War on the Margins

by Libby Cone

  May 1942

  Seventh Order relating to Measures against Jews

  March 24th, 1942; registered by Act of the Royal Court dated 9th May, 1942.

  In virtue of the plenary powers conferred upon me by the Führer and the Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht, I order as follows:

  § 1.

  For paragraph (1) of § 1 of the Third Order of April 26th, 1941, relating to measures against Jews (VOBIF p. 255) there shall be substituted the following paragraph —

  (1) Any person having at least three grand-parents of pure Jewish blood shall be deemed to be a Jew. A grand-parent having been a member of the Jewish religious community shall ipso jure be deemed to be of pure Jewish blood. Any person having two grand-parents of pure Jewish blood who —

  (a)on June 25th, 1940, or thereafter, was a member of the Jewish religious community; or

  (b)on June 25th, 1940, was married to a Jew or, thereafter, has married a Jew;

  shall be deemed to be a Jew.

  In doubtful cases, any person who has been a member of the Jewish religious community shall be deemed to be a Jew.

  § 2.

  Subsequent declaration.

  Any person who, not having previously been deemed to be a Jew, comes within the terms of § 1 of the Third Order of April 26th, 1941, relating to measures against Jews (VOBIF p. 255) as amended by § 1 of this Order, shall, before May 1st, 1942, make the declarations required by § 3 of the Order of September 27th, 1940, relating to measures against Jews (VOIBF p. 92) and by §§ 2 and 3 of the Second Order of October 18th, 1940, relating to measures against Jews (VOBIF p. 112) and shall surrender the wireless receiving sets to which § 1 of the Order of August 13th, 1941, concerning the confiscation of wireless receiving sets belonging to Jews (VOIBF p. 278) relates.

  § 3.

  Prohibition on the carrying-on of certain economic activities and on the employment of Jews.

  (1) On and after May 1st, 1942, the provisions of § 3 of the Third Order of April 26th, 1941, relating to measures against Jews (VOIBF p. 255) which prohibit the carrying-on of certain economic activities and the employment of Jews, shall apply to every person who, not having previously been deemed to be a Jew, is deemed to be such by virtue of this Order.

  (2)The like provision shall apply to undertakings which, under this Order, are deemed to be Jewish and for which a managing administrator has not been appointed.

  § 4.

  Employees who, by virtue of this Order, are deemed to be Jews and who are dismissed from their employment, shall not be entitled to claim compensation for dismissal without due notice, notwithstanding that it is not prohibited to continue employing such persons.

  § 5.

  This Order shall come into force as from the promulgation thereof.

  The Military Commander in France.

  Eighth Order concerning measures against the Jews

  In virtue of the plenary powers conferred upon me by the Führer and the Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht, I order as follows:

  § 1

  Jewish insignia.

  (1) Jews from the age of six years and up are ordered not to appear in public unless they are wearing the Jewish star.

  (2) The Jewish star is a six-pointed star the size of the palm of the hand, outlined in black, with a yellow ground and in black letters the word, ‘Jew.’ It is to be worn visibly on the left side of the chest, securely sewn to the clothing.

  § 2

  Penalties for infractions.

  Infractions of this rule are punishable by imprisonment and fine, or by either of such penalties. In addition or in lieu of these penalties, the police may take the measure of imprisoning the offender in a camp for Jews.

  § 3

  Registration.

  This Order was registered on 7 June, 1942.

  The Military Commander in France.

  15. June 42

  Visited Dr. Casper [civilian official of the

  Field Commandant office] with A.G.

  We advised that this Order should not be

  registered or put into execution.

  Dr. Casper agreed. I should like no further action at present.

  A. Coutanche [Bailiff]

  Official Journal No. 63

  [Translation]

  The Eighth Order concerning measures against Jews is to be registered and the individuals notified individually. The Order is not to be published as it concerns only a few persons.

  The Field Commandant,

  Knackfuss, Col.

