The day the Nazis came The true story of a childhood journey to the dark heart of a German prison camp

Germany's 1940 conquest of France included the British-ruled Channel Islands. It remains a footnote to the war, but this memoir brings one family's experience vividly to life. Matthews was born on the English Isle of Guernsey in 1938. Though he was only a toddler at the time, he makes good use of letters, his mother's diary, and some unforgettable events to tell a gripping story. Residents of the islands, he writes, "could never have envisaged the time would come when the bays would be seeded with thousands of treacherous German landmines and the sides of our glorious cliffs, laced with antipersonnel roll bombs and barbed wire, for we were, after all, British and part of an illustrious and invincible empire….It wouldn't be long before this myth would be dramatically shattered." The German bombing raids killed many inhabitants before their troops arrived. Compared to elsewhere in Europe, Nazi occupation was not as repressive on the islands, though there was widespread hunger during the six months before victory. By this time, the author and his family were gone. In 1941, Britain interned 800 German citizens living in Iran, outraging Hitler, who vowed revenge. In September 1942, over 2,000 Channel Islanders, including the Matthews family, were deported to prison camps in Germany, where they remained until the war's end. Although a step up from concentration camps, they lived in packed, unheated barracks with primitive sanitation and meager food. Red Cross parcels staved off starvation, but these diminished in the final months. Although there was the occasional horror--a guard broke Matthews' fingers after discovering him sneaking food to Russian prisoners--he did not suffer greatly. His parents watched over him, giving him part of their rations, and once the Wehrmacht transferred camp security to local police, conditions improved. Readers will share the author's exhilaration at the camp's liberation and thoroughly enjoy the final section, which describes the return to the islands and adjustment to civilian life. A solid memoir about a little-known corner of World War II history. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.