‘Bombings were UK propaganda’ claim
Monday 28th June 2010, 2:30PM BST.
Actor John Nettles pictured at the Guernsey Press researching his TV series The Channel Islands at War, which is due to be broadcast tonight. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0922418)
THE BRITISH Government failed to tell the Germans that Guernsey had been demilitarised in 1940 in order to score a propaganda victory, it has been claimed.
The revelation comes 70 years to the day after 34 people died when enemy bombers attacked the White Rock.
The assertion is made following production of a new television series, The Channel Islands at War, which will be shown at 10pm on the Yesterday satellite channel for an hour, for three nights, from tonight.
But Guernsey’s former Bailiff Sir de Vic Carey, grandson of the wartime Bailiff, Victor Carey, said he did not think that the UK Government had acted intentionally to provoke the attack.
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It would be interesting to see what evidence is provided to support this. Frankly I’m sceptical, with all the UK had going on at the time, informing the Nazi’s that the Channel Islands were demilitarised was probably not near the top of anyone’s ‘to-do’ list. In a choice between ‘conspiracy’ and ‘cock-up’ its almost always the latter…..
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I think that Sir de Vic Carey is correct.
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For years now I have not had a charitable feeling toward England:
However I do like fair play: and I do have copies of letters sent to the Islands before the Occupation; albeit only a couple of days before.
In the case of the people not being informed rested entirely with the ruling States of the time, and especially with the Bailiff of the day, who later truly let the Island down.
Now strangely about all this is the fact the Bailiff was knighted after the war- which made myself and many others- query whether orders had come from England to delay those letters from the king.
One thing is sure-however impossible to prove, England knew we would be occupied, long before the actual day_ they also knew that by occupying the Island a large force would be neutralised.
We, poor fools were the ones that suffered.
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This one can never be proved, and will always be denied by the government.
It’s not unreasonable however in a war time situation to sacrifice a relatively small number of civilians in order to acquire good propaganda and foster fear and hatred toward the enemy on the mainland to encourage commitment to the war effort.
The Germans were hoodwinked into beliving that the Island would resist them, but a least they apologised when they realised that they had been mislead by omision.
At least Churchill never claimed that they were bayoneting our babies !
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Why did the UK go to war anyway he wasnt interested in invading the British Isles ?
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Andy-
Would you see a Neighbour, which happens to be good friend. be bullied and beaten up and their children killed on the whim of some quite mad other neighbour`
Would then walk away?
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Why would the British Govenment of 1940 need the Germans bomb Guernsey in order to score a propaganda victory. After all by then it was well known that the German Luftwaffe was well practised in bombing and killing unarmed civilians
Perhaps if people would read some history they would learn that when the Germans invaded Poland it was part of their strategy to bomb
and machine gun tens of thousands of unarmed refugees incapable of defending themselves. These were children, women and men clogging roads trying to escape the fighting posing no threat to the German Army.
By the time the Luftwaffe bombed the White Rock they had been doing the same thing in France and the Low Countries for over six weeks, killing and wounding tens of thousands of innocent unarmed people.
They knew these people were civlians but it didn’t stop them murdering them in their thousands did it. How nice it must have been for them to say” we didn’t know you were demilitarised. We wouldn’t have done if that terrible British Govenment had told us. It not our fault, they should have told us”.
Believe that and you’ll believe anything.
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Pete.
Your response was interesting,but blinkered.
Of course the German army used force against the Polish and French and other European armies. Any invading army will use force to negate a defending force. The issue here is the attempt to illustrate the fate awaiting the British people if they did not defend their homeland with grit and determination. it would not have done at all if the German forces were seen to arrive here and shake hands with the local goverment repesentitives before continuing business as usual.
Germany had no quarrel with England and a lot of time and effort was put into making peace overtures to the British government.
Hitler could easily have extracted revenge on the Channel Islands at anytime during the war, but he choose not to do so. even when ‘Bomber Harris’ was nightly bombing and burning to death hundreds of thousands of German women and children without strategic need our people remained safe and unharmed.
As Hitler said ‘Might is Right’ so he was always going to get a bad press from the victors ! His description of Churchill as being a ‘drunken megalomaniac’ would be a fact of history if he had won the war…,
two sides to everything I think Pete.
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theo-
I ask just a couple of question of you_ were you in Guernsey the night of the Bombing and did you ever see innocent people killed for the hell of it.
Did you in fact ever meet a German Uniform- have you ever seen those B—-D’s called OT, or the Death head squad.
Did you ever see Russian POW treated like the lowest of animals. if you did then you have forgotten.
I think Pete describes the mind of the Germans exactly.
If things go wrong Get your helmet out–
Well said Pete.
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Theo may I refer you back to my post so you can read it again and perhaps understand it. Here’s the first pararaph again to help you.
Why would the British Govenment of 1940 need the Germans bomb Guernsey in order to score a propaganda victory. After all by then it was well known that the German Luftwaffe was well practised in bombing and killing unarmed civilians.
To be honest I found your post completely
irrelevant to the subject in hand, that is that the British Govenment didn’t tell the Germans the Islands were demilitarised so they would bomb them, which they could subsequently use as propaganda,
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Sorry Theo I should have said mostly irrelevant, not completely irrelevant.
