Delighted to have been invited to give an online talk about Escaping Hitler and the life of Joe Stirling. In 2016 she achieved a life-long ambition when her first biography Escaping Hitler, was published by Pen and Sword Books, followed by Skyhorse Publications of New York in 2017. The ending was sweet and drew a good conclusion to the story, promoting a sense of reflection for the reader. The Netherlands had a very strict policy on admission and provided accommodation for 2,000 children. Refusing to let the tragedy of the Holocaust embitter him and ruin the rest of his life, he brought energy and drive to community and charity projects, becoming Sheriff of Norwich, and built a successful and respected business in the city.

What begins with a harrowing journey culminates in an inspiring portrayal of one man's determination to succeed through hard work, civic duty and kindness. Andree de Jongh risked her life to smuggle men through occupied France, survived being sent to two concentration camps, and has been described by MI-9 as 'the greatest of our war-time agents'. But the sensitivity of Mrs Scrivens’ account, her remarkable capacity to convey the significance of each small detail, make this biography of an outstanding British local politician, volunteer and businessman special. I really liked how the book moved between the retelling of these escape stories, and the author’s travels and treks of the locations, decades later. The emigration and exodus of German Jews and those with a different political orientation had enormous consequences in the political, cultural, scientific and economic fields, but was above all a humanitarian drama.The author gathered her information through interviews with Gunter, now known as Joe Stirling, and with those closest to him.

Hubert’s father was Heinz Becker, a boy in Joe’s class at school (Joe was then Günter Stern) and his Uncle Peter was the best friend of Günter’s father Alfred. Having read the book and watched the final episode in the series, the book is a gripping companion to the series and fills in the gaps the television series simply cannot do. I miss him every day and always enjoy giving “his talk” to groups around Norfolk, sharing tales of his childhood in Nazi Germany, his freedom walk through Europe and his achievements in later life, so many recorded in my biography Escaping Hitler (Pen and Sword Books 2016).We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Anyone who openly criticised him or the Nazi party, they didn’t go to court or anything, they were political prisoners and locked up in the camps – these were not Jews, no Jewish people were making speeches against the Nazis. This is mainly because Joe is so compelling when at, nearly 93, he tells his own story to audiences all over Norfolk. The United States decided to increase the German quota – the number of Germans that they were prepared to admit in view of the percentage of Americans of German origins – with that of Austria, which had been annexed. The Commanding Officer made a speech, thanking everyone for his or her valuable contribution to the victory, even if they hadn’t been involved at the front line.