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A new exhibition is exploring how Jersey recovered after five years of Nazi occupation. Life after Liberation: the road to recovery is part of the island’s celebrations to mark 80 years since the war’s end. It runs until December.
Jersey was occupied from 1 July 1940 to 9 May 1945, during which time it was transformed into a fortress against Allied attack. The local population suffered terribly, with dwindling food and fuel, as well as almost total isolation from the UK and France.
The exhibition – at Jersey Museum, Art Gallery & Victorian House in St Helier – looks at how the island managed the transition from military rule to civilian government. As curator Lucy Layton explained: ‘Liberation Day is such an important day to celebrate in Jersey, but those who experienced it had mixed emotions.’
‘They had survived five years of occupation and many had lost loved ones,’ she added. ‘Our exhibition aims to capture the joy and melancholy of the day before taking a journey through the years that followed, and all the challenges and opportunities islanders faced.’
