In September 1942, during the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands, an order was received that non-nationals of Jersey were to be deported to Germany. At very short notice an English-born retired sea captain, his wife and five children were ordered to report to the harbour with a limited number of personal belongings. The wife describes in her own words the panic that ensued.
Parcels of larger size new suits and woollies and new pairs of shoes were untied. String and newspapers were strewn about the floor. By the window stood seven piles of clothing, but so far, no suitcases. Exhausted, worried and full of foreboding for the future, I knelt down, flung my arms above my head on to the bed and cried, ‘Oh God!’ At that very moment, I saw behind my right shoulder, and very near me, the tall figure of my maternal grandmother. She was calm. She said, ‘It will be alright.’ This she repeated. My grandmother had died in 1939. Somehow, I flung my body, fully dressed, upon the bed. I became unconscious.
The apparition was of the Charlotte of Lowestoft, mother of Caroline, referred to in my previous post. The family were reprieved at the last minute and continued to live in Jersey through the Occupation.
Wow, I was greatly relieved to read about their reprieve at the end. Were there many non-Jersey nationals from England who were sent to Germany??? What a time in history.
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About 2,000 from the Channel Islands. Some were killed in the concentrations camps but happily the majority survived and returned to their homes after the war.
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That is a part of history I know nothing about, Roy. I was horrified to read that 2000 people were deported and that some were killed in camps. Lest we forget…
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There are a few horrendous stories, such as that of Louisa Gould who was informed upon to the Germans by her neighbours for sheltering a Russian prisoner. She was sent to Ravensbruck and was murdered there. Happily many survived in various camps and there has since been big reconciliation between the remaining deportees and the people of the towns where they were imprisoned.
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It was a great post, Roy. I shudder every time some idiot says that there was no holocaust.
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Yes it was a bit close to home for the Channel Islands. No deniers here for sure.
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Oh, I love stories like this! Especially on the days when the world seems so ordinary.
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Hi Kristine. Yes, this one jumped off the page as I worked through the old records. There was no hint of exaggeration about it, just the wife/mother’s experience of what actually happened at that time of heightened stress.
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Though I’ve never experienced it personally, I do think our departed loved ones try to watch over us. Seems Charlotte did a good job of that.
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It would be nice to think so Juliann, and a comfort in times of stress.
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