The Day the Nazis Came

by Stephen R. Matthews

By the time he was six years old, Stephen had been bombarded by the Luftwaffe and deported from occupied Guernsey, along with his family, to a prison camp in the heart of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich. He had seen men die in front of him and walked with Jews straight off the cattle-trucks from Bergen-Belsen. He had nearly drowned, narrowly avoided being savaged by Alsatian guard dogs, been beaten by a pathological member of the elite SS and had his hand broken by a German guard for attempting to feed Russian prisoners. The family kept going through three and a half years of imprisonment, reinforced by their strong sense of survival and their loving support for each other, and were eventually returned to a Guernsey which had been stricken to the core by Nazi occupation. Told through Steven Matthews’ own extraordinary experiences, as well as writing from his mother’s diaries and previously unpublished photos of historical significance, The Day the Nazis Came is an utterly unique memoir. Depicting the world of Nazi prison camps through the eyes of a child—a world in which the real dangers often seemed trivial and every day was a new adventure—it tells not just of the prisoners’ desperate plight, but provides an important and poignant reminder that not every German soldier was cruel and hateful. There were brave heroes there who often risked their own lives to help their prisoners. Above all, it pays tribute to the preciousness of childhood, and shows that human kindness may flower in the unlikeliest of places.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, World War II, Holocaust, Audiobook, Biography, War

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 11, 2020

Reviews

[sue seabrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth the read to remind us of the freedom we have.

As an a Guernsey Islander myself and having heard stories from both my father living on the Island during the occupation , and my mother who was evacuated to the Uk. It was really interesting to read the account of an Islander sent to a concentration camp and the sad things these people had to endure. I also enjoyed all the descriptions of my much loved Guernsey and could just visualise and even to some degree smell the Senners bakery cakes. A well written book and one we should all read to remind us how blessed we are to have the freedom we have again on our beautiful Island .

[Recato · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am still searching for the part where a guard broke young Stephen's hand...

A three star achieved by this book was only achieved by a cats whisker. Historical this book is informative.
I doubt whether a lot of people will even realise today that British civilians were in concentration camps.

There's a lot of useless info, repeats and the overuse of exclamation marks was far to much. Someone should be fired as a proofreader.

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry but I find it hard going. I learnt a lot but the way it was written made it a difficult read.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting book about the impact of war on civilians. It tells the story of the author's family living in Guernsey and that then got deported to a prison camp. Whilst there were very similar traits between his family's journey and that of many Jews that ended in concentration camps, the fear for death was never that imminent that you would fear having a bath. There was scarcity of food and strict rules to abide by, and upon release at the end of the war they felt like strangers in their own homeland. But, as they were all together, they managed to build up their life again and become part of the community.
It really makes you think about the extremity of the situation when the young boy at the time (author) could be fooled with trading as he had never seen some foods we consider so normal, such as apples and strawberries, and get inedible items instead.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initially this book was a struggle to read. However in realising it was more a family memoir than a history text I ended up reading the entire book in a matter of hours. Having previously read a book about the experience of Channel Islanders who remained during the occupation this was a particularly interesting juxtaposition.

[book_bear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story! I never knew that the Nazis had ever occupied any part of Britain! This is a great autobiography, told from the eyes of a young child. Highly recommend!

[lauren]

again, I’ve decided not to review this book as it is a personal reflection on Stephen R. Matthews experience in a German concentration camp.

What made this so interesting and so refreshing is the fact that it recounted a different perspective on the Holocaust that I didn’t even think existed. Matthews was born and bred on the channel island of Guernsey which was eventually occupied by the Germans. After a few years they were sent to concentration camps in Germany, where they were beaten and starved but not to the same extent as those in Poland, for example. Matthews recounts how he would go for bike rides with the local police who oversaw and ran the camp, or how he and his friends would put on musical shows for their parents (the instruments were provided by the Germans especially for this).

I feel like when we read stuff on the history of the world wars, we tend to vilify the Germans, but Matthew wrote about various kind acts which were displayed by German officers/nurses. It just made you think about the Holocaust in a different way, all because it focused on a perspective I didn’t know about.

[Ellen Van De Logt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessant perspectief op de tweede wereldoorlog, een kant waar ik nog niet veel vanaf wist. Drie sterren omdat de chronologie in het boek vaak lastig te volgen is.

