A gallery of photographs of German troops at work during the Occupation of Jersey

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A detachment of German troops marches through Charing Cross in 1940

German reinforcements at St Malo, on their way to Jersey
A sentry at Elizabeth Castle
A German sentry with St Ouen's Bay behind him
German troops parade on a beach
Members of the St Malo garrison who escaped by sea to Jersey
A machine gun emplacement in St Ouen's Bay
St Ouen's Bay
German tanks at Les Quennevais
A machine gun post at Bouley Bay
German funeral
Huffmeier
von Schmettow
von Schmettow
Motor cycle patrol
Weapons storage
Troops on exercise
Troops march past the Bagot Inn
Snow Hill
Todt workers under guard
Snow Hill in 1940
Gorey harbourmaster with a German soldier
St Ouen defences
St Ouen defences
A parade at Havre des Pas in 1943
A funeral at St Brelade in 1943
German cycle squadron in 1943
Troops in physical training outfits in the Parade
A parade through the Parade in 1943
Troops march past Midbay Stores
An outdoor lecture at South Hill on the Harbour installations

There is a stark contrast between these two pictures taken only a few months apart. The top picture shows the Royal Jersey Militia marching through the streets of St Helier in 1939. Not many weeks had passed before the island had beeh occupied by German troops in the summer of 1940 and it was soldiers of the Wehrmacht who were marching through the streets of town. The upper picture was taken quite openly; the picture below was taken clandestinely through curtained windows. Discovery would have incurred a severe penalty for the photographer

A posed propaganda photograph of a policeman and a German soldier at the Weighbridge
A German tank in Jersey
Digging defences
On the lookout
Troops march at the Weighbridge
Pomme d'Or Hotel
A German soldier with Elizabeth Castle in the background
German troops on the march
German troops on the beach
Forced workers marching under guard
A German cavalry officer
Troops at Fort Regent
On the march at Georgetown
German soldiers in the Parade
German soldiers outside the Town Hall
A picture by Leonard Skingle of German soldiers in the Parade
A German company photographed at Oakwalk, St Lawrence
A German soldier on Gorey pier
Funeral of a British officer
German soldier at La Corbière
Troops arrive at the Forum Cinema
German troops in King Street
Motor cycle coastal patrol
Naval assault detachment
A machine gunner at Kempt Tower
Troops at Kempt Tower

A German staff car outside the churchyard at St Brelade

German troops march through St Helier in a Victory parade
German Admiral Huffmeier decorates those who took part in the 1944 Granville raid
A german gun crew
German soldiers parade in Jersey
A group of German officers gathered for an official photograph
The Germans' own newspaper which they ordered the Evening Post to print for them
A meeting in the German Commandant's office
A gun crew at l'Ouziere in St Ouen's Bay
Island commandant Captain Gussek introduces officers to visiting German Field Marshal Walter von Reichenau
General Otto von Stulpnagel, German military commander of France, inspects Jersey's fortifications
A 'Victory Day' parade by German troops in Jersey on 9 August 1940
The goose step march was often seen on the streets
Gorey's harbourmaster with his German 'minder'
Captain Gussek at Government House
The final German commandant, Admiral Huffmeier, visits Sark
A sentry in the harbour area at La Folie
Transport was limited later in the Occupation and troops marched everywhere
German minesweepers in St Helier Harbour
A propaganda picture of a German soldier at Corbiere
A death notice issued as a warning to islanders
The cemetery at St Brelade's Church was used by the Germans
German troops on the march
A motorcycle patrol on the shoreline
German military posts were manned throughout the Occupation

Troops at the Airport

A naval detachment on parade
A German sentry outside the commandeered Town Hall
A giant telephoto lens in use
Germans on parade
German soldiers overlooking the harbour
A silhouetted German soldier
Ready to raise the German flag at Government House
A visit by senior German officers in 1941
Capt Gussek takes the salute as troops march past in the Victory Parade
German troops on the march through St Helier
Pictures of German troops marching in the countryside (here at Petit Port) are very rare
Commandant von Schmettow and senior officers
An Evening Post notice announcing the military zone
The funeral of a senior German officer
A German boat on patrol in island waters
Guards at the entrance to Government House
German staff at Government House
Sentry
Town Hall
A map of the German Occupation rail network
Troops parade at the Harbour
Troops march through York Street
An inspection of forced labourers working at Noirmont
A German soldier accompanies a patrolling policeman

