'Murder and massacre': New inquiry reveals disturbing details of UK-based concentration camps

Despite previous tallies claiming that 389 of the 4000 enslaved mixed prisoners had been killed at the Alderney concentration camps in the Channel Islands, a new inquiry has revealed that the actual number stands at over 1000 killed, British media reported on Sunday. 

Nazi occupiers set up at least four camps in Alderney, part of the UK’s territory, in 1941. Two of the camps were turned into concentration camps.

While most of those enslaved on the island were from Russia, prisoners originated from some 20 countries.

The discovery came as party of investigatory efforts launched last year and led by UK Holocaust envoy Lord Pickles. 

Pickles had begun the efforts in 2023, explaining to a panel of experts that, “Numbers matter because the truth matters.”

Based on current evidence, the number of victims killed is more than double what had previously been thought.

Where did the previous figure come from?

The previous belief that 389 victims had been killed was based on a study from the 1960s, the Jewish Chronicle reported, which had been based on marked graves. However, Pickles led a panel of experts to discover a figure closer to the truth.

One document from the British war crimes branch described how lethal injections were used against prisoners.

The experts had also discovered why the Nazis who operated these camps had never stood trial, the JC reported.

In 1981, it was discovered that Nazis involved in running the UK-based camps were living freely in Germany, the Guardian reported. Now, an additional line of inquiry sought to answer if there was a government cover-up.

One Nazi who had helped in commanding the camps, Major Carl Hoffman, had been in British custody. However, in July 1945 the UK made the decision to not prosecute; for reasons not publicly known.

Margaret Thatcher’s advisor Professor Glees, cited by the Guardian, said “What is truly shocking and needs to be emphasised is that, beyond the numbers, it is absolutely true that the Nazis brought their exterminatory mindset to Alderney and were involved in the most unspeakable and unimaginable brutality and sadism on the island that led to many deaths. Lord Pickles asked me to find out why those responsible were not brought to justice.”

The inquiry described the conditions of the camps, and the treatment by the Nazis running the camps, as “systematic terrorism”, involving “murder and massacre” and “torture.”