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Theo
‘…Germany had no quarrel with England and a lot of time and effort was put into making peace overtures to the British government…’
Let us get our facts right, shall we?
Germany’s quarrel with England was that England had declared war on Germany after Germany had declined to act on England’s ultimatum that they must not invade and occupy Czechoslovakia and Poland.
‘…Hitler could easily have extracted revenge on the Channel Islands at anytime during the war, but he choose not to do so…’
Hitler ordered a ‘model occupation’ of the Channel Islands to demonstrate how wonderful life would be when he ruled the world. It had nothing to do with compassion or altruism.
‘…even when ‘Bomber Harris’ was nightly bombing and burning to death hundreds of thousands of German women and children without strategic need our people remained safe and unharmed…’
The Channel Islands remained relatively unharmed yes. If you had seen the bloody awful mess that was Coventry, Manchester and the East End of London… no, OUR people did not remained safe and unharmed. Thousands of our women and children burned to death as well. Dresden was terrible but Bomber Harris was no more [an in fact probably far less] an ogre than his fellow Luftwaffe pilots
What utter tosh to say that we did not suffer. Just whose side are you on? I should note the interesting fact that Her Majesty’s Government has taken the very unusual step of embargoing Guernsey’s WW2 records for 100 years [unlike the normal period of 50 or 70 years] without explanation [ref. P.M. John Major 1990s]. Why on earth would they do that, I wonder?
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To be honest after the British behaviour in Africa/India/Ireland and now Iraq/Afghanistan I dont believe they do anything unless there is a perceived financial motive.
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Pete.
I thought that I had answered the question of why the English goverment did not inform the Germans of our demilitarisation, but I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on that one.
Coyote.
I’m struggling find where I said that we did not suffer.
Of course the war time murder of civilians is a terrible thing, whether by bombing or other means, but happens in all wars. and is done by all sides.
War is terrible and ultimatly futile, but we’re stuck with it because it’s part of man’s deeply flawed character.
I’m not surprised that the records of our WW2 experience are being witheld. I should imagine it’s a can of worms that can only be opened when some of those mentioned are safely dead and buried !
Andy.
I agree. After religion, money and resources are the main cause of war.
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Theo
in answer to your question I copied your post below:
theo| June 30, 2010 at 3:07 pm
‘…even when ‘Bomber Harris’ was nightly bombing and burning to death hundreds of thousands of German women and children without strategic need our people remained safe and unharmed…’
extract from your post above ‘…our people remained safe and unharmed…’
this being the case one assumes that they did not suffer.
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Coyote.
Pehaps for the sake of accuracy, you should have said ‘ What utter tosh to say that that they remained safe and unharmed’ and then you could have gone on to explain how that was not the case.
There is nothing wrong in making an assumption about a statement, but it is wrong to attribute your interprtation as being actually what I said.
Would you not agree?
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I’m inclined to agree with you FlyingScot. With the very real threat of a German invasion facing the British Government in 1940 I can’t believe informing the Germans about the status of the Channel Islands was particularly high on their agenda.
The problem with war is that pretty much every piece of information has a propaganda slant to it.
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Theo
You were the one who said that our people remained safe and unharmed, not me. It is possible I misinterpreted your statement so I’d be really grateful if you could clarify exactly what you did mean.
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To those saying that informing the Germans wasn’t high on the British priority – that’s no excuse, and not relevant.
It was one phone call, and an administrative task that could have been done by a relatively low-level civil servant. Even in all-out war, you can take the time to make one five-minute phone call, which would in this case have saved 34 lives which were wasted needlessly.
Withdrawing the British troops (and forgoing Britain’s responsibility, moral and legal, to defend the Channel Islands) took effort, and cost us dearly. The least they could have done was ensure extra blood was not needlessly spilled.
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Chris, errors and omissions by governments and civil servants happen all the time – they are human beings after all like you and I. Unfortunately in times of war these don’t just cost money, they cost lives.
Unfortunately the fog of war clouds pretty much everything. It’s not meant to be an excuse, but with all due respect I don’t see how you can think it is irrelevant. It most certainly is relevant to the debate and probably a more accurate explanation than some of the conspiracy theories flying around.
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Make no mistake, all of you who would think any kind words about the Hun; of those war days they were animals bloodthirsty demons, I cannot find one word that could remotely find any good in those days.
SO to prove a point here is a copy of a warning to we who had live with the Hun.
PROCLAMATION
Certain incidents have occurred in which, on the part of the inhabitants of the Island, acts have been committed which were against the safety of the Army of Occupation. Those who were guilty have been, or will be punished according to the decree of Martial law, by sentence of death.
In their own interest I warn the public most solemnly against perpetrating any further acts of this kind. Any person involved in such an act, will, upon conviction by Court Martial, without power of appeal be condemned to the Death Penalty.
In view of the present economic situation the recent Prohibition in regard to fishing has been modified. If however this act of leniency is misunderstood,and certain individual and irresponsible elements of the population perpetrate further acts which are detrimental to the safety of the Army of Occupation, the entire population will have to suffer the consequences of the reprisals that will follow.
People of the Island! Your destiny and welfare is in your own hands. Your home interests demand that you should refrain from, and to the best of your power prevent all such actions which must inevitably be followed by such disastrous consequences.
The Military Commander in France
(Signed) v. Stulpnagel
General of Infantry
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