  CHAPTER 28

  St Brelade, Jersey

  June 1942

  America had joined the war, but it was not over. The Americans seemed preoccupied with battles in Asia; when would they strike a blow against the Nazis? The occupiers were clearly more nervous; all the wireless sets were confiscated; you could go to prison if they found you with one. Suzanne, Lucille and Marlene hid one in the ottoman in Lucille’s bedroom and one in the barn. The BBC had previously broadcast instructions on the making of crystal radio sets; they had managed to make a couple and now used these principally, listening through earphones to be as inconspicuous as possible.

  At night there were flyovers by the RAF; they were often awakened by bombs in the harbour or by anti-aircraft fire. The first few terrified them. Later, they would take advantage of the time awake, reach for their radios and listen to the midnight news. Often, the next morning, dew-softened leaflets were scattered on the ground. Usually they were in French. Marlene would make sure one stuck to her boot to take in; nobody wanted to pick one up and risk being seen by a neighbour with some old score to settle.

  Marlene kept busy with the garden; they had a little fresh lettuce to sell. They traded radishes and eggs for wine and the occasional cheese. The poor chicken was becoming scrawny, though they treated her like royalty for the eggs she gave them. They were all losing weight. Their skin was rough and dry and their clothes stiff from the homemade soap. There was a rumour that some Austrian Jewish women from Guernsey had been deported to Poland; no good news came from there. People talked about camps, gas, death. On the BBC, Churchill had tried to sound optimistic in May (‘Hitler forgot about this Russian winter … ’), but the latest news was about the fall of Singapore to the Japanese. Marlene tried not to think about these things. She generally lay low, but did go into town to buy what few goods were available. When she did not have anything to do the enormity of the situation would prey on her mind, and if she did not shake her head and busy herself with something, she would soon be in tears. She knew she was not alone. Once she saw Suzanne sitting alone in the pantry, her hand over her eyes, weeping softly. This made her feel awkward, and she pretended not to notice. Sometimes at night, after the news broadcast, they would try to play charades, but Suzanne and Lucille always won because they knew so many obscure plays and films. Marlene was able to hold her own at cards.

  There were labour camps on Jersey, run by the foreign and local employees of Organisation Todt. The women sometimes saw prison trucks racing from one worksite to another, filled with gaunt, filthy men. The residents who lived closer to the camps told horrifying stories of men being beaten and left to die at the worksites themselves, or on the side of the road. Many escaped; some were hidden; others turned in to curry favour with the jerries. At the Lager Himmelman near St Ouen’s, OT men supervised the building of a railway by starving slave workers. The three women often gave radishes and beetroot to friends who made a point of leaving them for the prisoners as they were marched to a work detail.

  The summer passed. Instead of sunning and bathing, residents tiptoed over the mined beaches scrounging for shellfish to supplement their diets while the Germans looked the other way. The moans of thirsty, starving men in the labour camps were heard in St Ouen’s; the railroad extended on a bed of crushed stones, bones and blood.

  CHAPTER 29

  8 July 1942

  Ninth Order concerning measures against the Jews

  In virtue of the plenary powers
conferred upon me by the Führer and the Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht, I order as follows:

  § 1

  Prohibition against the frequenting of places of entertainment and other public venues.

  It is prohibited for Jews to frequent places of entertainment and other public venues in general.

  Special restrictions will be designated by the SS and Chief of Police.

  § 2

  Restrictions on visits to commercial

  establishments.

  Jews may not enter department stores, retail stores, and artisans’ shops to do their shopping or to shop for others except between the hours of 3 and 4 p.m.

  § 3

  Exceptions.

  Specially designated Jewish enterprises are excepted from the prohibitions delineated in paragraphs 1 and 2.

  § 4

  Penalties for infraction.

  Infractions of this rule are punishable by imprisonment and fine, or by either of such penalties.

  § 5

  Police measures.

  In addition or in lieu of these penalties, the police may take the measure of imprisoning the offender in a camp for Jews.

  § 6

  Time this measure goes into effect.

  This measure goes into effect on the day of its publication.

  The Military Commander in France.

