The Channel Islands At War (12 page)

Fcldkommandants could act severely. Schumacher ordered sixty Guernsey Islanders to patrol telephone wires at night for a fortnight after there had been a minor case of sabotage. Knackfuss arrested ten Jersey citizens as possible hostages when a seditious news sheet was produced. But in France there would have been shootings. Schumacher and the Military Commander had early shown in the case of Nicolle and Symes they wished to handle matters their way in the Islands and using the excuse that they had given their words as officers they overruled St Germain and prevented the execution of the two men. Knackfuss strongly objected to the deportation orders in 1942. but he could not defy a direct F
ü
hrer order. He
ider regarded by von Aufsess as a moderate was deprived of his post when extreme policies prevailed in February 1945.

Courteous relations between senior officers and the Islands' upper class were the rule. On Sark after receiving Lanz courteously, Hathaway continued to receive German officers from various Islands, and was allowed guests like Countess Bl
ü
cher and Countess Radziwill. On Guernsey, Prince F
ü
rst von Oettingen was a member of the Kommandantur and Hathaway dealt with him on important matters. He was 'charming' to both her and her American husband, Robert. They had mutual friends and 'talked as friends do, and it seemed incredible that we were enemies'. When Sibyl's son, Lionel, died in a German raid on Liverpool von Schmettow conveyed his sympathies; she did likewise two years later when his son was killed. This relationship was to help the Germans, and encourage collaboration. It smelt of a privileged existence at one level in society for those fraternizing with German administrators. After the war, the Hathaways and other members of the ruling class visited their wartime colleagues in Bavaria.

The occupation garrison which formed the military aspect of German government soon received its insclkommandant. Major Graf Rudolf von Schmettow, who arrived in Jersey on 27 September 1940. Von Schmettow. a dignified, courtly, tall Prussian of the old school, was ideally suited for the post, and he was a skilful commander for the first four years of the occupation. He was under the command of Army Group D in the West successively headed by von Witzleben, von Rundstedt, Kluge and Model. He was a nephew of von Rundstedt's who visited him on the Islands. He was accompanied by his Chief of Staff, similarly courteous and tall, and sporting a monocle. Count von Helldorf. Although von Schmettow was to remain inselkommandant officially until February 1945 his power was effectively reduced in September the previous year when von Helldorf was replaced as his chief of staff by a fanatical Nazi. Thereafter von Schmettow became increasingly harsh in his rule. At first his headquarters were on Jersey at St Monaco in St Saviours, and from April 1941 at the Hotel Metropole. He lived in the former Government House waited on by the same servants that had served the British lieutenant-governor. A subordinate command was created on Guernsey under Major Bandclow. In September 1943, von Schmettow transferred his headquarters to Guernsey, and it became necessary to make a subordinate command in Jersey instead.
This was occupied by a Nazi,
Major Siegfried Heine who later joined the headquarters staff of Vice-Admiral
Hüffmeier
, the last commandant, and devoted adherent of Hitler.

In Alderney, a separate command was created in July 1941 under Captain Carl Hoffmann, but it was not until the end of the year that all troops on the Island came fully under the Island Commander's authority. By then there had been several changes in command although Hoffmann remained as an adviser, and was promoted before being transferred to Jersey. Early i
n 1942, Lieutenant-Colonel Zuske
became the Island commander, and he was succeeded in November 1943 by Lieutenant-Colonel Schwalm, who remained in charge until the surrender. When the Islands were made a fortress in February 1944, von Schmettow, Heine, and Schwalm became the respective festungskommandants of Guernsey, Jersey and
Alderney
. Sark had its own succession of Island commanders, but they were usually majors or captains, under the control of Guernsey.

Similar good relations existed with this military hierarchy as far as the Islands' rulers were concerned. Alexander Coutanche, who von Aufsess described as the 'wily' Bailiff of Jersey, illustrated his privileged position, and the closeness of relations between occupied and occupier at his social level in one passage of autobiography. 'One morning I looked out of my bedroom window and saw a German strolling about on my lawn, which was very precious to me. He was taking measurements, fairly obviously for digging a trench. I dressed and went down, and in the faltering German which I had acquired by this time, asked him what was going on. "Oh", he said, "we're digging trenches all round here, it's inside the military zone, and we have decided to put a trench across this grass." ' Coutanche rang the butler at Government House where von Schmettow lived, and complained, and within a short time an officer arrived to order the trench to be dug elsewhere.

This incident shows Coutanche's earlier statement in his memoirs that he agreed with von Schmettow that there must be no social contact of any kind between them was untrue. Like Hathaway, Coutanche was willing to mix on social terms with the occupiers. Von Aufsess' diary is revealing because he was keen to show how well he and other Germans had got on with the Islanders or rather the well-off Islanders. In December 1944, for example, von Aufsess asked Coutanche, Carey and his sister-in-law to lunch at the Royal Hotel, when Coutanche had gone over to Guernsey to receive the first Red Cross food ship to
arrive in the Islands. Von Aufse
ss described it as 'an excellent meal', while Julia
Tremayne
was lamenting in her diary a few days later, 'how the Germans can let us starve and their own troops as well, beats me'. When von Aufsess had tea with the Coutanches in January 1945 he found the atmosphere 'pleasantly informal and stimulating'.

There can be no doubt that such pleasantness on the Germans' part was part of an agreed policy, and even someone like von Aufsess, who was a genuinely civilized man, was a cog in the machine of the Reich. He saw 'our personal contacts over the years' as being valuable in the task of administering the Islands because, 'such a strong bond of personal liking and understanding [was formed] that all questions that might have led to difficulties were quickly cleared up.' He spoke of the velvet glove which had 'served them well', and saw his task as building golden bridges in plenty.

