Adolf Island premieres in the UK on Tuesday 18 June at 9pm and in the US on Sunday 23 June at 10pm on Smithsonian Channel
Professor Caroline Sturdy Colls on location in Alderney
Forensic investigation offers the possibility to uncover the truth about the fate of these victims, to tell their stories and finally offer a voice to those who suffered and died on Alderney so many years ago.
In what could turn out to be the largest murder case on British soil, Adolf Island sees forensic archaeologist Caroline Sturdy Colls, Professor of Conflict Archaeology and Genocide Investigation, go in search of a Nazi SS camp constructed in secrecy on the British Channel island of Alderney during World War II.
Years of research and forensic investigation led Caroline and team from the Centre of Archaeology to examine remnants of concentration and labour camps on the quiet island, and to official SS archives in Germany, where clues emerge that lead Caroline to suspect that Alderney was the scene of Nazi mass murders.
“The story of what happened to the thousands of forced and slave labourers who were sent to Alderney during World War II needs to be told,” explained Caroline.
“For decades, many have tried to downplay the crimes committed by the SS and other Nazi groups on the island. Forensic investigation offers the possibility to uncover the truth about the fate of these victims, to tell their stories and finally offer a voice to those who suffered and died on Alderney so many years ago.”
“Shining a spotlight on forgotten or misinterpreted history is the essence of what we try to do at Smithsonian Channel,” said David Royle, Chief Programming Officer, Smithsonian Channel. “Unearthing the truth is even more important when it involves the horrendous treatment of thousands of people and a long-standing conspiracy of silence