Website set up for Alderney Nazi death camp review

The website will publish all the latest evidence about the deaths in Alderney

A dedicated website has been launched to share the latest research as part of a review into the number of deaths in Alderney during World War Two.

The island - along with the rest of the Channel Islands - was occupied by Germany and housed four forced/slave labour sites, including the concentration camp Lager Sylt.

Lord Eric Pickles, the UK's Holocaust Envoy, said the Occupation Alderney site would publish all of the latest evidence and was "part of our commitment to transparency".

A previous investigation carried out after the island's liberation in May 1945 found 389 confirmed deaths in the island.

'Truth matters'

The UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation has 11 experts from the UK, Germany, Canada and Alderney examining files from archives from across Europe and evaluating submissions from the public to determine the true figure.

They are due to announce their findings in a report to be published in March 2024.

The new website would be the place where the latest research and evidence on the number of people - including Jews, Spanish, Ukrainians and Russian prisoners of war who died in the construction of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall - could be found, managers said.

Lord Pickles said: "Numbers matter because the truth matters.

"The dead deserve the dignity of the truth; the residents of Alderney deserve accurate numbers to free them from the distortion of conspiracy theorists."

Academics said they hoped the website would "help to increase awareness of the stories of some of the people who lived, worked, and died there between 1941 and 1945".

The review panel said it was still encouraging people with additional archival material and estimates of the numbers of dead to contact it.

Members of the public are invited to lodge submissions by 1 November.