The Day the Nazis Came Here: The Astonishing True Story of a Childhood Journey from Nazi-Occupied Guernsey to the Dark Heart of a German Prison Camp

by Stephen Matthews

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By the time Stephen Matthews was six years old, he had been bombarded by the Luftwaffe and deported from Nazi-occupied Guernsey, along with his family, to a prison camp in the heart of Hitler's Third Reich. He had seen men die in front of him, walked with Jews straight off the cattle truck from Bergen-Belsen, and had his hand broken by a German guard. And yet, he also rode in the basket of the deputy camp commandant's bicycle and walked his dog. For a child, the world of a Nazi prison camp was often terrifying and bewildering, but also full of adventure.

Told through Stephen's own extraordinary experiences, as well as writing from his mother's diaries and previously unpublished photos of historical significance, The Day the Nazis Came Here is an utterly unique memoir. Above all, it pays tribute to the preciousness of childhood, and shows that human kindness may be found in the unlikeliest of places.


  • ISBN13 9781786061287
  • Publish Date 6 October 2016
  • Publish Status Out of Print
  • Out of Print 7 July 2021
  • Publish Country GB
  • Imprint John Blake Publishing Ltd
  • Format Paperback
  • Pages 352
  • Language English