The Channel Islands 1940-1945

Year Published: 1945

Creator: Gerard Bryant

Description: During WWII, the Channel Islands were invaded and occupied by Germany. This short 1945 documentary,"The Channel Islands 1940-1945" uses re-enactments to depict the German occupation of the Channel Islands during WWII. The film shows islanders coping with shortages, engaging in resistance activities, and eventually celebrating their liberation. It opens with a secret boat trip to England, sets the theme of hardship and defiance, and concludes with the islands' liberation and the Germans clearing mines. Directed by Gerard Bryant. 0:00 Main titles. The film opens with a wartime message to the people of Britain, assuring them the islanders are struggling under occupation but the "Germans can't get us down," and that they are managing to hear the BBC. The narrator contrasts the pre-war "sandy beaches, cheap drinks" with the lack of a holiday atmosphere for five years. When the Germans arrived in 1940, their discipline was initially good, but they soon began seizing property. 2:43: The Germans started taking radios, then the best horses, and then cars at their own price. Old cars were sent to the scrap heap, forcing islanders to rely on ancient horse-drawn buses and bicycles. When bicycle tires wore out, they were improvised from old garden hoses. 3:32: Worst of all, the Germans "stole the truth" and filled newspapers with propaganda. The remedy was running an underground paper with the help of the BBC. A junior reporter named Nick Robins played a large part in distribution. The originator from the Guernsey Star was eventually caught and died in Germany; others were imprisoned. 5:31: Substitutes were used for basic goods: tobacco was grown, tea was made from bramble leaves, and sugar was replaced by treacle from beets, pressed using improvised equipment. Clothes were constantly mended. The Germans fortified the islands with barbed wire, mines, and fortifications, using imported slave labor (Russians, Poles, Czechs). 6:12: When the electric supply was cut, islanders began making crystal radio sets to listen to the news. Mr. Taylor (a butcher) and his daughter, and Andre (a hairdresser), are typical examples of people who turned out hundreds of sets, often under the noses of German soldiers. 6:46: On June 6th, the islanders knew "something big was on" and soon realized it was D-Day. They realized they would have to stick it out longer. Many slave workers died. As the Allies liberated cities (Caen, Paris, Brussels, Warsaw), the islands entered a state of siege . Food and fuel ran short, and German rations were cut to the bare minimum. 7:38: The Red Cross ship SS Vega arrived, bringing Canadian and New Zealand parcels, which lifted spirits and made islanders listen almost openly to the news. Andre the hairdresser ran a "luxury listening service" for customers until an informer gave his name to the Gestapo; Andre received six months in jail. The narrator expresses shame for the "traitors" who split on neighbors for a handful of marks. Post office workers intercepted anonymous letters to the Gestapo. 9:31: The food situation was desperate; livestock was thin, and shops had nothing but a ration of one ounce of breakfast meal per head per day. The black market was unaffordable for most. Families like Jack and Florrie Steele were forced to feed their children day after day on carrots and potatoes. Islanders collected carrageen moss (seaweed) from the beach to wash, dry, and cook for vitamins. Children received priority, but their clothes and shoes were threadbare. 11:12: SS Vega returned in March, but the Germans were now as hungry as the islanders and stole Red Cross supplies. The end came with Victory in Europe (VE) Day. 12: The islanders celebrated their freedom. Food started arriving immediately, with double rations for everyone. Younger children, who had never seen one, had to be shown how to peel an orange. There was a free issue of cigarettes. Shops closed for a week to sort out incoming clothing, and upon reopening, the sight of full shelves was surreal. 13:58: Families like the Steeles had their first normal British meal: a cut off the joint and two veg, with second helpings. Copies of Pravda were issued to the Russian slave workers sheltered by farmers. Radios were returned. The final task of the war was left to the Germans: removing the 200,000 mines and barbed wire they had laid, so the islanders could return to a "normal civilized existence."

Online Copy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PLygHK3tEc

Metadata Source:YouTube