[Taylor Turnbull · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mathews describes the depicting world of Hitler’s prison camps through the eyes of Steven Mathews. The memoir takes the reader through the trails and tribulations of Stephen and his families experiences during their time being deported to Germany, and moved to various concentration camps.
Mathews describes conditions when travelling to the camps and continuously includes first hand accounts of his mother’s journal; as well as various letters by people he mentions through out the memoir.
I throughly enjoyed reading the letters and seeing the pictures taken that link to the subject matter. I found it really put the reader in the mind of the people being deported from German occupied Guernsey- which in turn made a wider connection between the events and the reader.

I also loved the fact Mathews captured the funny and light hearted moments he had experienced when imprisoned in the concentration camps. It showed the love and compassion people had for one another during an extreme time of need, which as a reader I found heartwarming.

I found Mathews writing style very jumbled and repetitive at times which is why I didn’t enjoy this memoir as much as I thought I would (from a literary perspective). At times he would go backwards and forwards with events and their timelines, which could be confusing for some readers and to be honest I did find it a bit annoying! I felt he should have put the events in chronological order to make this memoir easier to follow and have a more of a flowing tone.

I also thought that some pieces of information were irrelevant and not needed. I just felt this wasted time and took away from the political and emotional issues he was attempting to portray to reader.


Over all, I do believe this memoir is a true depiction of history and it is important that society knows of the who got ripped from their homes to be imprisoned in Germany.
I just personally didn’t agree with Mathews writing style and I believe he should have took a much more simple approach in order for the information he has to be delivered to the reader.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm stopping this one because I'm not overly 'enjoying' it. The author was a child during the war, and it's clear that he doesn't remember much at all. Most of the memories are taken from his mother's diaries, and while they provide a basic framework to events and some supporting details, they are quite sparse and lacking all emotion of a first-hand account.
These diary entries are bolstered by historical facts or general recounting of events that again feel quite flat.

The diaries will focus on tea parties and random people from the island in minute detail, like who attended dinners and what tbey ate (this type of account is constant in the fiest oart of the book) then a sentence will be tacked on saying "meanwhile in [country], [terrible event] was happening." Then move back on to tea parties and family memories.

I've probably made it a third in, but I've realised that I am not going back to it as much as I should between reading. I wouldn't mind if it was a history book with these researched events being supported by the diaries, but this amalgamation just isn't holding my interest and is surprisingly lacking in emotion.

[Edwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Het autobiografisch verhaal van een jongen die tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog samen met een groot deel van de bewoners van het Kanaaleiland Guernsey gedeporteerd werden naar Duitsland.

Grotendeels over het leven in de kampen gezien door de ogen van deze jonge jongen. Hij was pas 4 toen hij met zijn ouders gedeporteerd werd, maar ook hoe er na het einde de oorlog met ze werd omgesprongen. In tegenstelling tot andere boeken uit deze tijd worden de Duitsers in dit boek net perse als slecht beschreven door de auteur. Sterker nog, hij schrijft dat hij zijn leven dankt aan een van hen, en dat de meeste Duitsers vriendelijk voor hen waren.

Verhaal is met dagboekfragmenten van zijn moeder doorspekt. Op sommige momenten was het wat verwarrend omdat de auteur wat sprongen voor- en achteruit in de tijd maakt. Vooral de dagboek fragmenten waren goed te lezen en gaven een goed beeld.

[Becky Gouvier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read the Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society and visited the island itself made this a special read. Appreciated the maps and the author’s clear writing style.

[Lorna Dykstra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was published around 70 years after WW2 ended and it is mainly a collection of memories of the author's life in pre-war Guernsey, the Nazi invasion and occupation, and his family's subsequent deportation to Biberach, a concentration camp in Germany. Interspersed amongst the author's reminisces are short extracts from his mother's diary.

Stephen Matthews was only 4 years old when he and his family were transplanted from their home to a prison camp in the Third Reich and, as can be expected, his memory of the actual events may be a bit sketchy at times but the horror of those dark times still comes through in his writing even though he includes quite a few light-hearted anecdotes throughout his narrative. What came through very strongly is the love and strong bond that Stephen and his parents had for each other. Their ability to be able to sometimes find humour in such dire circumstances is a testament to the strength of the human spirit. The Matthews family survived their imprisonment and were able to return to Guernsey after the war to try and pick up the pieces of their former lives.

