VIDEO: Whispers and Lies - new exhibition focusses on war-time collaboration

Wednesday 01 March 2017

An interactive exhibition drawing on the actions of Island informants during the Occupation opens at the Jersey War Tunnels today.

A series of four rooms have been built within the Tunnels to tell the story of informants, collaborators, fraternisers and sympathisers in what is described as an engaging and innovative way.

The exhibition encourages visitors to put themselves in the shoes of islanders who faced difficult decisions when living under Nazi rule during the Second World War.

VIDEO: A walk through the War Tunnels' exhibition, 'Whispers and Lies'.

Jersey War Tunnels worked with local company Freedom Media to create and install what they describe as "exciting new elements and interactive content." 

Kathy Bechelet, Operations Director of Jersey War Tunnels, said: “We are very excited to launch the new exhibition. The team has worked tirelessly on all the new additions since the day we closed for winter refurbishment. I am very proud of the new ‘Whispers and Lies’ exhibition and the work Freedom Media have put into it.”

“It helps visitors to understand life during the Occupation and realise the human dilemmas faced as well as the desensitisation of war. We have also included more translations to the exhibitions into French and German and we think this will be well received.”

Building on historic evidence of Island informants, the exhibition has created a series of scenarios to challenge visitors. They will be given the opportunity to decide for themselves whether they would inform on their neighbours and friends under difficult circumstances and the new exhibition will record a daily tally of the results.

Phil Slatter, Project Manager, Freedom Media, said: “Our aim was to create an experience that provides a talking point when visitors leave the Tunnels. We wanted to draw them into the story, connect with characters from the time and engage with the situations and struggles they faced.”

“We believe that the interaction, the audio, the influences and the decision making will provide a memorable moment in each visitors’ time at the Tunnels and give them a greater understanding of the emotional struggles locals encountered at that time during the Occupation.”

In addition to the new exhibition opening, Jersey War Tunnels has introduced an area for children and a new cafe for visitors to enjoy, operated by Mange Tout.