Letters: Collaboration with Nazis on Jersey was the same as in France
Connexion reader says that during the occupation in World War Two some Britons on the island denounced their neighbours for simply listening to the radio
Reader says that Jersey example shows how Britons would have acted under Nazi occupation
Gary Le Feuvre / Shutterstock
To the Editor,
I enjoyed Simon Heffer's piece on the liberation of Paris. However, he was quite wrong in saying that we cannot be certain how some British would have behaved under German occupation.
I well remember some years ago visiting a museum on Jersey where were displayed the original letters written by islanders denouncing their neighbours for a variety of activities, predominantly of listening to the BBC radio broadcasts.
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It was chilling to read such letters, written in English, some anonymous, others signed with English names.
Anyone rushing to condemn the behaviour of the French during their far harsher occupation would do well first to pay a visit to Jersey.
Stuart Ross, Pas-de-Calais
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