During the five-year German occupation of the Channel Islands (30 June 1940 to 9 May 1945) civilian life became much more difficult. During that time, the Channel Islanders had to live under and obey the laws of Nazi Germany and work with their occupiers in order to survive and reduce the impact of occupation.[citation needed] Given no guidance on how to behave by the British government, there were individuals who got close to the enemy and others who undertook resistance activities.
Most felt they had no choice but to accept the changes and depredations to their lives and hope that external forces would someday remove the forces of occupation. The winter of 1944-45 was particularly hard; food and fuel were in short supply.[1]: 193
Overall, and considering that at times there were two German soldiers and one Organisation Todt (OT) worker for every five civilians in the very small land area in the islands, there was minimal contact and socialising.
- ^ Evans, Alice (2009). Guernsey Under Occupation: The Second World War Diaries of Violet Carey. The History Press (2009). ISBN 978-1-86077-581-9.