Jersey
under the Swastika!

Page 35 - Philip Frederick Le Sauteur

CHAPTER TEN (SECTION 4)

1942

Events during July included the passing of the R.A.F. on the 10th, with the stereotyped results — the requisitioning of several more batches of cycles, and the selection from the various storage places of radio sets for the use of the forces. Some hundreds were said to have been taken, nominally those extra to one set per household, but the leakage of this news was very poor confirmation of the frequent assurances in the columns of the press that all sets would be returned to the owners as soon as the military reasons for their sequestration had ceased to exist.

On the 28th of this month the EVENING POST suspended publication for about a fortnight, pending the arrival of new stocks of the necessary paper — this despite the many economies which had been contrived by cutting down the circulation, not issuing any editions on Thursdays, and only printing a single sheet on most other days.

The German Authorities were well aware of the position herein, and the Feldkommand, not knowing how long it would be before the opportunity would occur again, took the occasion to issue a massed batch of orders in the last edition of the paper. Amongst the numerous "Thou shall not's" and other orders, was one in which the death penalty was to be meted out to dogs wandering in the Military  Zone! The reason? Several land mine had been exploded by dogs. A reiteration was made of the order that all civilians must clear off the streets in case of alarm, special permits being necessary for doctors others who might have urgent occasion to be out during an alarm period. Further instructions relating to A.R.P. were embodied in these orders, though these were diametrically opposed to the orders in force at the time, and were rendered impracticable by the order referred to above that the civil population must clear off the streets during an alarm period. Cattle were ordered to be kept close to farm buildings at night, but the reason for this was a little obscure.

A further awe-inspiring notice once again promised dire retribution to any person sheltering members of enemy aircraft crews, or retaining any aircraft parts of equipment which may have fallen.

The most important of these many orders, however, was that reproduced below:

 Since August, 1941, all inhabitants of the Channel Islands held in custody of any kind by the German Authorities, either in the Channel Islands or in France, were liable to the DEATH PENALTY, if any attacks or acts of sabotage were made against the Occupying power in the Occupied Territory.

In addition I declare that henceforth I reserve to myself the right to nominate certain members of any parish who will be liable to the DEATH PENALTY in the event of any attacks against communications, as for instance, Harbours, Cranes, Bridges, Cables and Wires if these are made with the assistance or with the knowledge of the inhabitants of the parish concerned.

In their own interest I call upon the population for an increased activity and watchfulness in combating all suspicious elements and to co-operate in the discovery of the guilty persons.

The population of the Island are once more reminded that in accordance with the German Military Law and in agreement with the Hague Conventlion the penalties are follows:

Espionage ...................................The Death Penalty
Sabotage......................................The Death Penalty
High Treason..............................The Death Penalty or Penal Servitude for life.

Der Feldkommandant,
Knackfuss, Oberst.

The main purpose of this notice was to announce the right assumed by the German Authorities to shoot innocent hostages, as had been done in France and elsewhere, as reprisals for sabotage and other crimes, whereas the appeal to the terms of the Hague Convention was to justify the right to punish the offenders themselves. So that it appeared that the Feldkommand were relying on the usual carelessness in scanning these official notices to create the impression that they were acting within the framework of International Law in selecting innocent hostages to be shot in cases of sabotage.

Air raids at St. Malo and elsewhere in the vicinity, plus some flak whenever the planes passed close enough, enlivened the first few days of August.

At this time all local horses were paraded for inspection by the German Authorities, but not a single animal was commandeered. Like the people themselves, the horses were doing more work on less food, and clearly displaying the effects of the situation, so that they could not bear comparison with the very fine draught horses which the Wermacht were using.

At last the EVENING POST was able to resume publication, and in its columns appeared a notice requesting all citizens of Eire to report to the Feldkommandant, or else forfeit their rights as neutrals. This, together with an article expressing as French the desire that reparations for the R.A.F. raids of France be exacted from the English people in the occupied territories, may be looked upon as a preliminary to the vicious order which shocked the Islanders a few weeks later.

There is an interesting sidelight on the value of money at this time — second-hand cups, chipped and minus their saucers, fetched 75/ - per dozen at an auction sale — shades of Mr. Woolworth!

Fear of an allied landing still persisted with the Germans, and this naturally interfered with many things. It occasioned great restraint being placed on the activity of the A.R.P., and all "battle bowlers" were called in by order of the Germans and confiscated.

The Germans believed that all radio sets on the Island had been taken in, and despite this fact the news of the Dieppe landing spread at the speed of a bush fire. The event caused much excitement amongst the German soldiery — there were triple guards everywhere, barbed wire barriers ready to be thrown across roads and slipways, and much coming and going. All transport was marshalled at the Depots at West Park and St. Mark's Road, local men working for the Germans were sent home without any explanation being given, whilst foreign workers were shepherded back into their own camps under armed guards.

Apparently the Germans thought it possible — as all local people hoped — that this was not just another Commando raid, in spite of the British assurance given on the radio. From what could be learned later, it seems that full preparations were made for a hurried exit if the landing had lasted a few hours longer. The cranes on the piers were fitted with detonators on their seaward legs, so that they might be exploded and so destroy both the crane and the berth in one move, whilst a barge was loaded with high explosives ready to be blown up in the pier heads.

The night following the landing, long after the Allied troops had withrawn, was a dirty dizzing one, and every one was delighted to know that every German soldier was out in it, getting more and more wet, and more jittery, and more generally miserable all the time.

In the midst of all the excitement, a fire broke out aboard an oil tanker barge lying in the harbour, but this was quickly put out.

Realizing from this Commando raid that the possibilities of a genuine invasion had considerably increased, many anti-invasion preparations were made. On the civilian side, these included the provision of sleeping accommodation and iron rations for the essential gas, water and electricity employees, the issue of special passes to such people as milk men, bakers, etc., to be allowed out during an emergency, and orders to the local Paid Police that, in the event of an alarm, they were to billet on the nearest houses until the alarm was over — which time, they were told, would not exceed three days. It seems rather unreasonnable to suppose that, on the short rations over so long a period, the average household would have sufficient reserve of food for themselves, let alone a policeman, for three days.

Another order insisted on the completion of all harvesting within forty-eight hours, stating that the Feldgendarmerie had orders to take the necessary steps to ensure that this was duly accomplished — from which it was surmised that they would conscript anyone they saw standing idle.

Towards the end of August a small convoy was attacked between the Islands, but with what results was not known. Local reports, of which the writer was unable to secure definite corroboration, were two Germans killed and three injured in a land-mine explosion, and of the R.A.F. dropping three small "eggs" on a searchlight unit at St. Ouen's.

Through the B.B.C. the Islanders became aware of the fact that a Commando raid took place on the Island of Sark on October 3rd, but it was not until 10.0 p.m. on the 5th that a general alarm was raised in Jersey. Barriers were placed across many of the roads, the telephone exchange taken over by the military, and guards placed at every conceivable point, even the most decrepit of the O.T. being roped in for this duty. The O.T. workers were expected to undertake night guards in addition to their ordinary daily duties, possibly as punishment for napping and being captured in their night-shirts. Tanks were out patrolling the roads, and the night was made hideous by much marching and shouting, and many cars kept dashing about.

During the ensuing few days every soldier on his routine duties, collecting rations and so forth, carried his rifle, and there were many more patrols, armed with tommy-guns about the streets.