Hitlers Inselwahn. Die britischen Kanalinseln unter deutscher Besetzung 1940-1945

by John Nettles

Die verlorene Luftschlacht gegen England bedeutete das Ende von Hitlers Wahn, englischen Boden zu erobern. Nicht ganz! Es gab ja bereits ein britisches Territorium, das von der Wehrmacht okkupiert wurde. Am 28. Juni 1940 griffen die Deutschen von Frankreich aus die Kanalinseln an. Bomben trafen die Häfen von St. Helier auf Jersey und St. Peter Port auf Guernsey. Damit fiel britischer Boden den Deutschen in die Hände und verblieb dort bis zu seiner Befreiung im Mai 1945.

John Nettles legt in seinem Buch eine detaillierte Schilderung der deutschen Besatzungszeit vor. Er lässt Zeitzeugen zu Wort kommen und von ihren Erfahrungen berichten. Der Autor spart dabei auch die heiklen Aspekte der Okkupation nicht aus, etwa die angespannte Beziehung zwischen den Kanalinseln und der englischen Regierung. Denn auf den Inseln verlief die Linie zwischen Kooperation und Kollaboration, zwischen Widerstand und Kriegsverbrechen viel dramatischer als bisher angenommen. Der komplexe Fall der Kollaboration wird ebenso beleuchtet wie das Schicksal der Juden und Zwangsarbeiter auf den Inseln.

Nettles lebte während der Dreharbeiten für die Serie Bergerac auf Jersey, seither verbindet ihn eine enge Beziehung zu den Kanalinseln. 2011 unterbrach er seine Karriere als Schauspieler, um sich seiner Arbeit als Dokumentarfilmer und Sachbuchautor zu widmen. Ein Jahr später erschien sein aufsehenerregendes Buch.

»Nelles hat all die kleinen Geschichten gesammelt, aus denen sich Historie sich zusammensetzt. Viele sind voller Absurdität.« FAZ

Genres: History, World War II, Nonfiction

464 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 25, 2012

About the author

John Vivian Drummond Nettles, OBE, is a British actor and author. He is best known for his starring roles as detectives in the crime drama television series ''Bergerac'' (1981–1991) (as title character Jim Bergerac) and ''Midsomer Murders'' (1997–2011) (as Tom Barnaby). He has also narrated several television series.

Reviews

[Agnes DiPietrantonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

An up close look at what occupation really involved

I started reading this book as a curiosity and ended up with a much better understanding of what the occupation meant. Difficult times brought out the best and the worst in the inhabitants. I sometimes wonder how the British managed to win this war. They seemed to lack any comprehensive understanding of what occupation would mean to these islanders who they abandoned to the Nazi occupiers. A true story of survival.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting but not as good as I hoped. Rather dry. More about political problems rather than day to day general citizens problems.

[Deborah Sowery-Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sister visited the Channel Islands a few years ago which sparked an interest in me as I knew nothing about them nor the part the islands played in the war. At the time I read The Guernsey Literacy and Potato Peel Society which was entertaining, as was the film, but this book is non-fiction and I found it very interesting, tho repetitive at times.

[Cynthia Oconnor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Interesting

A very good book. Learned many things about this time and place in history. Much food for thought.
We can all learn a lesson from this.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed and absorbing, but somehow not wholly satisfying examination of a difficult episode in British history.

[Lia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could be a great book (probably is) but you wouldn't know it from the Audible edition. It's read by some kind of computer generated voice - I just couldn't listen to it

[Patricia Boyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent history of the German occupation of the Channel Islands. I was interested in the occupation of Jersey since my great-grandparents lived through the occupation.

[Kathy]

I have my doubts as to the innocence of certain individuals of the period on the Channel Islands. Traitors, betrayers, insincerity, indifference, all of these rise up in this historical account of the Channel Islands of the period. No doubt about it war does bring out the worst in people and shows up the good! Many Islanders who suffered and died through neglect, indifference, betrayal or simple abandonment, they or their descendants have every right to ask for justice from many Islanders for what they went through. But with so much criminal action meted out by so many during WWII no doubt it was difficult, perhaps even impossible to judge so many at the end. This is a stoic, calm and analytical look at the Channel Islands of the 1940s but it produces emotional and tormented images too. For those interested in WWII period and who wants to know more about the Channel Islands and it's people during this period this book is well worth reading, this will open your eyes to the repercussions of war on normal communities.

One certainty I feel is true, the Channel Islands were abandoned by Britain, who turned it's back on them. Yet, after the war there was this arrogant expectation of how the Islanders behaved while occupied. I have to ask, where did the British feel that they had the right to judge people who were faced with such evil, with absolutely no support! It was the British Government who was guilt of a crime against the Island people! Not the islanders!

Even though I read this over several months, I found the retelling of this history fascinating.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is good if a bit repetitive in places. I learned much about the Channel Islands during WWII. It was scary and fascinating to learn about it.

[Robert Omalley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, well researched but a little disjointed and repetitive.

[Sue Griffing · Rating 4 out of 5]

As other reviewers mentioned, repetitive in places but absolutely fascinating. I learned so much about these islands and what the people went through during WWII.