General Anzeiger (23 Juni 1941)
Deutsche Guernsey Zeitung (DGZ) was a daily newssheet for the German occupying forces, published by the Guernsey Press. Although Jersey had already had a forces newspaper published in the same way since 1940, known as Deutsche Inselzeitung, the DGZ was not launched until 4 July 1942; it was produced daily until 24 March 1945, when publication was reduced to every two days.
(The English-language Guernsey Press, which was a shadow of its former self and inevitably a mouthpiece for the German version of events, was not printed on Tuesdays or Thursdays. The gaps were filled by the Star, publication of which was only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and which was suspended from September 12 1944 until January 10, 1945, as a result of 'the imperative need to economise in gas and electricity.')
Sonderführer (Z) Herbert Ladda was editor of DGZ until 24 July 1944, after which the office was taken over by Oberleutnant Schmidt-Walkhoff. The Press found itself without special characters for the German language, and had to spell them out in full as best it could.
The newspaper usually consisted of one sheet, but occasionally specials were produced with two. The supplementary pages of these special editions tended to contain stories and jokes, or articles of general interest. In 1944 a brochure was published by DGZ to 'facilitate acclimatisation' for troops in Alderney.
The news sheet featured news from the various battlefronts and messages from German commanders, as well as political, social, and sports news from Germany, especially league football results. Entertainment was provided by puzzles, jokes, and cartoons. Later editions began a serialisation of Victor Hugo’s Toilers of the Sea, translated into German, which was eventually published as a book for those soldiers who were interested.
Every day saw an Insel Chronik, with news and information specifically for the island. Troops were exhorted to make use of the facilities in the Soldatenheim, especially the Library. There was a great deal of music-making, with practices and concerts almost every day, the recitals taking place in the Soldatenheim or Candie Gardens. The band master advertised instruments available to borrow, including a cello and an accordion; they ran a 'where are they now?' section, where soldiers wrote in to inquire if any one else knew the whereabouts of colleagues on other fronts; several dogs were lost by the Germans, including a hunting-dog and a golden spaniel called Tommy, as well as coats and wallets.
The troops were reminded which of the beaches and Bathing Pools were open to civilians and which to them. They held running races around St Peter Port, and innumerable football and handball matches took place between teams of soldiers. One of the strangest events to occur to local eyes now was the competition for what is now known, for want of a proper title, as 'the Occupation Cup'. In an ersatz mirroring of the Channel Island Derby matches, or Muratti Cup, which began in 1905 between Guernsey, Jersey, and Alderney and which was suspended during the war, a team of German soldiers representing Guernsey played against a team of German soldiers representing Jersey. The DGZ of 4 May, 1944, reported the match 'Jersey's Eleven put their hearts into it'. In front of what was claimed to be a record crowd of 4,000, the 'Jersey' team apparently played football so good it would have shamed the German national team, and beat 'Guernsey' by five goals to four.
DGZ was published entirely in German and was intended to be read by the occupying troops. Although there was no attempt made by the Germans to politicize education as a whole, Hitler had become determined early on in the war that Channel Islanders should have knowledge of German and issued an edict to that effect.
One complete Newspaper in Fair Condition.
