My grandmother from Guernsey told us a story about some Germans that lived next door to her during the occupation. She had a daughter that used to play in the garden and the Germans would always smile and say hello and they loved her smile and laughter. The Germans became concerned when she did appear for days, so knocked on my grandmothers door. She told them that she had passed away. They wanted to pay their respects so they left the guns outside, went to her bedside and they all cried.

The story of the soldier who married that islander has to be the most wholesome war story ever

The story of Werner Rang, the German medical orderly, presents a fascinating story of former enemies becoming firm friends. Having married Phyllis Baker, they both settled back to life in Sark with its population of only a few hundred people, where Phyllis became a prominent member of Chief Pleas - the island's government. With his medical knowledge Werner set up the island's ambulance service (horse-drawn) and became so respected in Sark that he was eventually elected to be one of the island's Constables. One of the duties of the Constables is to act as the personal bodyguards to the reigning Monarch whenever he/she is on the island. So, we have the picture Gefreiter Werner Rang of the Wehrmacht, a former enemy of the Monarch of the United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Island, escorting HM Queen Elizabeth II as her personal bodyguard as she is driven around Sark in a horse-drawn carriage. I have little doubt that the strangeness of the situation was not lost on HM. I used to work in Sark covering the local GP when he went on holiday and I met Werner on many occasions. However, the last time I saw him was on a "Liberation Day" parade on Sark which remembers the day that the islands were liberated after WW2. Sark remembers it the day after Guernsey and Jersey as Sark had to wait until the day after them to be liberated! At the parade I could just make him out among all the other members in the contingent of the British Legion of which he, a former sergeant in the enemy forces, was now so respected that he had been elected an Honorary Member!! Talk about beating swords into plowshares!!

My grandmother was a Jersey woman. She married my grandfather, a Cornishman, and came to Canada in the 1920s but the rest of her family lived through the occupation. My great-aunt Eunice (Paisnel, nee Saout) gave some Russian POWs some produce from her farm as they were being marched past and for that she received a visit during which she was threatened by a German officer in her home. In response, without thinking, she pushed him away indignantly, and then immediately thought that she had had the biscuit, but to her surprise and great relief the officer simply left.

After just returning from a jersey holiday I came over this on KZfaq, and must say found it absolutely gripping what a fantastic programme a real credit to its makers. I throughly enjoyed it thank you.

Germans sir, Germans, I wish you people would stop trying to replace a political ideology with the actual nationality of the perpetrators!

A brilliant documentary. And from what I know all absolutely correct. I am Guernsey born in 1962 and have heard a lot about the occupation from people who were actually there. It wasnt that long ago back then.

The title should read ' When the Germans invaded' - by no means all Germans were Nazis and this is what should never be forgotten..

People are people no matter where you go on the planet. They have loves, spouses, children, homes. It's the ones in charge who tend to muck it all up so we can't all be friends. I have to admit the two that got married after the war made me cry.

Wonderful show. I worked on Jersey for 6 years in the 1980's and this brought back so many happy memories. I once rounded a corner and walked onto a Bergerac set and John Nettles himself was there lol and I celebrated every Liberation Day with the Islanders. It was a lovely place, lovely people, and Bob Le Sueur looks extremely familiar to me! I shall say a prayer for Louisa Gould, an angel on earth. Please God let there be no more wars on our beautiful planet ever. We all, every nationality, have had enough and just want to live in Peace together. 🕊

My mother and her family come from Alderney. My grandmother talks about being evacuated and the disruption it caused and the horror of what was left behind on their return

What a truly heart touching documentary. An invaluable piece of non-propaganda.

This is a great documentary! I learned a lot from it! Thanks for the upload!

As others below point out, Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark are not in or part of England. They never have been, even before 1707 when England existed as a sovereign country. The Channel Islands are Crown Dependencies and are not part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. So the title 'Hitler's England' is wrong too.

I had no idea that John Nettles was also an Historian, in addition to being an actor.

