Even Going Out After Dark Could Become an Offence - Everyday Life in Occupied Jersey

Even Going Out After Dark Could Become an Offence - Everyday Life in Occupied Jersey

Occupation did not only change who controlled Jersey. It changed the small freedoms people had once taken for granted.

After German forces arrived in the summer of 1940, islanders were faced with a growing list of orders and restrictions. Curfews limited when people could be outside, access to military and other restricted areas was controlled, and permits became part of everyday life.

Private motoring became increasingly restricted. Vehicles were taken for German use, while those still considered essential could only be driven with the necessary permit. Bikes became increasingly important, and cycle traffic was also regulated.

The occupation also brought a new system of registration.

Under Jersey's Registration and Identification of Persons Order of 1940, the civilian population had to be registered. From 1941, residents aged 14 and over were issued their own registration cards, while younger children were recorded on their father's card.

Even finding out what was happening beyond the island became difficult.

The Evening Post operated under censorship, leaving the wireless as an important connection with Britain. Then, on the 6th of June 1942, the German authorities ordered radios to be surrendered. Jersey Heritage estimates that more than 10,000 wireless sets were confiscated during the following month.

Not everybody obeyed.

Some people hid radios and secretly listened to BBC broadcasts, knowing that discovery could lead to imprisonment. Some also recorded what they heard and secretly passed the BBC news on to others.

Children experienced the occupation too. Schools continued, although buildings were commandeered, teachers were in short supply and normal routines were disrupted. In 1943, an order even required children in Jersey to be taught German.

For nearly five years, things that had once required no thought at all could suddenly be controlled.

Which everyday freedom do you think you would have missed the most?

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Image: German curfew notice, Jersey, 1941. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.