Eighty years ago, on May 9th, 1945, British forces arrived to liberate the Channel Island of Jersey, the only part of the British Isles under Nazi occupation. Now, on the 80th anniversary of that day, Dan Snow travels to the island to explore the five long, challenging years of German rule. He discovers how this once-peaceful island was transformed by the Germans into an impregnable fortress, part of Hitler's Atlantic Wall, built under horrific conditions by thousands of forced slave labourers.
Amidst the hardship, Dan reveals astonishing stories of public and secret defiance that flickered in the darkness. He learns of the courage of islanders who risked death, such as Dorothea Weber née Le Brocq who sheltered Hedwig Bercu, a Jewish woman, in her home for 18 months.
Dan's journey ends at Jersey’s impactful Liberation Day celebrations, he reveals how this extraordinary period forged the island's unique identity and learns why, even 80 years on, the memory of the occupation and the joy of liberation has never faded.
This episode was made in collaboration with Visit Jersey. You can find more information on all the places Dan visits in this episode here:
Visit Jersey: https://www.jersey.com/
Jersey Heritage: https://www.jerseyheritage.org/
Jersey War Tours: https://www.jerseybunkertours.com/
Jersey War Tunnels: https://www.jerseywartunnels.com/
ArtHouse Jersey 'Structures & Memory' Exhibition: https://www.arthousejersey.je/our-work/structures-memory-a-place-called-wurzach
Enjoyed this and want to know more? Listen to Dan Snow's History Hit's podcast all about the Occupation and Liberation:
https://shows.acast.com/dansnowshistoryhit/episodes/the-nazi-occupation-of-jersey
Up Next in Maritime Stories
-
U. S. S Indianapolis: The Legacy
The Legacy Project tells the fate of the World War II heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis using exclusively first-person accounts. The last crew and their families share gripping stories of kamikaze attacks, invasions, a secret mission, and ultimately a devastating torpedo attack that killed three fou...
-
Heroes on Deck: World War Two on Lake...
Between 1943 and 1945, two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, USS Wolverine and USS Sable, stationed at Navy Pier in Chicago functioned as a training platform for about 17,000 pilots, signal officers and other personnel. Former U.S. President, George H.W. Bush was among the pilots who learned to take o...
-
Henry's Forts: Castles on the Coast
On the 26 February 2021, around 38 metres of wall collapsed at Hurst Castle, one of a series of vital coastal forts built by Henry VIII in the 16th century to protect England from threat of invasion by the European powers. Recently, Dan went out on his kayak to assess the damage at the castle whi...
3 Comments