The main flaw of this book is that Matthews' narrative sometimes jumps from one year to another instead of narrating events chronologically but this improves after the first few chapters. I have to admit that, although I knew that the Channel Islands were the only part of Britain that was occupied by the Germans, I was not aware that civilians were deported to Germany, so this book educated me in that respect.

The irony of reading this book when Putin decided to invade Ukraine was not lost on me. It is so sad that after 70 years and countless books about the horrors of war and the suffering of so many innocent people, we have learnt absolutely nothing.

3.75 stars

[Emily Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting read because it is told from the perspective of a child living in a German concentration camp with his parents. Some of his stories warmed my heart, others made me tear up, & some filled me with righteous anger. Stephen shares a lot about his parents, & many exerpts from his mother's journal. I loved reading her thoughts & could read a while book of just that. Stephen makes fair assessments of the Germans, sharing the evils of some, but also showing us that many were good & hated what their country was doing.

Here are my criticisms... the book is broken up into chapters, but I would describe it as more a collection of anecdotes. It jumps around a lot, so the timeline gets fuzzy at moments. There are a lot of "aunties & uncles," so I wasn't exactly sure who was related to who. It's not really a big deal, but was just confusing for me at first.

All in all, I think this is a really good, important book to read & I'd highly recommend it!

[Hyacinth Fleura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the book, I love reading History, especially around World War II as a lot happened in such a short time; and because it is an important section of History that needs to be known. My favorite thing about this book was how Stephen was able to write it through a child’s perspective. Generally concentration camps, and death camps are covered with the bitter truth, in a stark and harsh manner. Stephen was able to keep the darkness and evil terrible, but also revealed that a child doesn’t understand everything that is happening around them. I loved how he included the ways children always found to see the light, how he caught little insects and hid them in his tiny bunk. It just showed how innocent the children were who suffered through their early years; and brings to new perspective how brutal and evil the Nazis were.

[Marianne Coxon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memorable and enlightening - well worth reading.

This was a fascinating but at times harrowing account of a young boy’s experience of having his home island invaded by Nazis. During the occupation of Guernsey the family was deported to Germany along with friends and neighbours to live in two concentration camps in Germany for the duration of World War II. The book tells of this difficult time in history through a young child’s eyes - the often horrific brutality demonstrated by the Nazis towards even a very young child, but tempers that with astonishing kindness and humanity from other Germans, behaviour reflected in the family’s experiences from other islanders upon returning home to Guernsey. I recommend this book.

[Hannah Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting in that it offers a different perspective - I learnt a lot about the suffering of those from the Channel Islands and it widened my understanding of the severity of the Nazi regime, outside of just Auschwitz and the well known concentration camps. It also provided an insight to those German individuals who were forced to partake in such atrocities, when deep down they were simply trying to do their best for their fellow humans.

That said, I found it quite difficult to read - I almost had to give myself to push through some chapters. The paragraphs didn’t seem to flow, jumping around from one topic to another - And a number of paragraphs seemed rather irrelevant. I am all still searching for the story of how Stephens hand got broken…

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Day the Nazis Came is told through the eyes of a young boy who survived the concentration camp. He and his family were sent to the camp because they were foreigners not Jews. His family tried hard to protect him from the horrors and dangers. Stephen found himself by age 6 menaced by a guard dog, witnessed men being killed, got his hand broken for feeding Russian prisoners.
He and his family survived 3 years in the camp before being liberated. When they returned to their home in Guernsey it was occupied by other people who wouldn't leave. So the family through faith and strength started over.

[Chloe Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really different to other books I’ve read about WW2. A completely different perspective. Instead of blaming the Germans for everything that happened, Matthews explains that the Germans that were in charge were actually kind to them. This was clearly not the case in all concentrations camps but it is such a different perspective. He writes that some of the German soldiers that were in charge of Biberach didn’t want any part of the war, they were just trying to get through it just like everyone else.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant enough book but one which does not really convey fully the horror of what the author went through. It seems like a pleasant childhood memoir with a watered-down account of a time in a German concentration camp - which seems more like an internment camp than a concentration camp. Oddly enough, the author makes reference to this distinction, stressing that the camp at Biberach was indeed the latter.

