From Senator Freddie Cohen.
MR Vautier’s letter conflated a number of very separate issues and I feel that these need to be clarified.
The Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration in Jersey focuses on remembering the 22 Jersey men and women who were deported to German camps where they perished through mistreatment or murder. Of those, 21 were Christians. They all suffered appallingly and their fate ranged from death through repeated beatings to death in the gas chambers of Ravensbruck.
The fate of resident Jews in the Channel Islands is an entirely separate matter. Jewish residents were forced to register early in the German Occupation. Twelve registered in Jersey and five in Guernsey and others were uncovered as the Occupation progressed.
Registered Jews suffered terribly as they were constantly hounded, their rights as citizens were progressively removed and their ability to support themselves was financially eroded by anti-Semitic legislation. Some ended up committing suicide, others were driven to insanity and a number were deported.
Of those deported, three Jewish women from Guernsey perished in Auschwitz and a Jersey man was sent to Buchenwald, where he suffered unspeakable torments. Other registered Jews were deported in 1943 specifically because they were Jews and not as part of the deportation of British-born residents.
I hope that this clarifies the position.
Highcliff,
Rue de la Mare des Prés,
St John.
