SUMMARY

Historian and memoirist Duncan Barrett, after spending three months on the Channel Islands interviewing more than 100 people directly affected by the WWII Nazi Occupation, layers the islanders’ true stories in his latest book, “Hitler’s British Isles: The Real Story of the Occupied Channel Islands.” Beginning in the summer of 1940, coming perilously close to invasion, the people of Guernsey, Jersey, and Sark endure, instead, a five-year “model occupation” by the Germans. Watching the swastika flag draped on their buildings and being forced to give up their homes, vehicles, and food to the enemy elicits a wide array of reactions (and shenanigans) from the resourceful Brits. Their particular challenges have, until now, been largely forgotten and certainly underappreciated, even with the release of the popular book and movie “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.” However, Barrett’s thorough research woven into a compelling memoir captures the complexity of this unique history, engendering new respect for the resilient people of the Channel Islands.

KEY POINTS

• The sudden evacuation of 2K British troops, most of the children, and many adults leaves the economy in dire straits.
• The Germans and British begin as “frenemies,” although aggressions—small and large—become stark reminders the countries are at war.
• The Germans requisition houses, cars, farms, animals, and more for their own use, but some plucky islanders find creative ways to undermine the takeover.
• Monotony (the “mental blackout”)—for many, the hardest part of the Occupation—pervades every day, resulting in poor diet, loneliness, crippling boredom, and depression.
• Fraternizing between the British women and German soldiers leads to some relationships, but most young women demur in order to honor the wishes of their WWI veteran fathers.
• The Germans, many of who had left their own children at home, tended to treat British children kindly.
• Today, some British still worry they’ll be judged unfairly for their friendly intermingling with German soldiers.

QUOTES FROM BARRETT

• “For five years during the Second World War, almost seventy thousand British subjects…feel the full force of the German yoke…show[ing] us what so nearly came to pass for the rest of Britain.”
• “The islands were in an unfortunate position, stuck between two warring countries, neither of which accepted responsibility for their welfare.”
• “In many ways, the occupation of the Channel Islands was seen as a dry run for the eventual administration of a conquered Britain, and those who were in charge were keen to make a positive impression, to prove that they would be fair and measured rulers rather than tyrants.”
• “All over the Channel Islands, those who had witnessed the German attack at close range would bear the scars—both physical and mental—for years to come.”

RECOMMENDATION

READ The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

WATCH The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society [DVD] [2018]

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