I remember Molly coming into our school on liberation day to give us a talk and a first hand account, the stories were fascinating, the history of the islands are so important

I’m not gonna lie this is TRULY the Greatest Channel on the WHOLE of KZfaq!!! No other channel comes even remotely close to y’all!!! Keep up the EXCELLENT Work!!!! Edit: I know that the British people have a different outlook/treatment with the Germans. As an American who had many of family members who fought against both the Germans and the Japanese. My PawPaw told me they hated the Japanese because of Pearl Harbor, and the War Crimes the Japanese did to Americans is why they hated the Japanese, but my PawPaw’s life was saved by a German POW that was captured in North Africa where my PawPaw was fighting at. My PawPaw caught Desert Fever, and the German POW that nursed him back to life was a Medic in the German military. My PawPaw also taught me that the all of the German soldier’s were as he called them Gentlemen Warriors, and they believed in the rules of war that most European nations practiced. Don’t get me wrong my PawPaw killed his fair share of the Nazis, and during the war he didn’t like them. Because they were the enemy, but just because he didn’t like them doesn’t mean he hated them.

Loved the documentary!! Being an American not born until 1951 it is so nice to learn of this little known history!! Thank you so much!!

Very good & informative; even moving!

Did not know all this ….amazing details of how the people involved survived and adapted their lives and relationships…a fascinating insight into a period of the WWII that is not normally publicized

Thank you so much for uploading this video. It is helping me get through the pandemic!

My Father was part of the British Liberation Forces that arrived in 1945. Until his final days he used to love telling stories of his time there. He stayed with a couple on Gurnsey, Frank & Norah Gurney.

Thank you for this wonderfully clear video. I have learnt so much.

incredible doc. speechless. thank you.

Thank you Timeline, for this moving, precious account - a story about which i knew nothing.

Brilliant film, when my grandmother passed, my dad was sent to stay with family in Jersey, similarities to the blitz. This is where as a child, he became fascinated with WW2 and then passed that onto me.

Thank you so much, very interesting. Knowing a lot about WWII has never come across this historic information.

An excellent piece, thank you.

Thanks for sharing the information. I wish peace and harmony 🙏🏼

This is one of the most informative documentaries I’ve seen. The same fate happened to another young Jewish lady in the Channel Islands when the family for whom she was a nanny decided to rush back to England. She was not allowed to go and ended up in the same terrible condition as the young lady shown here. I’m sure it was the same scenario repeated hundreds or thousands of times. Such a terribly sad fate.

The title of this documentary is entirely incorrect. The Nazis did not invade England, they invaded Jersey, Jersey is no more part of England than Scotland is. It is a Crown Dependency and is indeed associated with the United Kingdom who are responsible for its defence and relationship with foreign countries etc. but is not part of the United Kingdom. I am amazed that Timeline does not have somebody responsible for checking such outrageous inaccuracies.

Timeline makes the best documentaries and this one was absolutely fantastic thank you

amazing to see Bergerac talking about jerseys history with such passion and honesty.

What a peaceful and enjoyable time when compared to the Japanese invasion and occupation of the Philippines in WWII

Wonderful documentary,thank you.

So sad the brutality and at the same time, sometimes, showing the face of compassion. War is declared by Governments, but the common folks bear the brunt, for better or ill.

My great grandmother and some of her daughters lived through the occupation of Jersey. I still have letters from them sent to my grandmother in England with swastika "approval" stamp marks on them.

My family, on my mother's side came from Jersey and Guernsey. My grandfather rose from gunner to Brigadier General (now known as Brigadiers). I visited my grandmother's sister in St. Hellier, Jersey and she told me a story about the starvation and my great-grandmother. It was so sad. I visited the underground German hospital.

Thank you for enlightening ALL of us on the WW2 Channel Islands. I served with a David Le Sueur in the Royal Scots Greys,

I like how they're apparently proud of being British, get abandoned, gets occupied, local police round up jews, a bitter neighbour dobs in someone harbouring a fugitive, then as the allies invaded Europe got forgotten about, got mentioned with that mention being followed up with "let them starve"....THEN gets liberated when the war is over as an afterthought. Im gonna mention this story when people harp on about what it means to be British.

Very interesting piece of history, well presented and documented.