[Paulo Gordinho · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m giving this book a 3 stars review it’s such an interesting book with loads of information about the German occupation in Guernsey. Some chapters really got me and made see things in a different perspective. Although Stephen sometimes in my opinion, writes about things that are not relevant nor interesting. Also in relation to the timelines of his life during ww2 in the book, he goes backwards and forwards all the time, making the reading experience difficult.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, though I may have listened to it with a less judgemental ear due to the warm feelings it conjured up.
It’s set in Guernsey and the sections at the start and end of the war reminded my of my grandparents memoirs of their experience in the war in Jersey.
Seeing the experience through a small boys eyes was a wonderful perspective. I also enjoyed learning about what the Channel Islanders went through in the camps as it’s a part of WW2 I know very little about.

[Jo Birkett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never heard of Guerns deported to Germany despite being touristy in Guernsey, seeing underground hospital etc, so an eye opener. Weirdly quite fun as you see it through the eyes of a 5 year old although brutal travelling/accommodation conditions meant they arguably had as bad as a time as those left at home & rather heartbreaking that they did not have a warm welcome when they eventually arrived back home. No literary masterpiece but great to hear his own story.

[Rohini Krishnan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 4 year old kid, being deported to Germany during Hitler era, facing the life challenges which no other kid would have liked to in their growing years where u go to school, play with ur friends without any fear, read n enjoy life. But Stephen n his family had to undergo so much of struggle yet they came out victorious all coz of their love, faith n loyalty to each other. A beautiful true life story, I wish Stephen all the best n thanks for sharing his story.

[mrs m morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young boy from Guernsey and his incarceration in Germany during WW2

I knew that the Channel Islands were invaded by the German Army during WW2 but I didn't know that some of the islanders were sent to concentration camps in Germany.
This is an interesting account from a very young boy and his brave parents on how they managed to survive in the most terrible conditions.
They managed to make the most of their dreadful time in the camp, even keeping a sense of humour.

[Priyanka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been a fan of reading books on World War II, and this biography by Stephen Matthews provided some fascinating insights like Nazis occupying parts of Britain and their people ending up in concentration camps like that of Jews that I had no idea about. If you're into history, then you should definitely check out this book.

[Tessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ik kwam er echt niet doorheen. Het is voor mij te theoretisch en feitelijk geschreven. De schrijver is zelf pas 2 aan het begin van de oorlog, dus hij gebruikt voornamelijk dagboekstukken van zijn moeder. In een eerdere review las ik dat er veel jaartallen niet kloppen en veel grote fouten in staan. Dit verpest het voor mij ook wel een beetje.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting book. 2.5 rounded up.
New perspective on WW2 for me, I haven't studied the occupations of Guernsey/Jersey at all so in terms of education/new perspectives I really enjoyed this.
I also felt it was a bit too casual in nature compared with the topic but maybe thays due to it being childhood memories and the potential naivety of children. I'm note sure how I feel about this book in all honesty. It was a graft to finish but I have to give it this score as its so unique.

[Linda Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perspective of the interment camps that Chanel Islanders were held in during WWII. The author was only 3 when deported, and these were his recollections many years later. The discovery of his mother’s journal added more factual recollections. While they endured many hardships, they were probably more fortunate than others. A part of history that many do not know of.

[Lord Zion · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having visited Guernsey some 15 times in my life, I was very interested in reading this book, hoping to be able to match place names and events with my own memories of the place. To an extent, I could, which helped breathe life into the book.

The best way to describe this book is a "nice" account of living under the German jack boot in a concentration camp. I suspect the writer's very young age made it into more of an adventure than the adults around him, but it is a unique perspective, so one worth reading.

Nowhere near as harrowing as reading accounts from those that were in extermination camps - or those that weren't British - but an interesting read, very anecdotal.

The writing is almost conversational, do you do feel like you know the author by the end of it. Without the usual great peril of most PoW accounts, it is hard to feel much sympathy. I don't mean that to sound harsh but, having read so many accounts from Auschwitz, Treblinka and the like, the camp Stephen was in came across like a Butlins in comparison.

Still, an enjoyable read, if not one I would return to again.