A recently published memoir written by a local author encourages islanders to “break the stigma” around children with German fathers – and instead accept them.
LM Davidson, born in the 1950s in England, began writing her memoir during the covid-19 pandemic, but has had an interest in exploring her family’s history since the 1980s.
Ms Davidson grew up in Surrey with strong connections to Jersey from her mother, a local who lived on the island during the occupation.
Her mother then moved to England having married an Englishman, but continued to call Jersey home. She would take her children to the island for summer holidays and was eventually buried at St Brelade’s churchyard.
‘Secrets and Silence: My Family Between Nazi Occupation and Holocaust’ explores the harsh reality that she needed to face alongside her family – the secret that her eldest sister had been fathered by a German soldier during the occupation, when her mother had had a relationship with him.
“Over four decades, I searched archives… questioned relatives”
Ms Davidson’s father was Jewish and several members of her family were killed during the holocaust in Poland and France.
Ms Davidson spent over 40 years diving into her family history by searching through archives, questioning relatives and examining conflicting accounts.
After this, she says she was left with questions about her mother’s relationship.
“Over four decades, I searched archives and histories, questioned relatives and confronted
conflicting stories,” she explained.
“Was my mother coerced?”
“Was my mother coerced, or was it a forbidden love affair? Why was the truth buried in silence? I wrote the book because I felt a great need to tell my family’s story.”
During her research, Ms Davidson drew on historical records, memoirs, novels and archives, including the Jersey Archive and Frank Falla Archive. Her previous career as a social-policy researcher at a London university also helped with the extensive research involved.
She pleads in this memoir for islanders to understand and consider the judgement and shame felt by women who were in relationships with German soldiers, and their children.
“The book ends by arguing for greater openness about the German-fathered children, as there has been in other formerly occupied countries in Europe. My memoir uncovers the damage caused by secrets and silence, which carry with them unspoken emotions like shame and guilt,” Ms Davidson said.
“I urge the Channel Islands to break the silence around the German-fathered children and truly accept them.”
“An extraordinary thing happened…”
Her research also uncovered more about her wider family.
She traced her mother’s Jersey ancestry to Normandy and Cornwall and explored her father’s Jewish family history, which extended from Russia through Palestine to London.
Ms Davidson said that writing the memoir brought her a sense of relief and helped her come to terms with a complicated family history – she also hopes the book will encourage others to investigate their own family backgrounds.
She added: “As I was finishing the book, in October 2024, an extraordinary thing happened, which I write about in the conclusion.
“I won’t spoil the story here by revealing what took place, but I will just say that it was like an episode from the British TV series Long Lost Family.”
Secrets and Silence: My Family Between Nazi Occupation and Holocaust is published by Michael Terence Publishing and is available from bookshops and Amazon UK.
