EIGHTY years after the first Islanders were deported to wartime Germany, the Constable of St Helier has paid tribute to the part played by ex-internees and their families in cementing relations between communities once divided by conflict.
Speaking at a church service held in the chapel of the castle in Bad Wurzach – the prison for more than 600 Islanders – Simon Crowcroft said the 20th anniversary of his parish’s twinning with the town in Baden-Württemberg provided the opportunity to reflect on the achievements of two decades.
‘The most remarkable feature of the twinning has been its historical roots, the desire of the Jersey ex-internees to return to the place where they were imprisoned during the war, not only the ex-internees themselves but also their families who inevitably make up an increasing proportion [on] our regular visits – visits which always include the opportunity to pay our respects to those Islanders who never returned at the end of the war,’ he said.
At a second ceremony on Thursday evening which took place a few moments later at the town cemetery, Mr Crowcroft and Alexandra Scherer, Burgermeisterin – or Mayor – of Bad Wurzach, paid those respects once again, standing together in silent tribute before a wreath placed in front of the names of those who perished during their internment. The list of all those from the town – German people and those from Jersey – who died during the conflict appears on the cemetery’s memorial wall.
Welcoming the Jersey visitors – who also included St Helier North Deputy Mary Le Hegarat and former Bailiffs Deputy Sir Philip Bailhache and his brother Sir William – Mrs Scherer said that it was remarkable that so positive a relationship had grown up between Jersey and Bad Wurzach after its unpromising start in history.
It was on 16 September 1942 that the first Islanders were affected by Hitler’s decree that – as a reprisal for the detention of Germans in Iran – residents with close connections to the UK should be deported. Implementation of the order gave many only a day’s notice to pack meagre belongings for the trip by sea to France and a three-day train journey which ended in Biberach. Most were moved the 17 miles south to Bad Wurzach a few weeks later.
Addressing members of the twinning association at the cemetery, Lola Garvin – organiser of what may be the last official visit to include those who experienced internment – said simply: ‘I would like to introduce myself as being one of the youngest former internees, deported as a baby with my parents from Jersey in September 1942.’
Although friendly visits to the town had taken place since the early 1970s, it was only in 2002 that Mr Crowcroft was authorised by a St Helier Parish Assembly to sign a twinning agreement with the then-Burgermeister Roland Bürkle. Mr Bürkle, with his predecessor Helmuth Morczinietz, was among those present at Thursday’s formal celebrations.
In his address, Mr Crowcroft contrasted the strength of the twinning – sustained by many student exchanges for musical and theatrical performances – with others which had ‘petered out through lack of interest or support at the very time they could be said to be most necessary’.
‘Happily that is not the case with the St Helier Bad Wurzach partnerschaft, and I am hopeful that the bonds of friendship between our communities will strengthen and multiply in the years ahead,’ he said.
Before the formalities, internees and family representatives were taken on a guided tour of the castle, several visibly moved as they passed through rooms which once acted as hospital wards for the sick. Then, at the foot of the elaborate Baroque staircase, the Constable was invited to sign the town’s commemorative Golden Book to provide a permanent memento of the occasion.
