On 25 and 26 July 2024, members in Jersey installed 20 ‘Stolpersteine’ (Stumbling Stones) around the Island with the help of the stones’ creator, Gunter Demnig. A further 15 were laid in Guernsey on Friday 26 July 2024. Stolpersteine are small concrete cubes with a brass plate inscribed with the names and details of persecution, imprisonment or deportation of victims and survivors of Nazi oppression during the Second World War.
The Channel Islands, which include the islands of Jersey and Guernsey, were the only British territory occupied during the war. German forces occupied the Islands from 30 June 1940 until liberation on 9 May 1945. During the Occupation, parts of the Islands were heavily fortified as part of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall. These fortifications were built by around 6,000 forced and slave workers, some of whom died during construction. A Liberation Route Europe Themed Route ‘Forced Workers in Jersey’ was created in 2023 in cooperation with our members on the Island.
While a monument in Jersey commemorates the ‘Jersey 21’ who never returned from German prisons and camps, the Stolpersteine have instead been dedicated to others, most of whom survived, with only two exceptions. The 20 Stolpersteine installed hold the names of people of Jersey who were persecuted or went into hiding for their Jewish origins, those who were convicted of acts of resistance, defiance or attempted escape, and individuals who were sent to the Channel Island of Alderney as conscripted workers or interned in Germany for having been born in Britain.
An investigation into the labour camps in Alderney during the Occupation has recently been concluded. An exhibition about this, ‘Alderney: The Holocaust on British Soil’, is on display in the Occupation Tapestry Gallery at the Maritime Museum, Jersey until September 2025.
The ceremony to install the Stolpersteine that commemorate the individual struggles during the Occupation took place in front of the home of Gordon Prigent, who himself was sent to Alderney as a conscripted worker for refusing to work under German rule. German creator of the Stolpersteine, Gunter Demnig, was present alongside his wife and people of Jersey. During the installations, the biography of each person for whom a Stolpersteine was placed was read aloud at its location, often by one of the Island’s 12 Constables. Representatives from Jersey’s Jewish congregation were present at each location.
To further commemorate the incredible stories and people honoured by these Stolpersteine, we are working with our Jersey members to create a Themed Route. By connecting the stones in a trail we will enable visitors to follow in the footsteps of history, exploring Jersey as they discover its important past. Stay tuned for the new LRE Themed Route!