  CHAPTER 30

  English Channel

  July 1942

  Several men died in the boat, including one of the two remaining Juans. They figured out that they were going south, not east to Cherbourg. Unlike their voyage to Alderney, there was no food provided at all, only water sloshed onto the deck, to be caught with cupped hands or any handy container. The slop bucket emptied itself whenever they hit rough seas. The voyage took one day and one night because of bad weather. Peter had dysentery; he had no appetite but was desperately thirsty and feverish. He sat on a splintery board in the hold, wrapped in a stiff concrete sack, trying to keep the streaming filth off his feet. Juancito had found a rusty can; he used this to collect rainwater that leaked through the ceiling. He lurched over to Peter when the ship began to heave. Peter was huddled on the board, shaking, trying not to vomit or soil himself.

  ‘Camarada,’ whispered Juancito, ‘here is some water. I can get more.’

  He raised the can to Peter’s lips; Peter was able to drink most of it before the ship rolled and he had to pin himself against the bulkhead. Juancito took a rag from his pocket, moistened it, and wiped Peter’s forehead.

  ‘Gracias, Juancito. Save the water for yourself, man. I am going to die.’

  ‘No, no, you will not die. The fucking Germans want you to die. You will spite them.’

  ‘You think so, eh?’

  ‘Yes, I do. You and I, camarada, we have the steel cojones. We will get our revenge on them. Someday they will be drowning in their own shit, just as we are now.’

  ‘And their mothers, too?’

  ‘Si, and their mothers, may they burn in hell.’

  Juancito brought more cans of water. One of the stronger prisoners was able to kill a rat; several of the men shared bites of the raw meat. Peter fell asleep.

  He awoke from dreams of the forest to find himself still in the stinking hold. The motor was silent. He felt extremely weak, but his fever appeared to have broken. He slowly stood up and walked unsteadily to the slop pail. He was able to urinate a little; when he sat down, nothing happened. Out of habit he rose as quickly as he could to avoid the slop pail’s contents if they spilled with the ship’s motion, but the ship seemed not to be moving. It was very cold. He could see other prisoners sleeping on makeshift pallets and benches.

  Suddenly a soldier came down from above decks and started screaming ‘’Raus! ’Raus!’, hitting several men with the butt of his pistol. They all stood up as well as they could and lined up at the foot of the stairs. They were marched up and off the ship, which had moored in a port. Everyone looked around; they could see buildings and people in the faint early light. They breathed lungfuls of air - air so fresh they could have wept for joy. The men were herded into two trucks that set off for whatever their next hell was slated to be. Peter and Juan managed to be in the same truck. As the truck slowed at intersections in what appeared to be a country road, a young girl or boy, sometimes an older farmer, would toss something into the truck, or hand it to whoever was on the outside. They received two apples, a few swedes and a lump of cheese this way. The spoils were not shared equally, but Peter got a small bite of cheese and a tiny piece of apple. It almost hurt to eat them. Though he had never had much use for God, he suddenly felt that God had seen him and had sent this food to alleviate his misery for an instant. He did not know whether to feel thankful or to curse this preoccupied God who only noticed him momentarily, pausing long enough to give him what might just be serving to prolong his agony. What about all the other instants? What about the beatings, the screams, the torture, the filth, the dead everywhere? Doesn’t God know about them? Tears rolled down his cheeks. Please, God, don’t forget us. Please please please don’t don’t don’t. The truck screeched to a halt and they were herded off.

  CHAPTER 31

  Field Command 515

  [Translation]

  10th August 1942

  The Bailiff of Jersey.

  Official Journal No. 69 dated 15th July 1942.

  The Ninth Order concerning measures against Jews dated 8th July 1942 is to be registered. The Jews are to be notified of the contents in writing.

  For the Field Commandant,

  Dr. Casper, O.K.V.R.

  C.R.O. [Clifford R. Orange]

  Will you please notify all Jews of the content of the Order in question. I enclose 12 copies of it herewith and I suggest that a copy be handed to each person affected.