A German staff car - a commandeered local vehicle - passes through King Street

German troops inspected
Soldiers at Victoria College
Germans off Noirmont in an amphibious vessel
Troops parade at Havre des Pas
German troops at St Ouen
German troops in St Ouen's Bay
Luftwaffe march
German officers in Kensington Place
A German naval vessel in island waters
A German naval vessel in island waters
A German naval vessel in island waters
A German band in La Motte Street
A German band in the Parade
German soldiers march through Bath Street
La Motte Street
West Park

1940 band parade

On parade at the Harbour
Troops parade on the Albert Pier
An anti-tank unit in 1944
A Kriegsmarine MP3 crew in 1944
A detachment of Kriegsmarines at Elizabeth Castle
German soldiers were billeted at Brabant, Trinity
Town Hall
British Hotel
Charing Cross
A soldier on the rocks at La Corbiere - probably a propaganda photograph
These soldiers had been carrying out exercises at Les Quennevais as late as 1944 when they were photographed
Unloading equipment on the Victoria Pier in 1941
On patrol in St Ouen's Bay
Artillery units parade at Westmount
Troops onboard ship - a Star Snaps of Charing Cross photograph
Technicians work on German equipment
A soldier on duty on Victoria Avenue
A lookout on a German ship
Troops embark for Jersey at St Malo
At Victoria College
Westmount
In Fern Valley
At Mont Cochon
A German soldier at Fliquet Tower in 1944
Members of the Reich Arbiets Dienst arriving in St Helier Harbour in 1941. This was a state labour service - a type of paramilitary labour organisation for German men which was compulsory for six months. These young men were often mistakenly referred to as 'Hitler Youth' by locals. They were attached to the Luftwaffe but were put to work on the German building programme and were not armed, except for guard duties.
Inspection at Noirmont
Officers in summer uniform
Signallers
St Ouen's Bay
Training in St Ouen's Bay
Heinrich Bakker (right) and comrade at Strongpoint Corbiere in 1944
Heinrich Bakker
Heinrich Bakker
Field exercise at Strongpoint Corbiere in 1944
Horst Hermann in 1943 ...
... and on a return visit to Strongpoint Corbiere in the 1990s
Portelet
Portelet
Portelet
Marching on St Aubin's Road
Drill practice on the beach
St Brelade's Bay
St Brelade's Bay Hotel
Tabor Lane
Vehicles unloading on Victoria Pier
Colomberie
The Esplanade
The Esplanade
Members of the Kriegsmarine parade at the Weighbridge
Target practice at La Pulente
German troop reinforcements leaving St Malo on ss Madali
Supplies for Jersey being loaded at St Malo in the early years of the Occupation
Troops march past Midbay in St Brelade's Bay
La Carriere
Royal Square
Royal Square
A German funeral
Funeral
Motor cycles at Coebiere
Rail track alongside St Aubin's Harbour
Inspection by senior officers of the Corbiere defences
Fort Henry
Harbour entrance
Les Landes inspection
Kempt Tower
At the Weighbridge
Sentry
Corbiere, picture from German Bundesarkiv
Corbiere, picture from German Bundesarkiv
Corbiere, picture from German Bundesarkiv

Propaganda photographs

The Germans sent official photographers to the island on a number of occasions to take photographs for propaganda purposes.

There seems to have been no actual attempt to document the Occupation, or if there was, the pictures have been lost.

The Bundesarchiv, the German Federal Archive, has only 118 photographs taken in Jersey in its online collection. We have chosen a selection to reproduce here. Many have been ignored because they are very low quality images and even those shown below have had to be digitally enhanced to obtain a reasonable quality.

Some of these pictures have been been shown separately in this website for some years, either further up this page or in other sections of our German Occupation gallery.