Swastikas still present in St Helier

Monday 27 February 2017

Swastika markings harking back to the Occupation are still present in St Helier and can be found in many places if islanders take a closer peek. But aside from being mere Nazi propaganda, there’s a rather unusual reason why they’re there.

When Jersey was seized by German forces from 1940-1945, those who collaborated quickly earned themselves a bad name.

With tensions running high, some islanders, angry with their fellow Jerseymen for collusion, black marketing or simply seeking favour with the occupying forces, hit back by painting swastikas on their houses.

However, many of the Nazi symbol remnants around the town area were actually painted by the Germans themselves – not as an act of authority, but in an apparent show of protection for a Kriegsmarine Officer’s girlfriend.

Pictured: Former swastika markings in Devonshire Place. (Photo: Colin Isherwood/CIOS)

“One evening in mid-February 1945, a couple of youths painted a swastika on the home of a girlfriend of a Kriegsmarine Officer, and so triggered a most bizarre event,” Channel Islands Occupation Society (CIOS) Archivist Colin Isherwood explained.

“During the night of Wednesday 21st February 1945 two Kriegsmarine Officers along with an Officer from 1st Pioneer Battalion 319 gave orders to two units of men to paint swastikas on houses and buildings in the town area.”

These weren’t created with paint, however, but flame-thrower fuel – a quick-drying and tar-like substance, which dries as tough as enamel.

Islanders were first described as reacting with “shock and indignation”, but this soon gave way to “sardonic amusement” over, “…what cultural barbarians the Germans were.”

Pictured: A faded swastika appears on the right side of this door at Curwoods, Rouge Bouillon. (Photo: Colin Isherwood)

One Islander – Cyril Medland in Stopford Road – was said to have hung an empty gold frame around his swastika, while another wrote ‘England for ever’ alongside his, according to a diary entry from Baron von Aufess.

He described the perpetrators as “Nazi thugs” and was horrified that their actions had, “…senselessly provoked [Jersey's population] and [left] the prestige and good discipline of the German armed forces seriously compromised.”

Removal of the markings was sought immediately – not by islanders or Germans, but by the Organisation Todt’s foreign workforce.

“It would scarcely be in keeping with the good standing and repute of the troops to employ them on this humiliating task under the derisory gaze of the Islanders,” Von Aufess observed.

Pictured: Transformed Nazi symbols appear on both sides of this door by Robin Hood. (Photo: Colin Isherwood/CIOS)

But despite their best efforts, removal only worsened the appearance of the defacements.

Instead, locals turned them into a cross signifying British decorations for valour and merit – many of which can still be spotted today.

According to Mr Isherwood, “If wishing to look for them, they can be easily identified: The swastikas painted by the First Company Engineering Battalion 319 are approximately one foot square and were ‘sitting swastikas’. Any evidence of larger swastikas would have been daubed by civilians either during or just post Liberation period.”

As for whether they should be kept or even restored for heritage purposes: "Preservation is a good question. [The markings] are now over 70 years old and this act was done in a humorous way. But they can be seen as a symbol of hate. There are pros and cons for both sides of the preservation argument."