NEWGEN-L Archives

Archiver > NEWGEN > 2005-01 > 1106306610


From: "Sally Rolls Pavia" <>
Subject: Island at War .. German invasion and occupation of the Channel Islands
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2005 04:23:30 -0700


Island at War
Airing Sundays, January 23 - February 20, 2005, on PBS (Check local
listings; dates and times may vary)

A riveting view of the German invasion and occupation of the Channel
Islands, the only part of the British Isles that fell into Nazi hands, and
how life was irrevocably changed overnight forms the backdrop of the
gripping drama Island at War.

Realizing occupation was inevitable, some islanders and many local children
evacuated just prior to the invasion. They vacated their homes, businesses
and schools and headed for the harbor with all the possessions they could
carry. With few boats available to take them to relative safety, the
children and Jewish inhabitants were prioritized; ultimately about 1/3rd the
population, or 30,000, set sail for the unknown.

Those who stayed were to encounter a hostile Nazi command, intent on
imposing their way of life on the island. The private use of cars, for
instance, was banned and the best vehicles quickly requisitioned by the
Germans. The islanders were limited to bicycles and walking. Villages and
towns were given German names, clocks were set to Central European Time and
all gatherings could only assemble by permission of the German High Command.

James Wilby (Bertie & Elizabeth, Gosford Park) stars as James Dorr, Deputy
Governor of the fictitious St. Gregory, which stands in for the islands of
Jersey and Guernsey. Clare Holman (Prime Suspect 6) is Dorr's wife Felicity,
on the verge of leaving James before the war but now resolved to stand by
him. Philip Glenister (Calendar Girls) plays the German commander Baron von
Rheingarten -- courtly, urbane, and ready to use extreme methods against any
sign of resistance.

When Hitler took the Channel Islands, he boasted that he was "wiping his
boots on the doormat of England." England never let him in the door, but if
it had, the story of the Channel Islands shows what might have happened.

Sally Rolls Pavia

"Peace begins when all the hungry are fed."
List Owner:
Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/GENEALOGYBITSANDPIECES
"All incoming and outgoing email checked by Norton Anti-Virus"





This thread: