Island at War
Encyclopedia
Island at War is a British
television series that tells the story of the German
Occupation of the Channel Islands
. It primarily focuses on three local families: the upper class
Dorrs, the middle class
Mahys and the working class
Jonases, and four German officers
. The fictional island of St. Gregory serves as a stand-in for the real-life islands Jersey
and Guernsey
, and the story is compiled from the events on both islands.
Produced by Granada Television
in Manchester
, Island at War had an estimated budget of £9,000,000 and was filmed on location in the Isle of Man
from August 2003 to October 2003. When the series was shown in the UK, it appeared in six 70-minute episodes.
, and is the deputy bailiff of the island’s government. His family is well-known and respected; both his father and grandfather have served as Bailiff
. He loves his wife Felicity, but cannot be sure she loves him and often finds that she gets in his way. He sent his son Phillip to England
to go to boarding school, something that Felicity never quite forgave him for.
James takes his job in the Senate very seriously, and works hard to ensure that the transition into occupation is as painless as possible for his fellow islanders. He knows full well that the Germans are capable of killing every single person on St. Gregory, and he encourages his friends and family to avoid stirring up the waters for fear of German retaliation. He is suspicious of his wife’s relationship with Baron Von Rheingarten, and doesn’t trust either of them completely. When Phillip and La Salle arrive on St. Gregory to gather information, James worries that their presence may invite resistance; his sense of duty to St. Gregory tends to cloud his judgment.
James Dorr was played by James Wilby
.
Felicity is good friends with Urban Mahy, and the two perform in a theatre troupe on St. Gregory (known as AmDrams, a commonly used portmanteau of amateur dramatics).
Felicity misses her son Phillip terribly, and is delighted when he returns to St. Gregory to gather information for the war effort. She forms a rather uneasy friendship with Baron Von Rheingarten, and the two often sit outside at night and talk. This makes James suspicious of both of them, despite Felicity’s refusal of the Baron’s advances. When the Baron discovers that 'Mr Brotherson' is in fact Felicity's son, she offers herself to him in return for him sparing her son's life. The Baron rejects her 'proposal' but does see to it that Philip is not killed.
Felicity Dorr was played by Clare Holman
.
When Philip is sent back to the island as a spy on a reconnaissance mission, he takes on the persona of "Mr. Brotherson" and becomes a odd-job man at his parents’ house, 'Sous Les Chenes.' His belief in the power of the Allies comes into conflict with James' determination to protect the people of St. Gregory.
In the final episode he is caught trying to escape back to Britain with information and photos of the German military installations on the island. His life is spared by the Baron but he is sent to France
as a prisoner of war
.
Phillip Dorr was played by Sam Heughan
.
He is eventually forced to be driver for Oberst Heinrich Baron Von Rheingarten; something which he detests even more than the paperwork associated with being a policeman.
He assists the escape attempt of Philip Dorr and Zelda Kay, but is caught and sent to prison in France
for 6–9 months.
Wilf Jonas was played by Owen Teale
.
When the island authorities recommend evacuating children from the island, Kathleen make the heart-wrenching decision to send her 2 children, Colin and Mary, to England to be safe.
Kathleen assists Philip Dorr and Eugene La Salle when they return to the island as spies, despite the danger it puts herself and her family in.
Kathleen was born on 22 January 1904 and used to be a Sunday School Teacher.
Kathleen Jonas was played by Julia Ford
.
He spends a lot of time in the Jonas household and is genuinely fond of his sister. Less so of Wilf. In fact, as soon as Wilf arrives home, Sheldon finds an excuse to leave. He makes it his business to know everyone, believing they may be useful to him one day.
Sheldon Leveque was played by Sean Gallagher.
After her husband was killed during the German invasion, she detests the Germans and everything they stand for, but that doesn't stop her working with them when it suits her. She begins a business partnership (and later a sexual relationship) with German Oberwachtmeister Wimmel.
Cassie Mahy was played by Saskia Reeves
.
He is good friends with Felicity Dorr, and the two are members of the local thespian
club, "AmDrams".
Urban was killed when the Germans bombed the harbour during their invasion, and was buried in an unmarked grave.
Urban Mahy was played by Julian Wadham
.
She has a strong sense of morality and will be the first to challenge her sister or mother if she thinks they are out of line. This makes life very complicated for her when she finds herself in a dubious moral situation: she falls for German soldier Bernhardt Tellemann. Because Angelique cares so much about what others - especially her mother and sister - think of her, she initially refuses to admit her feelings to herself, but eventually gives into them and embarks on a relationship with him.
Angelique Mahy was played by Joanne Froggatt
.
June Mahy was played by Samantha Robinson.
As a German invasion becomes more of a certainty, Zelda makes arrangements to evacuate St. Gregory, but ultimately misses the last boat. Stranded again, Zelda continues to work in the camera shop, though now for Angelique and June Mahy. As a Jewish woman living among Nazi soldiers, Zelda tries very hard to keep her secret. Unfortunately, she catches the eye of Oberleutnant
Walker, and must continually reject his advances. As the occupation continues, Zelda must go into hiding to avoid her secret being made known.
Once her identity is discovered by Walker, she decides she must escape the island and tries to do so by boat, alongside Philip Dorr. Their boat is discovered by the Germans, but Zelda jumps overboard, returns to the island and goes back into hiding.
Zelda Kay was played by Louisa Clein
.
(Colonel) Baron Heinrich Von Rheingharten is a married man with two sons in the Luftwaffe
.
He first appears in the last scenes of the first episode, and quickly established that he is a man of aristocracy. He is the commandant of the island of St. Gregory, in charge of everything that happens there, along with Captain Muller and Leutnant Walker.
Von Rheingarten is not a Nazi in the true sense of the word; he is just loyal to his army and his country. He's also no pushover. He will not be made to look a fool and isn't afraid of making tough decisions, but he understands the frailties of human nature.
He takes a interest in Mrs. Dorr making conversation with her a few times, after shunning the attempts of her husband, and also shows almost paternal affections for Mr. Brotherson (Phillip Dorr) and spends a bit of episode 2 walling with him. When Eugene La Salle is found to be a spy, he is the one to order his execution, as retaliation for the killing of one of his soldiers. He also claims that the island needs a death to remind them who is in charge, and that it will prevent further spying.
In the final episode he finds that his youngest son, Manfred, was shot down over the Channel
, and says to Mrs. Dorr "Maybe she (his wife) does not know and is picking out a star for him now." and when she brings up La Salle's mother he remarks that "one only does what one thinks is right." and that whoever shot down his son was right and would be congratulated.
When Phillip Dorr (a.k.a Mr. Brotherson) is caught with photos of the German facilities, Mrs. Dorr reveals to him that Mr. Brotherson is actually her son, Phillip, and offers herself to him in order to save her son. He spares her son from execution, instead sending him to France
as a prisoner of war
, along with his driver Wilf Jonas and James Dorr who will attend a prison for at least 9 months for assisting him. When Mrs. Dorr thanks him he replies "I have grown sickened by young men dying".
Baron Von Rheingarten was played by Phillip Glenister.
He takes a liking to Zelda Kay, not realising she is in fact a German Jew. When he discovers her true identity he tells her he will keep her secret and coerces her into sleeping with him as a thank you.
Oberleutnant Walker was played by Conor Mullen.
; he is responsible for pressing the button that drops the bombs. He is on the deadly harbor raid that announces the Germans' arrival. Despite his youth, Bernhardt has a clear understanding of the horrific situation. He despises Hitler's views, but he is trapped in his army.
He is immediately attracted to Angelique Mahy and the two of them begin a relationship.
Bernhardt Tellemann was played by Laurence Fox
.
ing off the coast of Normandy
when he encounters a British patrol fleeing the Battle of Dunkirk
. He agrees to rescue them but as the soldiers swim to his boat they are cut down by German machine-gun fire.
Back at the St. Gregory Parliament the Bailiff is reassuring the senate that France's surrender to Nazi Germany
(June 18, 1940) and the occupation of the Cotentin Peninsula
, just 8 miles across the channel, will not affect life on agrarian St. Gregory when it is announced that the British, rather than reinforcing their garrison, are withdrawing completely to leave the island defenceless. The showing of the newsreel of the Wehrmacht
marching beneath the Arc de Triomphe
, sparks public and private debate whether to remain as patriots ("fleeing would be treachery") or evacuate by boat to safety in England.
As the German invasion looms the ageing Bailiff and Senator Dorr speak from the balcony of Parliament, urging calm but neither endorsing nor discouraging an official evacuation. The news strains (or breaks) family relations among the Dorrs, Mahys and Jonases, and erodes social order; looting and profiteering take hold and there is a run on the bank.
Tragedy strikes when the Luftwaffe
, having mistaken the tomato lorries parked by the pier for troop carriers, strafes and bombs the port, killing several dozen, including Urban Mahy. A German reconnaissance
plane then drops leaflets announcing the protocol for the island's surrender: white flags hung from every structure.
The Dorrs, now reconciled, the Mahys, led by the widow Cassie, and the Jonases, having discovered that their son still on the island (only the daughter evacuated), await the German occupation with the resolve to carry on.
In the final sequence we meet Baron Heinrich Von Rheingarten, the German Commandant
who arrives with a battalion
of landser
s to take possession of St. Gregory "in the name of the Chancellor of the Third Reich". He quickly establishes his credentials as a cultured member of the old Prussia
n aristocracy
, through his courteous treatment of his presumptive peers, the Dorrs, and an appreciation for the local architecture. An efficient officer, he wastes no time in requisitioning the Bailiff's car and "finest hotel on the island" (the St. George) for his staff.
In the final scene he addresses the assembled German troops from the balcony of the Parliament building, now draped in swastika
s. His Nazi salute
and accompanying "Heil Hitler"strike an ominous note and close the episode.
", a marching band, playing Jaromir Vejvoda's "Beer Barrel Polka
", passes below the church just as Urban Mahy is being interred. As the music cannot be ignored, June Mahy, his daughter, begins to sing along hesitantly, then with growing conviction as first her mother, followed by the other mourners, join in. The moment is transformed from maudlin to poignant.
The first meeting of Baron Heinrich Von Rheingarten and Senator James Dorr follows, setting up their ideological and personal conflict as one of the series' major themes. Their respective agenda: redressing grievances (Dorr) and acknowledgment of Germans' humanity/superiority (Von Rheingarten), while not mutually exclusive, find them initially talking at cross-purposes.
Urban Mahy's wake
provides the opportunity for dialogue framing secondary plot-lines: Sheldon Leveque attempts to ingratiate himself with Cassie Mahy whose cooperation will abet his war profiteering
, Cassie in turn accuses Felicity Dorr of pursuing an affair with her late husband, and handsome Captain Muller arrives with two landser
s and impresses June Mahy by having them apologise to the family for accosting them in the street. Meanwhile on the cliff overlooking a secluded beach Baron Von Rheingarten impresses upon Senator Dorr the rigour of German military discipline: "My men whom you see now frolicking below would slaughter each other in a minute if I so ordered it". They return to the Dorr residence where Felicity Dorr snubs the Baron's social advances. He retaliates by requisitioning the unused wing of their home for himself and senior staff. This begins the Baron Von Rheingarten/James Dorr rivalry for Felicity's attentions, fueled in part by James' confronting her privately with his own false suspicions about an affair with Urban Mahy.
The clandestine arrival of the Dorr son, Phillip, and compatriot Eugene La Salle, now both recruited as British reconnaissance
agents, brings the war home to the island. Masquerading as "Mr. Brotherson", a day-labourer on his parents' estate, Phillip quickly finds himself repairing a garden wall alongside the Baron who displays an almost paternal affection for the young man.
After Cassie Mahy refuses to sell groceries to German soldiers, she must face Leutnant Walker who purports to teach her a lesson in the economics of occupation. Intimating that food is scarce throughout Europe, he challenges her on moral grounds. He is also responsible for promulgating Nazi anti-semitic agenda on the island. Not all the Germans are evil, however, and we soon meet Airman Bernhardt Telleman, who urges the Mahy daughters, now running a camera shop they inherited when its Jewish owner evacuated, to serve German soldiers because "we are people too". After convincing the girls to accept his business he is visibly pleased to formally introduce himself merely as "Bernhardt" and crosses the street with a bounce in his step.
The Baron and Felicity share a frank, almost intimate, moment in the Dorr garden. With faces bathed in moon and lamplight, he offers her chocolates but warns her that his soldiers are "an invading army - men without women" who will sooner or later become "ravenous wolves".
The episode closes on a note of violence: Eugene and Phillip, having completed their reconnaissance
mission, are awaiting extraction by submarine
on the beach, when they encounter, and kill, a landser
on patrol. The machine-gun fire raises the alarm and the pair must conceal the body and evade capture in a house-to-house search mounted by the Germans. Phillip guides Eugene, suffering from hypothermia
, to refuge in the Jonas' barn. Again the Baron has the last word to the Dorrs, "I cannot tell you how serious this is - I should hope this doesn't mean .. resistance
".
Flach, the presumptive political officer whose suspicions are aroused by such a long voyage, ostensibly to set lobster pots. Phillip and the now-feverish Eugene remain in hiding in the Jonas barn; a perilous situation, Wilf explains to Felicity, as "it is only a matter of time" before they are found, consigning the family to death for harbouring an enemy agent.
Invited to a special session of the Senate, the Baron snubs the Bailiff's attempt to appease him and forestall a reprisal, "ten islanders killed for every German life", and promises to "shoot on sight anyone found on the beaches (at night)". Back at the Dorr residence, now serving as his HQ, he cautions them privately, "We (are not) playing at war".
After stealing German uniforms from the beach, young Colin Jonas runs into an alley where his uncle Sheldon is attempting to sell a car of dubious provenance to Oberwachtmeister Wimmel, the German quartermaster
sergeant. Back at the camera shop, Leutnant Walker meets, and is instantly enamoured with Zelda Kay. Unaware of her Jewish heritage he insists that she escort him to the officers' party at the 50/50 Club. Under the guise of patronising the camera shop Bernhardt pursues a courtship with Angelique.
When Felicity Dorr visits her son Phillip and Eugene La Salle at the Jonas' barn, it also affords an opportunity to share a moment of maternal sympathy with Kathleen, Wilf's wife. Bernhardt Telleman again visits the camera shop but Zelda is there instead and tells him that the German air-raid on the port killed Angelique's father. He buys flowers to lay at the grave and, as luck would have it, finds her also at the cemetery. When she ignores him he chastises her: "...you won't see past the uniform..I studied law, I am not a...fighting man..do you think I want to kill your people?"
That evening at the 50/50 Club, Leutnant Walker, having forced Zelda to accompany him, tries in vain to create the mood of a double date when he is joined by Captain Dieter Muller and June, who sings regularly at the club. Meanwhile James and Felicity Dorr try to persuade Eugene La Salle to "hand himself in to the German military" as prisoner of war having escaped from occupied France.
The next morning Wilf is conscripted to serve as the Baron's chauffeur while Sheldon traffics in black market produce. Oberwachtmeister Wimmel wants in on the profits and blackmail
s Cassie into a partnership.
That afternoon Felicity finds the Baron in her garden, whom she accuses him of having "no respect for our privacy". "There's a corner of my vineyard," he replies, "which has a wall that was once part of an abbey. I sit there late at night, always alone." The arrival of Senator Dorr breaks the mood and the Baron confronts him with his suspicions about Eugene La Salle's true identity, obtained by Captain Muller from Ada, Wilf Jonas' mother. Again the Baron has the last word, indirectly implicating Phillip in an espionage
plot.
Back at Parliament, Angelique Mahy, who works as the Senator's aide, hints at her knowledge of Phillip's complicity. James' perfunctory denial is interrupted by Flach who needs the Senator's signature on work passes for newly-arrived French prostitutes waiting on the docks. Looking pointedly at Angelique, he implies he is doing the local women a favour by relieving them of the job. When Angelique brings their papers to the dock the guards mistake her for one and Bernhardt, coincidentally on scene, surreptitiously bribes the sergeant to release her.
Felicity engineers a moment alone with the Baron by puncturing her bicycle tyre, and attempts to use his attraction to her as leverage to dissuade him from "murdering" Eugene La Salle. The "death is needed", counters the Baron, to dispel the "cosiness" of the occupation and remind the populace "who has the power and that landser
s matter".
His usual methods prohibited by the Baron, and threats having been proved ineffective, Flach tries to break Kathleen Jonas' spirit by quarantining her in hospital, under the pretext of transmitting syphilis
to German soldiers. Meanwhile Senator Dorr pleads with Rheingarten, confessing to masterminding the ruse of Eugene's "surrender" and offering his own life in exchange for La Salle's. The Baron refuses and warns him "Don't ever tell Flach what you have just told me".
Over tea Bernhardt opens up to Angelique and makes the argument, both on his own behalf as her suitor, and for millions of young Germans, and English alike:
At La Salle's execution by firing squad, Constable Jonas witnesses Leutnant Walker administer the coup de grâce
and Mr. Brotherson/Phillip, on the grounds to work, hears and is sickened by the shots. The Baron offers his regrets to Felicity, and almost fatherly words of advice to Phillip.
Back at the Mahy shop, war profiteering
is in full swing with Cassie, now not above price gouging
, is officially the retail side of the operation while Oberwachtmeister Wimmel and Sheldon Leveque handle the supply and distribution. Meanwhile Leutnant Walker continues to force himself on Zelda, "ordering" her to accompany him to the officers' party at 'Sous la Chenes', (the Dorrs' ancestral home, also doubling as the Baron's HQ) that evening.
That evening at the officers' party, next door to the Dorrs, Von Rheingarten ignores the provocative glances from a young woman and orders Leutnant Walker not to let any of "that sort go upstairs and mix with the officers". Undeterred, Walker drags a girl into the Dorrs' garden shed and is assaulting her when Felicity makes her presence known, thwarting the rape. Drunk and frustrated he goes to Zelda's flat and sings outside the door until she lets him in. He blames his misbehaviour at the party on her refusal to accompany him, "I am so bloody lonely - I just want a girl that I can respect". She most emphatically tells him that "she is not that sort of girl, and if you respect me you'll leave now". After kissing her hand, "I am so glad we are going to get to each other better", he does leave.
Wilf, tasked to drive June home from the party, is sarcastic to the point of cruelty, calling her a trollop, "Party, drinks, singing, dance the night away and paid into the bargain". Inside the house Zelda, is hiding out from Walker and June tells them both she doesn't care anymore if anyone, including their mother, thinks she is fraternizing with the enemy. "Say [to her] I spent the evening with a bunch of murderers who just come from shooting Eugene. And tell her how much I enjoyed it."
When the Baron attempts to be cordial towards Mrs. Dorr, and she responds with indignation at his shooting Eugene, he explicitly states another of the series' themes: "That weight of righteousness is very heavy, Mrs. Dorr. Keep up this moral indignation, and come the war's end you'll have drowned in it." The argument escalates and the Baron raises his voice, bringing the Senator who, this time, is ready to fight for his wife.
Wilf, wracked with guilt at being helpless to save, or even comfort Eugene in his last moments of life, is consoled by Kathleen. The next morning Angelique meets Bernhardt at the beach. Resigned to continuing the argument he protests, "I'm not your enemy". This time she takes his hand, "Of course you are, Bernhardt, of course you are". The pair share a kiss.
. Juxtaposing acts of personal heroism and self-sacrifice with despicable institutional cowardice, characters jettison firmly-held principles in the face of economic necessity, and draw upon unimaginable strength to endure the unendurable.
Quick scenes advance the plot lines: Leutnant Walker, obsessed with Zelda, corners her on the beach and continues to interpret her blunt, even insulting, refusals to see him as playing hard to get. Angelique is unable to face her mother, Cassie, and confess her love for Bernhardt. Senator Dorr must face the grieving parents of Eugene La Salle, but is wracked with guilt and cannot disclose his full role in their son's death. Yet he does risk open confrontation with the Baron, who would order the La Salles arrested just for visiting the execution site in the Dorr garden. Mrs. Dorr pleads on the La Salles' behalf. When the Baron's response, "There is no compassion [in war]" visibly, and deeply, hurts her, he offers to "record in which place of unmarked wasteland he's being buried and let [the La Salles] know after the war". Phillip Dorr now feels compelled to complete his mission so that Eugene would not have "died in vain". Angelique receives a note from Bernhardt who, about to go on a raid, promises to drop his bombs "into the sea or on fields".
The tolling of the church bell sets up the reference to Sergei Eisenstein
's 1925 masterpiece, The Battleship Potemkin
and it's Odessa Steps sequence: the islanders mount an act of nonviolent resistance
and convene at the square in front of the German HQ to keep silent vigil and mourn La Salle. It is the second (of three) moments of decision for the Baron, who must look down from the balcony into the eyes of those he is about to have shot: Wilf, Felicity and Mr. Brotherson/Phillip. In a brilliant double entendre
the vicar, played by Malatratt himself, and James Dorr, simultaneously admire the Baron's "handling of the situation", and step through the "fourth wall" to praise the homage
to great Russia
n director by David Higgs, cinematographer
, and Peter Lydon, director.
Sheldon Leveque agrees to help Phillip spy and Cassie has misgivings about taking Oberwachtmeister Wimmel (who doesn't know "whether he is married or not") as her business partner. Constable Jonas turns a blind eye to Kathleen and Sheldon's circumventing German meat-rationing regulations, and states "There's no law anymore - there's just their rules, and that's no law".
Leutnant Walker forces Zelda to come the cinema with him and watch the infamous Nazi anti-semitic propaganda
film, Jud Süß
. On screen we see the rape of a Christian woman by the Jew, "Seuss", and his ceremonious lynching. Ironically the "fate-knocking-at-the-door"
opening motif of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony has come to represent the European resistance movement, and the islanders voice their disapproval by tapping this rhythm. Walker threatens to have the cinema closed and a last "tap, tap, tap, tap," amuses the film-goers, in stark contrast to the horrors on-screen.
More quick scenes: The Baron plays at being Phillip's father, proudly commenting to Felicity about "Mr. Brotherson's" improvement in wall-building under his tutelage. He admonishes both against further participation in acts of (even) passive resistance. Angelique is distressed by a radio broadcast announcing the RAF's routing of a flight of Heinkel
s crossing, approaching the coast and shooting down thirty of them over the Channel. June is conflicted: "150 fewer Germans in the islands" yet they're "people too ... young men ... who are not just numbers once you've met them", which, ironically, she urges her sister to do. Over dinner the Jonas' extended family receive word from their daughter, Mary, that she is safe in England, and Wilf and comes to blows with his father-in-law
Harry for implying he is "collaborating with the enemy".
Mallatratt re-characterizes Bailiff
Francis La Palotte, heretofore portrayed as a well-meaning old man poised to enter dotage, as the poster boy
for European complacency at the beginning of the Holocaust. In meeting of the island senate he urges acquiescence to the "German High Command in Paris" who have ordered registration of all Jews on the island, and confiscation of their property. His placating words deeply offend James Dorr, who alone speaks out against the new rules. Director Lydon drives home the point with inter-cuts of the "debate" and Leutnant Walker arresting the few Jews that remain on the island.
The other shoe falls when Leutnant Walker, discovers Zelda Kay's true identity as Hannah Kozminsky. After playing cat and mouse
with her, he uses the threat of sending her to die in a labour camp as leverage to force her sexual compliance. Cutting from the grotesques of lust, to the tragedy/glory of star-crossed lovers, Angelique discovers that Bernhardt Telleman has survived the ill-fated mission that claimed the lives of his compatriots.
Meanwhile Walker is searching for Hannah/Zelda who has gone into hiding above Cassie's grocery store. When he suspects Cassie and June of aiding her disappearance the daughter bluffs convincingly, earning her mother's respect for the first time since the occupation. Felicity pleads with Angelique to stop risking her life, and Phillip's, by assisting his espionage and Angelique seizes the moment to profess her love for Bernhardt.
"To favours returned" toasts Oberwachtmeister Wimmel over wine and truffles, a simultaneously clever and tasteless pun: Cassie trades her sexual favours for the economic benefits her association with the German quartermaster supply sergeant brings.
The episode closes with a reference to Anne Frank
as Cassie, bringing food to Hannah/Zelda hiding in a secret room above the shop, interrupts her writing in a journal.
Meanwhile Angelique's feelings have won over her nervousness about sleeping with the enemy and she and Bernhardt rendezvous in Hanna/Zelda's flat. June finds them together, after she ducks in to avoid the derision of islanders who recognised her in the street. Angelique confesses to her sister, "I'm a Jerrybag".
Sheldon accidentally discovers Hannah/Zelda in Cassie's attic hideaway and offers to smuggle her to England with Phillip. Wilf Jonas having agreed to assist the plot, must find a way to get his fishing boat out of the harbour "without an escort".
Cassie disabuses Oberwachtmeister Wimmel of any romantic delusions regarding their liaison, "It will always be sex, never love...It's the same with any hunger - one might even eat a rat if one were starved."
Senator Dorr's attitude undergoes a sea-change: he expresses a profound hatred of the Germans to Felicity, goes to the La Salles and admits authorship of the plan that got their son shot as a spy, and he gives Phillip intelligence about the strength and composition of German forces on the island and their plans to fortify it. Meanwhile Colin Jonas and his friend Ronald encounter an officer, who drunk and disillusioned, sells his P08 Parabellum
for the £5 note Colin got from his uncle, Sheldon Leveque.
The game is afoot as all principals are converging on Nailing Bay where Wilf and Wimmel, aboard the 'Little Mary' have lain at anchor all afternoon but caught only one garfish between them. Sheldon, en route with Hannah/Zelda in his truck improvises cleverly to pass her through a checkpoint without identification papers. When Felicity discovers that Phillip has in fact left for England she is "far more than upset" at James for keeping her in the dark.
Sheldon drops Hannah/Zelda off with Philip but things go wrong with the carefully orchestrated plan when Colin and Ronald, having hiked overland, arrive at Nailing Bay, and see Wimmel and Jonas, who have given up on fishing and are paddling ashore after the motor fails to start. The boys misinterpret Wimmel's posture and gestures with the rifle as an impending execution and shoot at him from the rocks with the pistol. Wimmel, thinking it was a trap to kill him, makes it to the road and commandeers Sheldon's truck to take Wilf to the barracks prison.
That evening the Baron finds Felicity alone with her thoughts on the porch at 'Sous Les Chenes'. Rheingarten has just learned that his youngest son, 'Manfred' in the Luftwaffe
, was shot down over the Channel When Felicity reminds him that of Eugene La Salle, he explains, "One only does what one believes is right. In war one has only the moment of decision. If I believed it to be right, then it was right. Whoever shot done my son was right." Their shared grief and mutual sympathies linger, complementing the Baron's literate imagery.
Aboard the 'Little Mary' Phillip and Hannah are trying to start the motor but are intercepted by a German cutter before the ignition catches. Hannah jumps overboard seconds before she can spotted by the searchlight
s but Phillip is taken with the photographs. The Baron visits him in his cell:
Realising that Felicity Dorr is somehow involved, he visits her to personally deliver the news of 'Mr. Brotherson's' capture. Her reaction gives her away; The Baron realises that Mr Brotherson is, in fact, her son. Felicity sheds the last tattered remnants of her dignity and desperately offers her body to him, anything to spare her son.
Hannah, having survived the plunge into the icy channel waters and swam ashore, goes back into hiding above Cassie Mahy's shop.
The Baron is repelled by Flach's suggestion that they just "shoot [Phillip] and have done with it" and orders him instead sent to France as a prisoner of war. He also orders James and Wilf be sent to prison for 6–9 months for assisting him. On the docks Kathleen Jonas says goodbye to her husband. Senator Dorr realising that the Baron's change of heart is due to his wife's efforts, forgives Felicity for "whatever it took" to spare Phillip's life. When Phillip arrives Felicity can only address him as 'Mr. Brotherson' and the ferry departs for Normandy
.
Back at 'Sous Les Chenes' the Baron accepts Felicity's thanks with "I've grown sickened, Mrs. Dorr, by the deaths of young men". Angelique comes to Bernhardt and they watch the sunset together.
series Enemy at the Door
(1978–80), which had a similar plot, and Foyle's War
.
In the Channel Islands
themselves, the series faced widespread criticism in the local press due to inaccuracy, mispronunciation of names (for example, 'Mahy' was pronounced 'Mah-hee' rather than the correct 'Ma'yee') and the fact that the series was filmed not on the islands themselves, but the Isle of Man
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television series that tells the story of the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Occupation of the Channel Islands
Occupation of the Channel Islands
The Channel Islands were occupied by Nazi Germany for much of World War II, from 30 June 1940 until the liberation on 9 May 1945. The Channel Islands are two British Crown dependencies and include the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey as well as the smaller islands of Alderney and Sark...
. It primarily focuses on three local families: the upper class
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
Dorrs, the middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
Mahys and the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
Jonases, and four German officers
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
. The fictional island of St. Gregory serves as a stand-in for the real-life islands Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
and Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
, and the story is compiled from the events on both islands.
Produced by Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Island at War had an estimated budget of £9,000,000 and was filmed on location in the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
from August 2003 to October 2003. When the series was shown in the UK, it appeared in six 70-minute episodes.
James Dorr
James Dorr is a member of the St. Gregory SenateSenate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature or parliament. There have been many such bodies in history, since senate means the assembly of the eldest and wiser members of the society and ruling class...
, and is the deputy bailiff of the island’s government. His family is well-known and respected; both his father and grandfather have served as Bailiff
Bailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...
. He loves his wife Felicity, but cannot be sure she loves him and often finds that she gets in his way. He sent his son Phillip to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to go to boarding school, something that Felicity never quite forgave him for.
James takes his job in the Senate very seriously, and works hard to ensure that the transition into occupation is as painless as possible for his fellow islanders. He knows full well that the Germans are capable of killing every single person on St. Gregory, and he encourages his friends and family to avoid stirring up the waters for fear of German retaliation. He is suspicious of his wife’s relationship with Baron Von Rheingarten, and doesn’t trust either of them completely. When Phillip and La Salle arrive on St. Gregory to gather information, James worries that their presence may invite resistance; his sense of duty to St. Gregory tends to cloud his judgment.
James Dorr was played by James Wilby
James Wilby
James Jonathon Wilby is an English film, television and theatre actor.-Early life and education:He was born in Rangoon, Burma to a corporate executive father...
.
Felicity Dorr
Felicity is James Dorr’s wife. She is not a native of St. Gregory; she was born and educated in England, where she met James. She and James conceived a child the night they met, and were married very quickly afterward. Felicity does not terribly enjoy living on St. Gregory, finding island life boring and stuffy. She is, however, very devoted to her husband James, especially after the occupation begins.Felicity does not quite share her husband’s loyalty to St. Gregory itself, but rather to her friends and family on the islandFelicity is good friends with Urban Mahy, and the two perform in a theatre troupe on St. Gregory (known as AmDrams, a commonly used portmanteau of amateur dramatics).
Felicity misses her son Phillip terribly, and is delighted when he returns to St. Gregory to gather information for the war effort. She forms a rather uneasy friendship with Baron Von Rheingarten, and the two often sit outside at night and talk. This makes James suspicious of both of them, despite Felicity’s refusal of the Baron’s advances. When the Baron discovers that 'Mr Brotherson' is in fact Felicity's son, she offers herself to him in return for him sparing her son's life. The Baron rejects her 'proposal' but does see to it that Philip is not killed.
Felicity Dorr was played by Clare Holman
Clare Holman
Clare Margaret Holman is an English actress, perhaps most famous for her role of forensic pathologist Dr. Laura Hobson in the television series Inspector Morse and Lewis.-Acting:...
.
Phillip Dorr (aka Mr. Brotherson)
Philip Dorr is the only son of James and Felicity. He was educated, like his father before him, at Stowe. He went straight into the army, where he's in training at Sandhurst. Philip loves his parents but sometimes finds himself caught between them.When Philip is sent back to the island as a spy on a reconnaissance mission, he takes on the persona of "Mr. Brotherson" and becomes a odd-job man at his parents’ house, 'Sous Les Chenes.' His belief in the power of the Allies comes into conflict with James' determination to protect the people of St. Gregory.
In the final episode he is caught trying to escape back to Britain with information and photos of the German military installations on the island. His life is spared by the Baron but he is sent to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
.
Phillip Dorr was played by Sam Heughan
Sam Heughan
Sam Heughan was born in New Galloway, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, in 1980. He is an actor who studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow....
.
Wilf Jonas
Wilf is the local policeman who feels a genuine sense of duty, which brings him into conflict with some of his colleagues. He's a bit of a gambler and risk taker, and enjoys the adventure and uncertainty of his job. He loathes paperwork, loves his wife and despises his brother-in-law. Wilf also likes to fish the local waters around the island of St. Gregory.He is eventually forced to be driver for Oberst Heinrich Baron Von Rheingarten; something which he detests even more than the paperwork associated with being a policeman.
He assists the escape attempt of Philip Dorr and Zelda Kay, but is caught and sent to prison in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
for 6–9 months.
Wilf Jonas was played by Owen Teale
Owen Teale
Owen Teale is a Welsh actor.Trained at the Guildford School of Acting, Teale made his television debut in The Mimosa Boys in 1984. He later appeared in Knights of God , Great Expectations , Waterfront Beat and Boon before being cast as Will Scarlet in the 1991 TV movie Robin Hood...
.
Kathleen Jonas
Wilf's wife is high energy. She loves to run the farm, and to clean and cook for her family. She shares Wilf's sense of what's right and wrong up to a point, but is more willing to bend the rules, especially when her brother, Sheldon Leveque is involved. She's adventurous and always ready for fun. She puts her husband and two children before herself and will keep secrets from Wilf if she feels it necessary.When the island authorities recommend evacuating children from the island, Kathleen make the heart-wrenching decision to send her 2 children, Colin and Mary, to England to be safe.
Kathleen assists Philip Dorr and Eugene La Salle when they return to the island as spies, despite the danger it puts herself and her family in.
Kathleen was born on 22 January 1904 and used to be a Sunday School Teacher.
Kathleen Jonas was played by Julia Ford
Julia Ford
Julia Ford is a British actress who has appeared in a variety of theatre, film, radio and television productions, including Waking the Dead, Silent Witness, Midsomer Murders and All About George, The Street, Red Riding, Coming Down The Mountain, In A Land of Plenty, Insiders, Island at War...
.
Sheldon Leveque
Sheldon is Kathleen's brother and a handsome charmer who can talk himself out of any situation. It's never quite clear how he makes his living. He appears to be a crafty wheeler-dealer who manages to work both for and against the Germans. He's also one of the few islanders allowed to keep a vehicle, although no one is quite sure why.He spends a lot of time in the Jonas household and is genuinely fond of his sister. Less so of Wilf. In fact, as soon as Wilf arrives home, Sheldon finds an excuse to leave. He makes it his business to know everyone, believing they may be useful to him one day.
Sheldon Leveque was played by Sean Gallagher.
Cassie Mahy
Cassie runs a successful grocery store which she inherited from her parents. This makes her the main breadwinner in the family. She adores her husband Urban who acknowledges that she has the business brain of the partnership. She's a bit older than he is but she'll defer to him in matters of their children's upbringing.After her husband was killed during the German invasion, she detests the Germans and everything they stand for, but that doesn't stop her working with them when it suits her. She begins a business partnership (and later a sexual relationship) with German Oberwachtmeister Wimmel.
Cassie Mahy was played by Saskia Reeves
Saskia Reeves
Saskia Reeves is a British actress perhaps best known for her roles in the films Close My Eyes and ID , and the 2000 miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune....
.
Urban Mahy
Urban Mahy is the near-polar opposite of his wife Cassie. Urban is a genial chap with an easy-going attitude who's content to go along with whatever comes his way. He feels lucky to have his wife Cassie, and is delighted by his children. His wife inherited the grocery store from her parents and Every so often he has a twinge of conscience because Cassie is the family breadwinner. This leads him to a crisis of conscience. He is delighted, therefore, when Mr. Isaaks offers to give his camera shop to Urban when the former evacuates St. Gregory. He is several years younger than Cassie, but she acknowledges him as the head of the household. Urban loves Cassie deeply, but they often disagree on issues such as business and child-rearing.He is good friends with Felicity Dorr, and the two are members of the local thespian
Thespian
Thespian may refer to:* An actor * A citizen of the ancient Greek city of Thespiae* A member of the International Thespian Society, an honor society that promotes excellence in high school theater...
club, "AmDrams".
Urban was killed when the Germans bombed the harbour during their invasion, and was buried in an unmarked grave.
Urban Mahy was played by Julian Wadham
Julian Wadham
-Career:He has appeared on television as both Charles II and George V...
.
Angelique Mahy
Angelique is the elder of Urban and Cassie Mahy's two daughters. She works at the Government house as an assistant to James Dorr and the Bailiff La Palotte. Compared to her sister June, Angelique is much more aggressive toward the Germans. She is absolutely against their presence on St. Gregory, and refuses to cooperate with them when she can. When she and June take over Mr. Isaaks' camera shop, Angelique is against removing the former owner's name from the store window, as it would mean having to cater to the German soldiers.She has a strong sense of morality and will be the first to challenge her sister or mother if she thinks they are out of line. This makes life very complicated for her when she finds herself in a dubious moral situation: she falls for German soldier Bernhardt Tellemann. Because Angelique cares so much about what others - especially her mother and sister - think of her, she initially refuses to admit her feelings to herself, but eventually gives into them and embarks on a relationship with him.
Angelique Mahy was played by Joanne Froggatt
Joanne Froggatt
- Early life, education and early career :Born and raised in the village of Littlebeck, Froggatt left her family home at the age of 13 to attend the Redroofs Theatre School in Maidenhead, Berkshire. In 1996, she made her TV début in the long-running ITV drama, The Bill, and shortly afterwards...
.
June Mahy
June is the younger of Urban and Cassie Mahy's two daughters. A girl of seventeen, younger than her years, impressionable and a bit of a daddy's girl. She's in the amateur dramatic society, and is a singer at the 50/50 Club, which is taken over by Germans. When the Germans arrive, June truly does not know how to act. Her mother and sister believe that the Germans are evil and to be avoided, June cannot help but treat them like ordinary people. Being friendly with the Germans eventually gets June into trouble, and she becomes branded a "Jerrybag" by some of her fellow islanders.June Mahy was played by Samantha Robinson.
Zelda Kay
Zelda Kay (real name: "Hannah Kosminski") is a German Jew who escaped the country with her mother in 1933. They settled in England, and Zelda found work as a nanny. The family she worked for often spent their summers in St. Gregory, and that's where Zelda found herself when war broke out in September 1939. Since she was a German national, she was not allowed back into Britain. Stranded on St. Gregory, Mr. Isaaks befriended her, gave her a job in his shop and found a flat for her to rent.As a German invasion becomes more of a certainty, Zelda makes arrangements to evacuate St. Gregory, but ultimately misses the last boat. Stranded again, Zelda continues to work in the camera shop, though now for Angelique and June Mahy. As a Jewish woman living among Nazi soldiers, Zelda tries very hard to keep her secret. Unfortunately, she catches the eye of Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...
Walker, and must continually reject his advances. As the occupation continues, Zelda must go into hiding to avoid her secret being made known.
Once her identity is discovered by Walker, she decides she must escape the island and tries to do so by boat, alongside Philip Dorr. Their boat is discovered by the Germans, but Zelda jumps overboard, returns to the island and goes back into hiding.
Zelda Kay was played by Louisa Clein
Louisa Clein
Louisa Miranda Clein is a British actress. Her mother is a professional violinist, her sister is the cellist Natalie Clein and her cousin is the author Julia Pascal. Clein played viola as a youth and was a violist with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain in 1995-1996.Clein is a 2000...
.
Baron Heinrich Von Rheingarten
OberstOberst
Oberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
(Colonel) Baron Heinrich Von Rheingharten is a married man with two sons in the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
.
He first appears in the last scenes of the first episode, and quickly established that he is a man of aristocracy. He is the commandant of the island of St. Gregory, in charge of everything that happens there, along with Captain Muller and Leutnant Walker.
Von Rheingarten is not a Nazi in the true sense of the word; he is just loyal to his army and his country. He's also no pushover. He will not be made to look a fool and isn't afraid of making tough decisions, but he understands the frailties of human nature.
He takes a interest in Mrs. Dorr making conversation with her a few times, after shunning the attempts of her husband, and also shows almost paternal affections for Mr. Brotherson (Phillip Dorr) and spends a bit of episode 2 walling with him. When Eugene La Salle is found to be a spy, he is the one to order his execution, as retaliation for the killing of one of his soldiers. He also claims that the island needs a death to remind them who is in charge, and that it will prevent further spying.
In the final episode he finds that his youngest son, Manfred, was shot down over the Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, and says to Mrs. Dorr "Maybe she (his wife) does not know and is picking out a star for him now." and when she brings up La Salle's mother he remarks that "one only does what one thinks is right." and that whoever shot down his son was right and would be congratulated.
When Phillip Dorr (a.k.a Mr. Brotherson) is caught with photos of the German facilities, Mrs. Dorr reveals to him that Mr. Brotherson is actually her son, Phillip, and offers herself to him in order to save her son. He spares her son from execution, instead sending him to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
, along with his driver Wilf Jonas and James Dorr who will attend a prison for at least 9 months for assisting him. When Mrs. Dorr thanks him he replies "I have grown sickened by young men dying".
Baron Von Rheingarten was played by Phillip Glenister.
Oberleutnant Walker
Lieutenant Walker is a complex character. His politics are much further right than Von Rheingarten's and he agrees with Hitler's most extreme views. He detests the Jews and enjoys the power he has as a superior officer in an occupying army. However, he is also terribly lonely and desperate to find friendship and love.He takes a liking to Zelda Kay, not realising she is in fact a German Jew. When he discovers her true identity he tells her he will keep her secret and coerces her into sleeping with him as a thank you.
Oberleutnant Walker was played by Conor Mullen.
Airman Bernhardt Tellemann
Bernhardt was studying for a law degree when war broke out and he was called into the army. He is a navigator in the LuftwaffeLuftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
; he is responsible for pressing the button that drops the bombs. He is on the deadly harbor raid that announces the Germans' arrival. Despite his youth, Bernhardt has a clear understanding of the horrific situation. He despises Hitler's views, but he is trapped in his army.
He is immediately attracted to Angelique Mahy and the two of them begin a relationship.
Bernhardt Tellemann was played by Laurence Fox
Laurence Fox
Laurence Fox is an English actor best known for his leading role as Detective Sergeant James Hathaway in the British TV drama series Lewis...
.
Episode One: Eve of the War
In the opening scene a St. Gregory fisherman (later revealed to be PC Wilf Jonas) is lobsterLobster
Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...
ing off the coast of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
when he encounters a British patrol fleeing the Battle of Dunkirk
Battle of Dunkirk
The Battle of Dunkirk was a battle in the Second World War between the Allies and Germany. A part of the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation of British and allied forces in Europe from 26 May–4 June 1940.After the Phoney War, the Battle of...
. He agrees to rescue them but as the soldiers swim to his boat they are cut down by German machine-gun fire.
Back at the St. Gregory Parliament the Bailiff is reassuring the senate that France's surrender to Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
(June 18, 1940) and the occupation of the Cotentin Peninsula
Cotentin Peninsula
The Cotentin Peninsula, also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy, forming part of the north-western coast of France. It juts out north-westwards into the English Channel, towards Great Britain...
, just 8 miles across the channel, will not affect life on agrarian St. Gregory when it is announced that the British, rather than reinforcing their garrison, are withdrawing completely to leave the island defenceless. The showing of the newsreel of the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
marching beneath the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
, sparks public and private debate whether to remain as patriots ("fleeing would be treachery") or evacuate by boat to safety in England.
As the German invasion looms the ageing Bailiff and Senator Dorr speak from the balcony of Parliament, urging calm but neither endorsing nor discouraging an official evacuation. The news strains (or breaks) family relations among the Dorrs, Mahys and Jonases, and erodes social order; looting and profiteering take hold and there is a run on the bank.
Tragedy strikes when the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
, having mistaken the tomato lorries parked by the pier for troop carriers, strafes and bombs the port, killing several dozen, including Urban Mahy. A German reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
plane then drops leaflets announcing the protocol for the island's surrender: white flags hung from every structure.
The Dorrs, now reconciled, the Mahys, led by the widow Cassie, and the Jonases, having discovered that their son still on the island (only the daughter evacuated), await the German occupation with the resolve to carry on.