Great documentary. That poor woman Louisa Gould RIP

Love John Nettles. This is an excellent documentary. An excellent fictional view of the Channel Islands is the television series "Island at War".

Very interesting. Thank you 👍🏾

Simply fascinating insight, thank you for the relatively little known occupation. Excellent in every aspect.

What a superb documentary and superb narrative from Mr nettles

What an outstanding video. I'd never heard the story of the people on the channel islands. If we could afford to go there I'd go in a heartbeat. This shows you don't have to be a soldier to be brave !

I live in Guernsey, and our elderly neighbours still tell first hand stories of the occupation. I really hope all these tales are documented before the last of them pass away.

I just got back from holiday in Jersey. My Great Grandmother had grown up there and went to school under German occupation. Unfortunately she died four years ago but it was interesting to listen to her account of events in the early 1940's

The Channel Islands aren't 'England', but I understand what he's saying. I'm impressed that he refers to the enemy as 'The Germans'. That's who my father fought.

What a great documentary, and what an inspired choice to get John Nettles involved.

I wonder if it is known who the “resentful neighbor” is; did they understand the inhumanity of their actions?

My Gandmother took me to Guernsey for a holiday in (about) 1968. I thought it was fun, she lost me a few times as I was a bit of a rebel. One day, I bought a small book by John Dalmau called "Slave Worker" about how the Germans forced captives to build the Underground Hospital. Only 24 pages, I read it in a day. God, I wept buckets! Changed my vision of the island - fortunately in the 1980's i took my (then) girlfriend back for a holiday. Like another commentator, I rounded a bend on a hired scooter, and also caused John Nettles and his crew to stop filming for a minute! Very friendly, I guess we could've stopped for a chat, (we did for a few seconds, me apologising profusely) but I didn't want to interrupt their work.

Amazing. Very interesting. Thank you

Thank you John for a wondetfully told piece of history

We loved tuning in to Bergerac once a week in the 80s. Always dramatic stuff.

Cracking! Thank very much.

yes, a excellent video, but, as a foot-note, I do wonder if the person that denounced that lady and was directly responsible for her death was ever dealt with appropriately ?

I watched "Another Mother's Son" a few weeks ago, which eventually led me to this video. I did not expect to see the real Louisa Gould's registration card here, at 13:21. May she rest in peace. Thank you for the video.

Thanks for sharing "sad history" of WWII in British Channel Islands.

This was fantastic!

One outstanding video.

Such a good choice as Narrator. Perfect for this story.

Would love to know what happened to the person who dobbed the lady who was hiding the Russian.

Have to say the Guernsey Potato Peel Society heightened my interest in this subject. Love from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

Brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed thais video. My father had served int the RAF as a warrant officer and my friends father was in the Luftwaffe stationed in Paris. I have still got John Nettles photograph he sent me with his two dogs that I was going to paint. The two dogs had no intention of looking at the camera and looked left and right while John had a rather big smile. So I couldn't really use the photo.I have been an artist for many years with my paintings hanging on many walls. Shortly they will be exhibited at the Mall Gallery London. I would still love to produce a painting for John. I have always been interested in the second world war so this video was absolutely fascinating. Best wishes John... Ray Eric Phillips

Everyone forget the bad things and good things remain the same . Very nice documentary and a very very happy ending.

as a Jersey man, their pronunciation of St. Helier really grates me, it is Hel-i-er, not Hel-i-a.

It would interesting to hear how the producers view the accuracy of shows like "Enemy at the Door" and "Island at War".

The Channel Islands are not England. They're British Crown Dependencies

well done John Nettles. an actor speaking from the heart instead of trying to be in the limelight on some hollywood carpet. fullmarks Sir!

Excellent documentary. I

Thanks. We're all so thick, we really needed that.

Wonderful Documentary. Done Well. Thank you.

Coincidentally, I just watched an episode of Bergerac from 1982 four days ago. Very good it was too.

Wonder why the Germans didn't go fishing?

R I P Bob Le Sueur A good man. I lived on the Island of Jersey for 24 years and loved my time there. Married a local girl and now we are retired and living a great life in Spain.

