Journey Into Darkness: Anthony Faramus

By 194o, the isle of Jersey was well and truly under the Nazi jackboot. The legitimate authorities collaborated with the occupying power. For islander Anthony Faramus, this would have horrific consequences. When the local police reported him to the Germs for possession of a British leaflet, Faramus was jailed for one month. Then the Jersey authorities prosecuted him for defrauding his employer of 90 Occupational Marks. His employer was the collaborationist state, which put him to work in a motel commandeered by the Germans. This time he got six months' hard labour. Shortly after his release, Faramus was sent to Occupied France as a political prisoner. The authorities had sent young Anthony Faramus on the first stage of a journey into the dark heart of Nazi tyranny - but to begin with, imprisonment in France's Fort de R9omainville was surprisingly enjoyable, with fellow prisoners, men and women, from a fascinating cross-section of society. But after Romainville came selections... transports...and the death camps of Buchenwald and Mauthausen...