In the final sequence we meet Baron Heinrich Von Rheingarten, the German Commandant
Commandant
Commandant is a senior title often given to the officer in charge of a large training establishment or academy. This usage is common in anglophone nations...
who arrives with a battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
of landser
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s to take possession of St. Gregory "in the name of the Chancellor of the Third Reich". He quickly establishes his credentials as a cultured member of the old Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
, through his courteous treatment of his presumptive peers, the Dorrs, and an appreciation for the local architecture. An efficient officer, he wastes no time in requisitioning the Bailiff's car and "finest hotel on the island" (the St. George) for his staff.
In the final scene he addresses the assembled German troops from the balcony of the Parliament building, now draped in swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
s. His Nazi salute
Nazi salute
The Nazi salute, or Hitler salute , was a gesture of greeting in Nazi Germany usually accompanied by saying, Heil Hitler! ["Hail Hitler!"], Heil, mein Führer ["Hail, my leader!"], or Sieg Heil! ["Hail victory!"]...
and accompanying "Heil Hitler"strike an ominous note and close the episode.
Episode Two: Living with the Enemy
In general the episode introduces the German-islander interpersonal relationships to be developed. The opening shots comprise a montage of island life under occupation: Urban Mahy's funeral procession behind a handcart, the Dorrs getting around on bicycles, soldiers smoking in the main square. In a scene reminiscent of Hal Ashby's "Harold and MaudeHarold and Maude
Harold and Maude is a 1971 American dark comedy film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama, with a plot that revolves around the exploits of a young man intrigued with death, Harold...
", a marching band, playing Jaromir Vejvoda's "Beer Barrel Polka
Beer Barrel Polka
Beer Barrel Polka, also known as Roll Out the Barrel, is a song which became popular worldwide during World War II. The music was composed by the Czech musician Jaromír Vejvoda in 1927. Eduard Ingriš wrote the first arrangement of the piece, after Vejvoda came upon the melody and sought Ingriš's...
", passes below the church just as Urban Mahy is being interred. As the music cannot be ignored, June Mahy, his daughter, begins to sing along hesitantly, then with growing conviction as first her mother, followed by the other mourners, join in. The moment is transformed from maudlin to poignant.
The first meeting of Baron Heinrich Von Rheingarten and Senator James Dorr follows, setting up their ideological and personal conflict as one of the series' major themes. Their respective agenda: redressing grievances (Dorr) and acknowledgment of Germans' humanity/superiority (Von Rheingarten), while not mutually exclusive, find them initially talking at cross-purposes.
Urban Mahy's wake
Wake (ceremony)
A wake is a ceremony associated with death. Traditionally, a wake takes place in the house of the deceased, with the body present; however, modern wakes are often performed at a funeral home. In the United States and Canada it is synonymous with a viewing...
provides the opportunity for dialogue framing secondary plot-lines: Sheldon Leveque attempts to ingratiate himself with Cassie Mahy whose cooperation will abet his war profiteering
War profiteering
A war profiteer is any person or organization that profits from warfare or by selling weapons and other goods to parties at war. The term has strong negative connotations. General profiteering may also occur in peace time.-International arms dealers:...
, Cassie in turn accuses Felicity Dorr of pursuing an affair with her late husband, and handsome Captain Muller arrives with two landser
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s and impresses June Mahy by having them apologise to the family for accosting them in the street. Meanwhile on the cliff overlooking a secluded beach Baron Von Rheingarten impresses upon Senator Dorr the rigour of German military discipline: "My men whom you see now frolicking below would slaughter each other in a minute if I so ordered it". They return to the Dorr residence where Felicity Dorr snubs the Baron's social advances. He retaliates by requisitioning the unused wing of their home for himself and senior staff. This begins the Baron Von Rheingarten/James Dorr rivalry for Felicity's attentions, fueled in part by James' confronting her privately with his own false suspicions about an affair with Urban Mahy.
The clandestine arrival of the Dorr son, Phillip, and compatriot Eugene La Salle, now both recruited as British reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
agents, brings the war home to the island. Masquerading as "Mr. Brotherson", a day-labourer on his parents' estate, Phillip quickly finds himself repairing a garden wall alongside the Baron who displays an almost paternal affection for the young man.
After Cassie Mahy refuses to sell groceries to German soldiers, she must face Leutnant Walker who purports to teach her a lesson in the economics of occupation. Intimating that food is scarce throughout Europe, he challenges her on moral grounds. He is also responsible for promulgating Nazi anti-semitic agenda on the island. Not all the Germans are evil, however, and we soon meet Airman Bernhardt Telleman, who urges the Mahy daughters, now running a camera shop they inherited when its Jewish owner evacuated, to serve German soldiers because "we are people too". After convincing the girls to accept his business he is visibly pleased to formally introduce himself merely as "Bernhardt" and crosses the street with a bounce in his step.
The Baron and Felicity share a frank, almost intimate, moment in the Dorr garden. With faces bathed in moon and lamplight, he offers her chocolates but warns her that his soldiers are "an invading army - men without women" who will sooner or later become "ravenous wolves".
The episode closes on a note of violence: Eugene and Phillip, having completed their reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
mission, are awaiting extraction by submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
on the beach, when they encounter, and kill, a landser
Landser
Landser may refer to:*A colloquial term for a Landsknecht*A German colloquial term for a soldier derived from the above, equivalent to the English term "squaddie"...
on patrol. The machine-gun fire raises the alarm and the pair must conceal the body and evade capture in a house-to-house search mounted by the Germans. Phillip guides Eugene, suffering from hypothermia
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...
, to refuge in the Jonas' barn. Again the Baron has the last word to the Dorrs, "I cannot tell you how serious this is - I should hope this doesn't mean .. resistance
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
".
Episode Three: To Catch a Spy
With most of the garrison mobilised to find the missing landser, Wilf Jonas takes the body out on his fishing boat, dumping it in deep water. Upon his return to port we meet OberleutnantOberleutnant
Oberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...
Flach, the presumptive political officer whose suspicions are aroused by such a long voyage, ostensibly to set lobster pots. Phillip and the now-feverish Eugene remain in hiding in the Jonas barn; a perilous situation, Wilf explains to Felicity, as "it is only a matter of time" before they are found, consigning the family to death for harbouring an enemy agent.
Invited to a special session of the Senate, the Baron snubs the Bailiff's attempt to appease him and forestall a reprisal, "ten islanders killed for every German life", and promises to "shoot on sight anyone found on the beaches (at night)". Back at the Dorr residence, now serving as his HQ, he cautions them privately, "We (are not) playing at war".
After stealing German uniforms from the beach, young Colin Jonas runs into an alley where his uncle Sheldon is attempting to sell a car of dubious provenance to Oberwachtmeister Wimmel, the German quartermaster
Quartermaster
Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior...
sergeant. Back at the camera shop, Leutnant Walker meets, and is instantly enamoured with Zelda Kay. Unaware of her Jewish heritage he insists that she escort him to the officers' party at the 50/50 Club. Under the guise of patronising the camera shop Bernhardt pursues a courtship with Angelique.
When Felicity Dorr visits her son Phillip and Eugene La Salle at the Jonas' barn, it also affords an opportunity to share a moment of maternal sympathy with Kathleen, Wilf's wife. Bernhardt Telleman again visits the camera shop but Zelda is there instead and tells him that the German air-raid on the port killed Angelique's father. He buys flowers to lay at the grave and, as luck would have it, finds her also at the cemetery. When she ignores him he chastises her: "...you won't see past the uniform..I studied law, I am not a...fighting man..do you think I want to kill your people?"
That evening at the 50/50 Club, Leutnant Walker, having forced Zelda to accompany him, tries in vain to create the mood of a double date when he is joined by Captain Dieter Muller and June, who sings regularly at the club. Meanwhile James and Felicity Dorr try to persuade Eugene La Salle to "hand himself in to the German military" as prisoner of war having escaped from occupied France.
The next morning Wilf is conscripted to serve as the Baron's chauffeur while Sheldon traffics in black market produce. Oberwachtmeister Wimmel wants in on the profits and blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
s Cassie into a partnership.
That afternoon Felicity finds the Baron in her garden, whom she accuses him of having "no respect for our privacy". "There's a corner of my vineyard," he replies, "which has a wall that was once part of an abbey. I sit there late at night, always alone." The arrival of Senator Dorr breaks the mood and the Baron confronts him with his suspicions about Eugene La Salle's true identity, obtained by Captain Muller from Ada, Wilf Jonas' mother. Again the Baron has the last word, indirectly implicating Phillip in an espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
plot.
Episode Four: Strange Mercies
At the barracks prison Oberleutnant Flach interrogates and tortures Eugene La Salle, based on an inadvertent tip from Wilf Jonas' mother who saw the "spitting image of Eugene and another boy" in her tomato fields. Eugene doesn't break and the Baron will not let Flach use force on Senator Dorr, Kathleen Jonas, or any islander to uncover the plot. "You are to be careful with them - use your imagination, Flach." James, though horrified by Eugene's fate, "to be shot as a spy", will not give in to the Baron's demand that islanders work to extend the runway at the German airbase.Back at Parliament, Angelique Mahy, who works as the Senator's aide, hints at her knowledge of Phillip's complicity. James' perfunctory denial is interrupted by Flach who needs the Senator's signature on work passes for newly-arrived French prostitutes waiting on the docks. Looking pointedly at Angelique, he implies he is doing the local women a favour by relieving them of the job. When Angelique brings their papers to the dock the guards mistake her for one and Bernhardt, coincidentally on scene, surreptitiously bribes the sergeant to release her.
Felicity engineers a moment alone with the Baron by puncturing her bicycle tyre, and attempts to use his attraction to her as leverage to dissuade him from "murdering" Eugene La Salle. The "death is needed", counters the Baron, to dispel the "cosiness" of the occupation and remind the populace "who has the power and that landser
Landser
Landser may refer to:*A colloquial term for a Landsknecht*A German colloquial term for a soldier derived from the above, equivalent to the English term "squaddie"...
s matter".
His usual methods prohibited by the Baron, and threats having been proved ineffective, Flach tries to break Kathleen Jonas' spirit by quarantining her in hospital, under the pretext of transmitting syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
to German soldiers. Meanwhile Senator Dorr pleads with Rheingarten, confessing to masterminding the ruse of Eugene's "surrender" and offering his own life in exchange for La Salle's. The Baron refuses and warns him "Don't ever tell Flach what you have just told me".
Over tea Bernhardt opens up to Angelique and makes the argument, both on his own behalf as her suitor, and for millions of young Germans, and English alike:
"We have no choice [in the war], either of us, any of us." (cf "superior ordersShe is visibly moved and allows his accidental touch to linger on her hand. By contrast Captain Muller takes a "strictly business" approach to obtaining the companionship of June Mahy: "I pay for my laundry, car repairs, haircuts etc. - I would merely like to pay you for singing at my party"Superior OrdersSuperior orders is a plea in a court of law that a soldier not be held guilty for actions which were ordered by a superior office...
") "There shouldn't be a war... HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
has been the worst possible thing for our country". Yet "I [must fight] until it is my turn to die".
At La Salle's execution by firing squad, Constable Jonas witnesses Leutnant Walker administer the coup de grâce
Coup de grâce
The expression coup de grâce means a death blow intended to end the suffering of a wounded creature. The phrase can refer to the killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the consent of the sufferer...
and Mr. Brotherson/Phillip, on the grounds to work, hears and is sickened by the shots. The Baron offers his regrets to Felicity, and almost fatherly words of advice to Phillip.
Back at the Mahy shop, war profiteering
War profiteering
A war profiteer is any person or organization that profits from warfare or by selling weapons and other goods to parties at war. The term has strong negative connotations. General profiteering may also occur in peace time.-International arms dealers:...
is in full swing with Cassie, now not above price gouging
Price gouging
Price gouging is a pejorative term referring to a situation in which a seller prices goods or commodities much higher than is considered reasonable or fair. In precise, legal usage, it is the name of a crime that applies in some of the United States during civil emergencies...
, is officially the retail side of the operation while Oberwachtmeister Wimmel and Sheldon Leveque handle the supply and distribution. Meanwhile Leutnant Walker continues to force himself on Zelda, "ordering" her to accompany him to the officers' party at 'Sous la Chenes', (the Dorrs' ancestral home, also doubling as the Baron's HQ) that evening.
That evening at the officers' party, next door to the Dorrs, Von Rheingarten ignores the provocative glances from a young woman and orders Leutnant Walker not to let any of "that sort go upstairs and mix with the officers". Undeterred, Walker drags a girl into the Dorrs' garden shed and is assaulting her when Felicity makes her presence known, thwarting the rape. Drunk and frustrated he goes to Zelda's flat and sings outside the door until she lets him in. He blames his misbehaviour at the party on her refusal to accompany him, "I am so bloody lonely - I just want a girl that I can respect". She most emphatically tells him that "she is not that sort of girl, and if you respect me you'll leave now". After kissing her hand, "I am so glad we are going to get to each other better", he does leave.
Wilf, tasked to drive June home from the party, is sarcastic to the point of cruelty, calling her a trollop, "Party, drinks, singing, dance the night away and paid into the bargain". Inside the house Zelda, is hiding out from Walker and June tells them both she doesn't care anymore if anyone, including their mother, thinks she is fraternizing with the enemy. "Say [to her] I spent the evening with a bunch of murderers who just come from shooting Eugene. And tell her how much I enjoyed it."
When the Baron attempts to be cordial towards Mrs. Dorr, and she responds with indignation at his shooting Eugene, he explicitly states another of the series' themes: "That weight of righteousness is very heavy, Mrs. Dorr. Keep up this moral indignation, and come the war's end you'll have drowned in it." The argument escalates and the Baron raises his voice, bringing the Senator who, this time, is ready to fight for his wife.
Wilf, wracked with guilt at being helpless to save, or even comfort Eugene in his last moments of life, is consoled by Kathleen. The next morning Angelique meets Bernhardt at the beach. Resigned to continuing the argument he protests, "I'm not your enemy". This time she takes his hand, "Of course you are, Bernhardt, of course you are". The pair share a kiss.
Episode Five: Unexpected Revelations
In a break from the more comfortable drama of the first four episodes, Director Peter Lydon and writer Stephen Mallatratt show us glimpses of war's extremes: Germany's darkest years, and "Britain's finest hour"This was their finest hour
The This was their finest hour speech was delivered by Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 18 June 1940...
. Juxtaposing acts of personal heroism and self-sacrifice with despicable institutional cowardice, characters jettison firmly-held principles in the face of economic necessity, and draw upon unimaginable strength to endure the unendurable.
Quick scenes advance the plot lines: Leutnant Walker, obsessed with Zelda, corners her on the beach and continues to interpret her blunt, even insulting, refusals to see him as playing hard to get. Angelique is unable to face her mother, Cassie, and confess her love for Bernhardt. Senator Dorr must face the grieving parents of Eugene La Salle, but is wracked with guilt and cannot disclose his full role in their son's death. Yet he does risk open confrontation with the Baron, who would order the La Salles arrested just for visiting the execution site in the Dorr garden. Mrs. Dorr pleads on the La Salles' behalf. When the Baron's response, "There is no compassion [in war]" visibly, and deeply, hurts her, he offers to "record in which place of unmarked wasteland he's being buried and let [the La Salles] know after the war". Phillip Dorr now feels compelled to complete his mission so that Eugene would not have "died in vain". Angelique receives a note from Bernhardt who, about to go on a raid, promises to drop his bombs "into the sea or on fields".
The tolling of the church bell sets up the reference to Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein , né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the "Father of Montage"...
's 1925 masterpiece, The Battleship Potemkin
The Battleship Potemkin
The Battleship Potemkin , sometimes rendered as The Battleship Potyomkin, is a 1925 silent film directed by Sergei Eisenstein and produced by Mosfilm...
and it's Odessa Steps sequence: the islanders mount an act of nonviolent resistance
Nonviolent resistance
Nonviolent resistance is the practice of achieving goals through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, and other methods, without using violence. It is largely synonymous with civil resistance...
and convene at the square in front of the German HQ to keep silent vigil and mourn La Salle. It is the second (of three) moments of decision for the Baron, who must look down from the balcony into the eyes of those he is about to have shot: Wilf, Felicity and Mr. Brotherson/Phillip. In a brilliant double entendre
Double entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
the vicar, played by Malatratt himself, and James Dorr, simultaneously admire the Baron's "handling of the situation", and step through the "fourth wall" to praise the homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to great Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n director by David Higgs, cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
, and Peter Lydon, director.
Sheldon Leveque agrees to help Phillip spy and Cassie has misgivings about taking Oberwachtmeister Wimmel (who doesn't know "whether he is married or not") as her business partner. Constable Jonas turns a blind eye to Kathleen and Sheldon's circumventing German meat-rationing regulations, and states "There's no law anymore - there's just their rules, and that's no law".
Leutnant Walker forces Zelda to come the cinema with him and watch the infamous Nazi anti-semitic propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
film, Jud Süß
Jud Süß (1940 film)
Jud Süß is an antisemitic propaganda film produced in 1940 by Terra Filmkunst at the behest of Joseph Goebbels. The movie was directed by Veit Harlan, who wrote the screenplay with Eberhard Wolfgang Möller and Ludwig Metzger, and starred Ferdinand Marian and Harlan's wife Kristina Söderbaum.The...
. On screen we see the rape of a Christian woman by the Jew, "Seuss", and his ceremonious lynching. Ironically the "fate-knocking-at-the-door"
Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1804–08. This symphony is one of the most popular and best-known compositions in all of classical music, and one of the most often played symphonies. It comprises four movements: an opening sonata, an andante, and a fast...
opening motif of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony has come to represent the European resistance movement, and the islanders voice their disapproval by tapping this rhythm. Walker threatens to have the cinema closed and a last "tap, tap, tap, tap," amuses the film-goers, in stark contrast to the horrors on-screen.
More quick scenes: The Baron plays at being Phillip's father, proudly commenting to Felicity about "Mr. Brotherson's" improvement in wall-building under his tutelage. He admonishes both against further participation in acts of (even) passive resistance. Angelique is distressed by a radio broadcast announcing the RAF's routing of a flight of Heinkel
Heinkel
Heinkel Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight.-History:...
s crossing, approaching the coast and shooting down thirty of them over the Channel. June is conflicted: "150 fewer Germans in the islands" yet they're "people too ... young men ... who are not just numbers once you've met them", which, ironically, she urges her sister to do. Over dinner the Jonas' extended family receive word from their daughter, Mary, that she is safe in England, and Wilf and comes to blows with his father-in-law
Father-in-law
A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship...
Harry for implying he is "collaborating with the enemy".
Mallatratt re-characterizes Bailiff
Bailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...
Francis La Palotte, heretofore portrayed as a well-meaning old man poised to enter dotage, as the poster boy
Poster Boy
Poster Boy is a 2004 gay-themed drama film. It toured the gay and lesbian film festival circuit beginning in 2004 before a limited theatrical release in 2006.- Production :Some scenes were shot on campus at Wagner College in Staten Island, New York....
for European complacency at the beginning of the Holocaust. In meeting of the island senate he urges acquiescence to the "German High Command in Paris" who have ordered registration of all Jews on the island, and confiscation of their property. His placating words deeply offend James Dorr, who alone speaks out against the new rules. Director Lydon drives home the point with inter-cuts of the "debate" and Leutnant Walker arresting the few Jews that remain on the island.
The other shoe falls when Leutnant Walker, discovers Zelda Kay's true identity as Hannah Kozminsky. After playing cat and mouse
Cat and mouse
Cat and mouse, often expressed as cat-and-mouse game, is an English-language idiom dating back to 1675 that means "a contrived action involving constant pursuit, near captures, and repeated escapes." The "cat" is unable to secure a definitive victory over the "mouse", who despite not being able to...
with her, he uses the threat of sending her to die in a labour camp as leverage to force her sexual compliance. Cutting from the grotesques of lust, to the tragedy/glory of star-crossed lovers, Angelique discovers that Bernhardt Telleman has survived the ill-fated mission that claimed the lives of his compatriots.
Meanwhile Walker is searching for Hannah/Zelda who has gone into hiding above Cassie's grocery store. When he suspects Cassie and June of aiding her disappearance the daughter bluffs convincingly, earning her mother's respect for the first time since the occupation. Felicity pleads with Angelique to stop risking her life, and Phillip's, by assisting his espionage and Angelique seizes the moment to profess her love for Bernhardt.
"To favours returned" toasts Oberwachtmeister Wimmel over wine and truffles, a simultaneously clever and tasteless pun: Cassie trades her sexual favours for the economic benefits her association with the German quartermaster supply sergeant brings.
The episode closes with a reference to Anne Frank
Anne Frank
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...
as Cassie, bringing food to Hannah/Zelda hiding in a secret room above the shop, interrupts her writing in a journal.
Episode Six: Unusual Successes
June is singing for a mixed crowd at the "50/50 Club" which turns ugly when Captain Muller switches places with her regular piano accompanist. Jerrybag! taunts one, throwing a glass that cuts her cheek. The soldiers drag him into the alley where Lieutenant Walker pistol-whips him unconscious. With the blood still on his hands, he sits with June and implores her to disclose Hannah/Zelda's location so he can help her assume a new identity.Meanwhile Angelique's feelings have won over her nervousness about sleeping with the enemy and she and Bernhardt rendezvous in Hanna/Zelda's flat. June finds them together, after she ducks in to avoid the derision of islanders who recognised her in the street. Angelique confesses to her sister, "I'm a Jerrybag".
Sheldon accidentally discovers Hannah/Zelda in Cassie's attic hideaway and offers to smuggle her to England with Phillip. Wilf Jonas having agreed to assist the plot, must find a way to get his fishing boat out of the harbour "without an escort".
Cassie disabuses Oberwachtmeister Wimmel of any romantic delusions regarding their liaison, "It will always be sex, never love...It's the same with any hunger - one might even eat a rat if one were starved."
Senator Dorr's attitude undergoes a sea-change: he expresses a profound hatred of the Germans to Felicity, goes to the La Salles and admits authorship of the plan that got their son shot as a spy, and he gives Phillip intelligence about the strength and composition of German forces on the island and their plans to fortify it. Meanwhile Colin Jonas and his friend Ronald encounter an officer, who drunk and disillusioned, sells his P08 Parabellum
Luger pistol
The Pistole Parabellum 1908 or Parabellum-Pistole , popularly known as the Luger, is a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol. The design was patented by Georg J...
for the £5 note Colin got from his uncle, Sheldon Leveque.
The game is afoot as all principals are converging on Nailing Bay where Wilf and Wimmel, aboard the 'Little Mary' have lain at anchor all afternoon but caught only one garfish between them. Sheldon, en route with Hannah/Zelda in his truck improvises cleverly to pass her through a checkpoint without identification papers. When Felicity discovers that Phillip has in fact left for England she is "far more than upset" at James for keeping her in the dark.
Sheldon drops Hannah/Zelda off with Philip but things go wrong with the carefully orchestrated plan when Colin and Ronald, having hiked overland, arrive at Nailing Bay, and see Wimmel and Jonas, who have given up on fishing and are paddling ashore after the motor fails to start. The boys misinterpret Wimmel's posture and gestures with the rifle as an impending execution and shoot at him from the rocks with the pistol. Wimmel, thinking it was a trap to kill him, makes it to the road and commandeers Sheldon's truck to take Wilf to the barracks prison.
That evening the Baron finds Felicity alone with her thoughts on the porch at 'Sous Les Chenes'. Rheingarten has just learned that his youngest son, 'Manfred' in the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
, was shot down over the Channel When Felicity reminds him that of Eugene La Salle, he explains, "One only does what one believes is right. In war one has only the moment of decision. If I believed it to be right, then it was right. Whoever shot done my son was right." Their shared grief and mutual sympathies linger, complementing the Baron's literate imagery.
Aboard the 'Little Mary' Phillip and Hannah are trying to start the motor but are intercepted by a German cutter before the ignition catches. Hannah jumps overboard seconds before she can spotted by the searchlight
Searchlight
A searchlight is an apparatus that combines a bright light source with some form of curved reflector or other optics to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction, usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about.-Military use:The Royal Navy used...
s but Phillip is taken with the photographs. The Baron visits him in his cell:
"There was a day, you might remember, at the garden wall, when the Senator's wife and you and I, shared a time together. I had the sense that both she and I thought of you as our son, the son both she and I were missing. Oh, Mr. Brotherson, we have talked a lot, I have genuinely enjoyed your company, we have built walls together ... and now we have to shoot you."
Realising that Felicity Dorr is somehow involved, he visits her to personally deliver the news of 'Mr. Brotherson's' capture. Her reaction gives her away; The Baron realises that Mr Brotherson is, in fact, her son. Felicity sheds the last tattered remnants of her dignity and desperately offers her body to him, anything to spare her son.
Hannah, having survived the plunge into the icy channel waters and swam ashore, goes back into hiding above Cassie Mahy's shop.
The Baron is repelled by Flach's suggestion that they just "shoot [Phillip] and have done with it" and orders him instead sent to France as a prisoner of war. He also orders James and Wilf be sent to prison for 6–9 months for assisting him. On the docks Kathleen Jonas says goodbye to her husband. Senator Dorr realising that the Baron's change of heart is due to his wife's efforts, forgives Felicity for "whatever it took" to spare Phillip's life. When Phillip arrives Felicity can only address him as 'Mr. Brotherson' and the ferry departs for Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
.
Back at 'Sous Les Chenes' the Baron accepts Felicity's thanks with "I've grown sickened, Mrs. Dorr, by the deaths of young men". Angelique comes to Bernhardt and they watch the sunset together.
Response
Overall, the miniseries earned more favourable reviews in the United States than in the United Kingdom. This is possibly due to the near-saturation of British television and film with World War II dramas, and the continuing popularity of the ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
series Enemy at the Door
Enemy at the Door
Enemy At The Door is a British television drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV. The series was shown between 1978 and 1980 and dealt with the German occupation of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, during the Second World War...
(1978–80), which had a similar plot, and Foyle's War
Foyle's War
Foyle's War is a British detective drama television series set during World War II, created by screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz, and was commissioned by ITV after the long-running series Inspector Morse came to an end in 2000. It has aired on ITV since 2002...
.
In the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
themselves, the series faced widespread criticism in the local press due to inaccuracy, mispronunciation of names (for example, 'Mahy' was pronounced 'Mah-hee' rather than the correct 'Ma'yee') and the fact that the series was filmed not on the islands themselves, but the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
.
Future?
One of the complaints that both critics and viewers shared was the lack of resolution at the end of the final episode. Many of the minor plot arcs (i.e. the relationship between the Baron and Felicity; June's tarnished reputation), and a few of the major ones (Zelda's failed escape; Angelique and Bernhardt), were left with loose ends when the mini-series ended. It was rumoured that another batch of episodes was to be produced, possibly taking place months or even years after the original six, and these episodes would provide a true ending to the show. This will most likely never occur, however, largely due to the death of writer Stephen Mallatratt.External links
- Island at War at PBS