The head of the Gestapo was asked if he needed to torture prisoners to extract information he replied that he only needed to open his mail in the morning to know what was happening on the island. So many collaborators and Jerry Bags! The must sensible thing was to be evacuated. Oh can't forget Jersey Police and Prison Service they should have been tried as war criminals.

Absolutely phenomenal.

The Model Occupation, by Madeleine Bunting published by Harper Collins in 1995 is an excellent read on the matter of the Channel Islands.

It's actually one of my favorite creepy movies that drew me to this video. Just finished watching "The Others" for Halloween season. One of my all time favorite movies. But it never dawned on me before to actually look up about the Jersey Channel Islands. Very insightful as to what the citizens of these lands had to go through during occupation

I don't know why people always get this wrong, but the Channel Islands are not in England. Neither are Scotland , Wales or Northern Ireland. In fact the Channel Islands aren't even part of the United Kingdom, having their own governance and their own laws, especially when it comes to taxation, which is why so many wealthy people buy property there. They, together with the Isle of Man - between England and Ireland - are Crown Dependencies, that is, they are historically possessions of the British Crown and enjoy its protection, as various blockading French fishing boats discovered recently when they found themselves trying to stare down a British patrol boat. So it's stretching a point to say that the Germans occupied any part of the United Kingdom at all, although they bombed quite a bit of it.

St Helier is the capital of the Bailiwick of Jersey, the German High Command in the CI was at Elizabeth College, in St Peter Port, Guernsey. Guernsey has a larger bailiwick than Jersey. Guernsey was the central command, Alderney was a prison. There is a lot more to the story than portrayed here.

The channel Islanders are a bit touchy about documentaries like this, they were not sure if they were friends or foes during WW2, I believe John Nettles got serious threats because of the documentaries he made about the German occupation.

History books would try to tell you that the Islanders almost never fraternised with the Germans but it was quite the opposite,who wouldn't want to be with the Victor's of Western Europe,the women loved them and boys wish they could be like them,that's the channel islands for you in 1940.

Thanks for this great documentary. I’m curious to know if the woman who reported Louise Gould to the German occupiers was herself brought to justice?

Great documentary 🍿

Great documentary ,full of great facts

Why were the ChannelIslands police not executed for helping the Nazis round up and send off the Jews on the C Is?

Great to see John Nettles again,happy memories of Bergerac and more recently Midsummer Murders.Regarding the ill fated Sark Commando raid,John forgot to mention the successful raid of tht Casquets light house island.During a night attack Commando,s surprised the Germans and took them back to England.

Forgiveness and compassion is what we are here to learn

Fabulous documentary.

The song they talk about (hai di hai do) is called “Ein Heller und ein Batzen”.

When did the Channel Islands become part of England? Has anyone told them?

This is fantastic .

I lived on Jersey from 1972 to 1976 before being taken to LA which was unfortunate in retrospect. The only fond memories I have of my childhood were those years on the island!

Very good documentary

A fascinating documentary about the Channel Islands, 1940 World War II

I just wanna say. It’s so soo adorably sweet that they named an island after New Jersey. The greatest of all places on America. You humble me with your platitudes but the name lasts.

I particularly liked the way how Dame Sibyl Hathaway treated the Germans when they were on Sark. My late mother remembered Dame Sibyl and how she was her heroine. DS used social etiquette and decorum to deal with the Germans. DS had friendships with von Schmettow, von Aufsess (to whom she was related to by the marriage of cousins) and Prince Oettingen who had friends in common with her in Germany. DS was fluent in German, which unnerved a lot of the lower ranked German troops and if they cheesed her off, she would stare down her nose at them and say "Who is your superior?" Mum also told me of a story about the Sarkese who used to give the milk (skimmed!!!) to the Germans and the troops would complained to DS about not being able to make butter from it. DS then turned up dressed in butter-churning dress and proceeded to lecture the Germans on how to make butter. It was printed in all the papers and the Brits got a great giggle out of it. Apparently the Germans were too embarrassed to complain again. Mum had great stories of Britain during WWII. I still have some of her diaries and notebooks where she wrote all of her memories of those times.