The German Occupation of Jersey began one week after the British government had demilitarized the island fearing for the safety of civilians should there be any conflict. On the 28th of June 1940, the German Air Force, not knowing of the demilitarization of the island, bombed multiple sites on the island; including civilian farming lorries which were mistaken for troop carriers, killing 10 civilians and wounding many more.

Soon-after, on July 1st 1940, General Richthofen, The Commander of the German Air Forces in Normandy, dropped an ultimatum from the air demanding the immediate surrender of the island. White flags and crosses were placed in prominent positions, as specified by the Germans, and later that day Jersey was occupied by air-borne troops under the command of Hauptmann Gussek.

Under German command, the timezone was changed to Eastern Day Time, vehicles were ordered to drive on the right side of the road, the use of radio was banned, access to news from the mainland was negligible and attempts by civilians at making their own radio sets risked imprisonment. Shortages to supplies like food and fuel also began to dwindle, and by the time of the D-Day attacks and control of France was regained, the delivery of German supplies which fueled Jersey ceased.

Shopping hour schedules also became tighter as goods became scarce. By the time almost all supplies had run out, the SS Vega Red Cross ship arrived, delivering supply parcels. These proved as ‘lifelines’ for the civilians.

Hitler ordered the conversion of Jersey into an impregnable fortress. Thousands of slave workers from countries like Russia, Spain, France, Poland, and Algeria built hundreds of bunkers, anti-tank walls, railway systems, as well as many tunnel complexes. In late 1943 the Tunnel Complex Ho8 in St. Lawrence was converted from an artillery workshop and barracks to an emergency casualty clearing station able to cope with up to 500 patients.. All of the fortifications built around the island were part of Hitler’s “Atlantic Wall”.