A new Channel 4 docuseries exploring life under Nazi rule in the Channel Islands is due to be aired in time for the Liberation Day – shining a light on how Hitler’s so-called “model occupation” spiralled into starvation, slave labour and mass deportations, while sharing the stories of the islanders who lived through it.
‘Britain Under the Nazis: the Forgotten Occupation’ will see actors bring to life eye-witness accounts from diaries, memoirs and letters – of both the occupiers and occupied – with the help of historians Gilly Carr and Louise Willmot.
Visit Jersey also supported the Minnow Films team with on-island production support and planning last year.
Announcing the two-part series which marks 80 years since the Channel Islands were liberated, a Channel 4 spokesperson said: “The invasion of Guernsey, Jersey and Alderney was a propaganda coup for Hitler, who began a building campaign to transform the islands into an impregnable fortress.Minnow have created a mesmerising portrait of life under Enemy rule
Emily Shields, commissioning editor at Channel 4
“But what started as a so-called ‘model occupation’ degenerated into a nightmare roll-out of Nazism – with persecution, antisemitic orders, informants, mass deportations, starvation, slave labour camps.”
They continued: “There was no official investigation into the Occupation but the fallout from the division it caused remains toxic to this day.”
Emily Shields, commissioning editor at Channel 4, added: “Drawing on incredible first-person testimony, with stories that intersect, overlap and defy each other in ‘their ‘ version of the truth, Minnow have created a mesmerising portrait of life under enemy rule.”