This policy was not only administratively valuable, but enabled the Germans to enjoy life. Von Schmettow lived in Government House, and Schumacher and his successors at Linden Court, waited on by the former servants. Von Aufsess who lived at White Lodge commented when he moved to Linden Court that he had spent three years 'happy time' in his former house. The officers had their own soldatenheims and special clubs. As late as April 1945 when an Island official called to see
him at Langford House, von Aufse
ss could write that sitting on the smooth lawn, 'with the wisteria, tulips and fruit trees in blossom all around it was difficult to imagine the war,' and this at a time when Islanders were tearing down trees in the main streets for firewood, and there were no fruit or vegetables for them.

Although German officers enjoyed almost halcyon conditions in their private lives and relations with the Island rulers this was only the background to the serious business of day-to-day military occupation, particularly after the decisions in 1941 to reinforce the garrison, and build the fortifications. There was ple
nty of hard work involved in car
rying out these orders, and many practices and war games were necessary to test the defences. The arrival in June 1941 of 319 Division to replace 216 Division troops, was followed in October by the arrival of thei
r divisional commander, Major-Ge
neral Erich M
ü
ller, who outranked von Schme
ttow and, while he was in the Islands until September 1943, became the inselkommandant in his own right. To avoid any clash with von Schmettow, it was decided to establish divisional headquarters near the signals headquarters in Guernsey although this brought a heavier burden of troops to the poorer of the two main Islands. The command complex was based on a house called La Corbinerie off the Oberlands Road where command bunkers were built for the infantry and artillery commanders with drawbridges and camouflage defences, barracks and hospital facilities. Muller was a short, bucolic looking bachelor of irascible temper. Because he was pr
imarily a field commander, Mulle
r had little to do with administration, and made little impression before he left for the Russian front. Von Schmettow then regained full command and shifted his headquarters to the bunkers on Guernsey.

Alderney
was the most heavily fortified of the Islands, and took slightly longer to bring into the command structure. Elements of 89 Division on the Island remained under the command of Cherbourg until December 1941. In July that year, Captain Carl Hoffmann arrived to take command, although he did not retain office for long because it was decided the Island should be under the command of a lieutenant-colonel. However, he remained at headquarters to give advice. In 1945 Hoffmann was interrogated at the London Cage, and then interned. According to some sources he was offered for trial to the Russians on the dubious grounds that all Alderney prisoners had been Russians, and it was therefore their responsibility to act on crimes against their nationals. It was said, and has been repeated, since that Hoffmann was publicly executed at Kiev in late

1945, although Solomon Steckoll who looked at over three thousand 'Carl Hoffmanns' in German records has argued that he was released from a British POW cam
p in April 1948 and died at Hame
lin in March 1974.

Hoffmann was less guilty of presiding over atrocities on Alderney than his successors, Lieutenant-Colonels Zuske and Schwalm. It was under Zuske that recorded deaths of Todt prisoners reached their height in the winter of 1942-3. When it became obvious the Allies might include the Islands in their invasion plans Schwalm issued a chilling order stating that 'the concentration camp prisoners will immediately be collected in Sylt Camp and kept under the strictest supervision by SS guard personnel. Attempts at breakout or escape will be rendered impossible. In no circumstances will prisoners be allowed to fall into the hands of the enemy.' The camp commander, Braun, was to act in accordance with orders direct from Himmler.

Subservience to the military increased early in 1944 when the civil commander's authority was reduced from Feld - to Platz - commander, and the military commanders of the three Islands - von Schmettow, Heine, and Schwalm were made Festungs - commanders. D-Day was followed by the complete isolation of the Islands as a result of the successive captures of Cherbourg, Granville, and St Malo. They became fortresses under siege with civilians imprisoned inside subject to the laws of war. This produced severer policies and changes in personnel which left the Islands under the rule of a dedicated group of Nazis determined to hold out at the very least to the end of 1945. Then the Islands were stripped for action by the removal of the Todt organization and concentration camp inmates, reinforced by naval units and personnel, and required to play an operational role on the flank of the battle for Normandy. German submarines were repaired, and naval craft escaped to the Islands from French ports. The military were involved in offensive acti
on to help the Island of Ce
zembre hold out, and in attack on Granville.

Under attack, fearing invasion, and furious at Allied victory in Normandy which cut them off, the mood of the German occupiers changed, and even von Schmettow had to realize that he was first and foremost a soldier at war. In July 1944, another event occurred which made the Nazi officers more determined to be savage if necessary to ensure that the Islands held out. The Bomb Plot to kill Hitler by officers and aristocrats failed, and it was well known that some in the Island administration like von Aufsess had relatives involved on the fringes of this conspiracy. Von Aufsess told Duret Aubin, the Jersey attorney-general, that he wished the plot had succeeded, and then pledged him to secrecy.

As soon as D-Day took place the Fortress policy began to operate, and Coutanche was given a proclamation by Heine, the fortress commander, setting the new scene in stark perspective: 'I expect the population of Jersey to keep its head, to remain calm, and to refrain from any acts of sabotage and from hostile acts against the German forces, even should the fighting spread to Jersey. At the first signs of unrest or trouble I will close the streets to every
[sic]
traffic and will secure hostages. Attacks against the German forces will be punished by death.'

On the day of invasion German troops appeared in full battle order, and Berlin Radio incorrectly announced British parachutists had landed. The artillery roared into action against Allied planes. Guards were placed on all essential strong points, the telephone service closed, schools shut, and all social gatherings were forbidden. Mrs Cortvriend noticed Germans looking worried for the first time. By coincidence, von Schmettow had been summoned to a mainland divisiona
l commanders conference at Renne
s on 4 June, and was in Granville on the way back as air raids on the Islands began. However, he came across in a boat through the raids and landed on 7 June.