Military History Lecture & Dinner

Military History Evening

Thursday, 6 February 2025

Topic: OCCUPIED! The German invasion of the Channel Islands 1940-1945

Guest Speaker:  Associate Judge Elizabeth Olsson DSJ

From June 1940 until May 1945, Nazi Germany occupied the Channel Islands – the only part of Great Britain to suffer such a fate. Whilst the first few years of occupation brought some deprivation and saw the deportation of many residents to camps in Nazi Germany, the last twelve months saw terrible suffering and starvation amongst both the general population and their German oppressors.

During those five years, the landscape of the islands was significantly and permanently changed, with concrete fortifications still very much in evidence 80 years later. The lives and heritage of the islanders were irrevocably altered.