Guernsey Bailiff 'wasn't responsible' for deportation of Jews

Sir de Vic Carey says his grandfather was not responsible for the deportation of three Jewish women

The actions of Guernsey's Bailiff during the Nazi occupation have been defended by his grandson.

Sir de Vic Carey says his grandfather "was not responsible" for the deportation of three Jewish women to a concentration camp during the war.

Sir Victor Gosselin Carey had overall responsibility of islanders between 1935-1945.

In 1942 three Jewish women from Guernsey were removed from the island and died in Auschwitz's gas chambers.

Since Guernsey's liberation Sir Victor Carey has received criticism for some of the decisions that had been made under his authority and his relationship with the Nazis.

Former Bailiff Sir de Vic Carey said Guernsey's Royal Court was forced to pass legislation against Jews but his grandfather was blamed.

Sir Victor Gosselin Carey served as Bailiff during the Nazi occupation of Guernsey

He said: "My grandfather at that time was fairly confident there weren't any Jews in the island. He had taken great trouble to make people who were of Jewish extraction to leave the island."

"I don't think he was responsible, I think it would have happened anyway."

Of the six Jewish residents in the Bailiwick of Guernsey during the occupation three of them - Marianne Grunfeld, Auguste Spitz and Therese Steiner - were deported.

Sir de Vic Carey believed if the island's administration had all resigned over the issue it "would've meant the Germans would've taken over, the civilian administration would've stopped."

'Pretty shattered'

He said by the end of the war his grandfather was "pretty shattered by the whole event" and "wanted to forget about it" because of "things he didn't want to recall".

He believes his grandfather was not recognised for the difficult role he played.

"Threats were made the whole time, so they had to try and keep in post because if they went there would be no one to argue for the population.

"I don't think he had that sense of history that he had to be scoring brownie points for posterity", he said.