  Ch. D. A. [Charles Duret Aubin]

  A.G. 18.8.42.

  Clifford Orange pulled himself up to his full height (he didn’t cut as imposing a figure as usual due to his thinness) and knocked on the door of the Davidson flat. The Davidsons had moved from their old place in Stopford Road to cheaper digs in Oxford Road. A small, thin woman in a faded apron with a scarf tied around her head answered.

  ‘Yes?’ she said, looking at him disdainfully.

  ‘Madam, good day. Are you Mrs Davidson?’

  ‘Yes, I am.’

  ‘I am Mr Orange, the Aliens Officer. Is your husband in?’

  She looked momentarily distressed, then nodded. ‘Yes, he is. What do you need with him? He already closed his business.’

  ‘Yes, I know. There is a new Order I need to give to him.’

  ‘An Order?’ She was beginning to look hostile.

  ‘May I come in?’

  ‘Very well.’

  He entered the dark flat. It smelled, like most flats these days, of boiled swedes and damp. Mr Davidson sat in a worn chair in the parlour, looking straight ahead. Buckets sat on the floor near the door next to a heap of dirty clothes. A pile of firewood lay in the middle of the floor, too precious to keep outside. Mr Orange approached the man.

  ‘Mr Davidson?’

  The old man did not look at him. The woman had returned to the kitchen, leaving Mr Orange alone to talk to her husband.

  ‘Sir?’ Orange whispered.

  The man slowly turned his head to face him. ‘Are you from the vicar?’ he asked, expressionless.

  ‘No, sir, I am the Chief Aliens Officer for Jersey.’

  ‘What do you want?’

  ‘I have to present you with the Ninth Order.’

  ‘The what?’

  ‘The Ninth Order relating to measures against the Jews.’

  ‘I’m not a Jew. I used to be Church of England.’ He said this to the air, no longer looking at Mr Orange.

  ‘Ah, but you registered as a Jew in 1940 when the Occupation began.’

  ‘Oh. Well, I didn’t, but somebody paid someone to do it. Someone is always paying someone to do things against me. I think it’s the Church.’

  Oran
ge was exasperated. How could he explain everything to Davidson when he was babbling like this? He might just have to talk to Mrs Davidson again.

  ‘Mr Davidson, this Order compels you to stay out of public places, shops, and the like. The only time you are allowed in a shop is between three and four o’clock.’

  ‘Well, you need money to go in shops, and we haven’t any.’

  ‘I see. Actually your wife, because she’s a non-Jew (on his way out to the car, he would realise that in fact she was a Jew, but he was loath to confront them again), may shop whenever she pleases, but you, as a registered Jew, come under the prohibitions in this Order.’

  Mrs Davidson came into the parlour. She looked with contempt at Orange. ‘What are you bothering him for? Can’t you see he’s not in his right mind? He’s not even Jewish.’

  ‘Mrs Davidson, your husband registered as a Jew in 1940. He comes under the – ’

  ‘What bloody thing is it now?’ she asked, bursting into tears. Her emaciation made her complete confusion and distress all the more wretched. ‘What do they want with him now? Are you going to send him away? You already got rid of his shop. We don’t have hardly any money left. What do you want now?’

  ‘Madam, I am sorry. I am simply –’

  ‘You’re bloody sorry, are you!’ She began to sob and scream in an ugly choked voice. ‘What kind of officer are you, taking our livelihood away? Now he’s sick. He doesn’t know anything any more. He talks about the Church stealing from him. It’s the bloody Aliens Office! Why are you doing this to us?’

  Orange sat down without knowing why. He really wanted to leave immediately, but he had to carry out the serving of the Order. Why couldn’t these people cooperate? They weren’t the first family to give him trouble.

  ‘Madam, it is simply an Order from the Military Command in France. As a Jew, your husband is now forbidden to enter public buildings, theatres, and the like. He may only shop between three and four o’clock. Here is the Order.’

  He proffered the piece of paper to Mrs Davidson as Mr Davidson stared into space.