bailiwick than Jersey. Guernsey was the central command, Alderney was a prison. There is a lot more to the story than portrayed here.
Great to see John Nettles again,happy memories of Bergerac and more recently Midsummer Murders.Regarding the ill fated Sark Commando raid,John forgot to mention the successful raid of tht Casquets light house island.During a night attack Commando,s surprised the Germans and took them back to England.
Thanks for sharing "sad history" of WWII in British Channel Islands.
This is fantastic .
Thanks. We're all so thick, we really needed that.
Everyone forget the bad things and good things remain the same . Very nice documentary and a very very happy ending.
The Channel Islands are not England. They're British Crown Dependencies
beat me to it... though most Brits don't know the difference either 😂😂😂
Indeed. They are the last remnants of the Kingdom of Normandy, which was ruled by William the Conqueror. They have remained a possession of his dynastic line since he was crowned King of England in 1066, right up to the modern day.
tilznak rento vikrild toppy zan-zan
😴😴😴
@@sdrawkcabUK 😴😴😴
It's actually one of my favorite creepy movies that drew me to this video. Just finished watching "The Others" for Halloween season. One of my all time favorite movies. But it never dawned on me before to actually look up about the Jersey Channel Islands. Very insightful as to what the citizens of these lands had to go through during occupation
Brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed thais video. My father had served int the RAF as a warrant officer and my friends father was in the Luftwaffe stationed in Paris. I have still got John Nettles photograph he sent me with his two dogs that I was going to paint. The two dogs had no intention of looking at the camera and looked left and right while John had a rather big smile. So I couldn't really use the photo.I have been an artist for many years with my paintings hanging on many walls. Shortly they will be exhibited at the Mall Gallery London. I would still love to produce a painting for John. I have always been interested in the second world war so this video was absolutely fascinating. Best wishes John... Ray Eric Phillips
Very good documentary
That was wonderful.
The head of the Gestapo was asked if he needed to torture prisoners to extract information he replied that he only needed to open his mail in the morning to know what was happening on the island. So many collaborators and Jerry Bags! The must sensible thing was to be evacuated. Oh can't forget Jersey Police and Prison Service they should have been tried as war criminals.
well done John Nettles. an actor speaking from the heart instead of trying to be in the limelight on some hollywood carpet. fullmarks Sir!
The channel Islanders are a bit touchy about documentaries like this, they were not sure if they were friends or foes during WW2, I believe John Nettles got serious threats because of the documentaries he made about the German occupation.
And even afterwards
yes, a excellent video, but, as a foot-note, I do wonder if the person that denounced that lady and was directly responsible for her death was ever dealt with appropriately ?
My Gandmother took me to Guernsey for a holiday in (about) 1968. I thought it was fun, she lost me a few times as I was a bit of a rebel. One day, I bought a small book by John Dalmau called "Slave Worker" about how the Germans forced captives to build the Underground Hospital. Only 24 pages, I read it in a day. God, I wept buckets! Changed my vision of the island - fortunately in the 1980's i took my (then) girlfriend back for a holiday. Like another commentator, I rounded a bend on a hired scooter, and also caused John Nettles and his crew to stop filming for a minute! Very friendly, I guess we could've stopped for a chat, (we did for a few seconds, me apologising profusely) but I didn't want to interrupt their work.
The song they talk about (hai di hai do) is called “Ein Heller und ein Batzen”.
The Channel Islands are NOT part of the UK, and are certainly not part of "England". They are dependent territories.
Correct Steven, they are Crown Dependencies, along with the Isle of Man.
Then Is same as the Ascension islands and the Falkland Islands..?
@@thomasauslander3757 No, they are overseas British Dependent Territories. CI and IOM are Crown Dependencies in the British Isles.
@@alfredroyal3473 ... ss successors to the Duke of Normandy, yep that feller! #TeamHarold
UK parliament has the power to legislate for the islands. The Islanders are full British citizens. The UK has the responsibility of defending the islands.
A fascinating documentary about the Channel Islands, 1940 World War II
as a Jersey man, their pronunciation of St. Helier really grates me, it is Hel-i-er, not Hel-i-a.
Did you go to Vic College or summing like that?
Coincidentally, I just watched an episode of Bergerac from 1982 four days ago. Very good it was too.
Excellent
History books would try to tell you that the Islanders almost never fraternised with the Germans but it was quite the opposite,who wouldn't want to be with the Victor's of Western Europe,the women loved them and boys wish they could be like them,that's the channel islands for you in 1940.
Very interesting
Great Doco Shocking as it Maybe.
Thanks for this great documentary. I’m curious to know if the woman who reported Louise Gould to the German occupiers was herself brought to justice?
The Model Occupation, by Madeleine Bunting published by Harper Collins in 1995 is an excellent read on the matter of the Channel Islands.
Would love to know what happened to the person who dobbed the lady who was hiding the Russian.
I lived on Jersey from 1972 to 1976 before being taken to LA which was unfortunate in retrospect. The only fond memories I have of my childhood were those years on the island!
I don't know why people always get this wrong, but the Channel Islands are not in England. Neither are Scotland , Wales or Northern Ireland. In fact the Channel Islands aren't even part of the United Kingdom, having their own governance and their own laws, especially when it comes to taxation, which is why so many wealthy people buy property there. They, together with the Isle of Man - between England and Ireland - are Crown Dependencies, that is, they are historically possessions of the British Crown and enjoy its protection, as various blockading French fishing boats discovered recently when they found themselves trying to stare down a British patrol boat.
So it's stretching a point to say that the Germans occupied any part of the United Kingdom at all, although they bombed quite a bit of it.
They literally say all that in the video.
The title is one that would be synonymous with Germans as occupying the islands was used in their propaganda machine as if to say "look, we have a bit of the British Empire our possession"
That was brilliant
When did the Channel Islands become part of England? Has anyone told them?
No. Nor HMRC.
Not even part of the UK hope his history is better than his geography.
I once had a friend who was from Guernsey and she used to tell me they always considered themselves French before English
Yup. It's about as British as the Irish Republic. Possibly less, given that England and Ireland used to both be British. I don't think the channel Islands have ever been in the UK. Also, geographically the channel Islands are not located in the British isles. Geographically they're french. Politically they are autonomous... actually one of the talking heads tells us this. So definitely not English. The British government is responsible for foreign policy and defence. Otherwise they make their own way in the world.
I guess the Germans didn’t much care if the islands were a part of England. They spoke English and I guess that was enough for them.