The project, led by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, began in 2019 but was put on hold due to the pandemic.
Cambridge University archaeologist Dr Gilly Carr, who has long studied the impact of the Occupation on the Channel Islands, said that recommendations were now being formed using ‘advice from experts all over the world to make sure the authentic sites and campsites are properly cared for and memorialised’.
Dr Carr, who chairs an IHRA project called Safeguarding Sites, said: ‘We are working on five different Holocaust sites throughout Europe.
‘Alderney is being prioritised. We hope to be able to come in the summer and begin discussions and find out more of what the people of Alderney want to see happen with these sites.’
It is thought that the Nazis built several camps in Alderney. There was a concentration camp, three or four slave labour sites and smaller, temporary work camps. There was also a cemetery, possibly containing mass graves.
An article in last week’s Sunday Times claimed that ‘new’ information had been uncovered about the labour camps in Alderney and the numbers that could be buried there.
However, Dr Carr said the information had been in the National Archive in London for more than ten years and was now also published online. A copy is being sent to the Jersey Archive.
It details the full horror of what occurred in the islands, with reports that several hundred people were starved, beaten or worked to death.
They included Jews, Russians and German political opponents of the Nazis.
Some were beaten by the guards for fun. Others were shot dead for the crime of eating rubbish. One Russian teenager was tortured by being made to sit on a hot stove for half an hour.
Dr Carr said it would be impossible to determine the exact number of deaths there – since many bodies would have been dumped in the sea.
But she added: ‘To a certain extent, whether it’s one body or one million bodies, the response should be the same.’
Guernsey Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq, who is the island’s lead for external relations and constitutional affairs, said a memorial would aid understanding of what happened during the war years.
He said: ‘We will be working closely with relevant international organisations to ensure that all those who suffered are appropriately remembered and honoured, as well as to educate future generations so that the lessons learned are never forgotten.
‘This is very close to all our hearts, and we’re committed to doing our part to ensure transparency and recognise evidence of what occurred during this harrowing period of the world’s history.’
The move also has the backing of the UK government. Former cabinet minister Lord Eric Pickles, now the UK’s special envoy on post-Holocaust issues, has written to Alderney States president William Tate, saying: ‘There is an abundance of evidence in the public domain that has allowed experts to discuss what happened on Alderney, providing ample proof of the crimes committed by the Nazis on British soil.
‘In a world where Holocaust denial, distortion and revisionism are increasing, we have a duty to provide the unvarnished facts. I believe the best way forward is to ensure that all documents, photographs and other materials relating to this dark period of history are published.’
