The incredible true story of what really happened in the Channel Islands during the Second World War. The Channel lslands were occupied on 30 June 1940 when four German planes landed at Guernsey Airport. They were the only part of Britain to be occupied during the Second World War. The islands had been officially demilitarised on 19 June, but the War Office in London overlooked the necessity to inform the Germans. This led to a German air attack on 28 June, which resulted in thirty-eight civilian deaths. Hitler was extremely proud of the conquest of the Channel lslands, and saw it as a stepping-stone to the full invasion of the rest of Britain. The occupying forces were instructed to behave correctly. This would show the rest of Britain that there was nothing to be feared from life under the Third Reich. This book looks at the German Occupation, the unsavoury events that occurred on the Islands, and why at the end of the war a cover-up of these events was instigated by the British Government.
First published in 1999, this masterly account of the German occupation of sovereign British territory uses fascinating first-hand reminiscences and historic photographs from a wide variety of sources to detail the history of the wartime years, mainly from the viewpoint of the German soldier. Includes a survey of the relics of the Nazi era which survive today.
In the summer of 1940 the British Isles stood isolated and alone facing the might of a seemingly unstoppable German war machine. Never before had the United Kingdom been in a state of such uncertainty and possible peril. Fortunately the full breadth of the English Channel held back Hitler's armies, and his ambition. Not so for the Channel Islands which stand just a few miles from the French coast. To abandon British territory to the enemy was unthinkable, yet the defence of the Channel Islands was impracticable, if not impossible. It was decided, therefore, to evacuate as many as wished to leave. This is the story of the muddled evacuation, of homes, animals and families left behind, of the German bombing of the islands, the fear of those left behind, and of those first days of German Occupation, told by the Islanders themselves through memoirs and letters, the local newspapers, and the politicians who decided the fate of tens of thousands of men women and children.
The British Isles have only been successfully invaded and occupied once since 1066: the German occupation of the Channel Islands from 1940-1945. This book commemorates a defining period in the history of the islands and an important aspect of contemporary British history.
Few could believe that within twenty years of the war to end all wars being wonthe world was once more at war. Veterans of the Great War feared going throughthe same horrific experience again and, even worse, many knew that this time theirchildren would also be involved in the fighting. What had all the sacrifice been for?Manchester had been badly hit by the Great War with many lives lost, familiesripped apart, industries destroyed. The cotton industry never recovered; especiallysince Japan, China and India offered cheaper cotton goods. Building and economicrecovery had been hindered by the Great Depression.The city was not ready to face another war, nor for the ferocity of the aerial attacksunleashed, nor for the treachery of the Black-Shirts. Yet somehow Manchester foundthe strength to unite against the enemy once more and ensure that Germany wouldnever be victorious.This book chronicles the difficulties, hardships, restrictions and morale of thecity year by year as the war dragged on, and is a timely reminder of how the localcommunity strived to fight the odds that were stacked against them.
The conventional narrative of the Second World War is well known: after six years of brutal fighting on land, sea and in the air, the Allied Powers prevailed and the Nazi regime was defeated. But as in so many things, the truth is somewhat different. Bringing a fresh eye to bear on a story we think we know, Norman Davies.Davies forces us to look again at those six years and to discard the usual narrative of Allied good versus Nazi evil, reminding us that the war in Europe was dominated by two evil monsters - Hitler and Stalin - whose fight for supremacy consumed the best people in Germany and in the USSR . The outcome of the war was at best ambiguous, the victory of the West was only partial, its moral reputation severely tarnished and, for the greater part of the continent of Europe, ‘liberation’ was only the beginning of more than fifty years of totalitarian oppression. ‘Davies writes with real knowledge and passion.’ Michael Burleigh, Evening Standard ‘Punchy and compelling' Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph
