A narrow communication lifeline

As the Occupation tightened its grip, the flow of information into and out of Jersey slowed to a trickle. The Post Office found itself adapting to a new, heavily restricted reality. Letters could no longer be freely sent across the British Isles or abroad. Communication was limited strictly to Germany, its occupied territories, or neutral countries such as Switzerland and Portugal.

Islanders hoping to reach loved ones beyond the Channel had to deliver their letters unsealed, to allow for censorship to the Town Hall in St Helier. It had been repurposed by the German authorities and renamed the Rathaus, the traditional German term for town hall. In an ironic twist of language and island humour, locals soon nicknamed it the “Rat House,” a quiet jab at the new occupiers and their watchful presence. This limited lifeline of correspondence became one of the few ways for islanders to feel connected to the outside world. Even as surveillance increased and the mood on the island grew darker, the postal service continued to operate under impossible circumstances a thread of continuity, resilience, and hope during a time of uncertainty and fear.