A Childhood in Bohemia

In the aftermath of World War II, approximately 15 million Germans were expelled from Eastern European countries where their families had lived for centuries. Among them were 3 million Sudeten Germans forced from their homes in Bohemia – a story that has remained largely unknown in English-speaking countries until now.

A Childhood in Bohemia and the Flight to the West is a powerful eyewitness account that illuminates this forgotten chapter of history. Through the eyes of young Erika Schroll, we experience the harrowing journey from her childhood in the multicultural town of Saaz through the chaos of war’s end, brutal internment, forced expulsion, and a desperate escape across occupied zones.

Born in 1936, Erika witnessed her world crumble as war consumed Europe. Her father was conscripted, her family torn apart, and in June 1945, along with thousands of other German women and children, she and her mother and sister were driven from their home to an SS barracks converted into an internment camp.

What follows is an honest account of survival against impossible odds. Packed into open coal wagons and transported to East Germany, the family endured catastrophic conditions, starvation, disease, and the bitter winter of 1946-47 that many did not survive. When Erika’s father finally found them in 1947 – a reunion marked by tears and skeletal bodies—the family faced an agonizing choice: remain and face certain death, or risk being shot while crossing the border illegally into West Germany.

Author: Erika Storey
Release date: 30 January 2026
Format: Paperback, 426 pages, 234mm x 156mm (9.21” x 6.14”)
Availability: Available from all good bookshops. For wholesalers via BookVault, Gardners or direct from the publisher.
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-914390-47-0
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-914390-48-7
Paperback Price: £24.99, €28.99, US$34.99
Thema: DNC; NHWR7; 1DFG; 1DTJ-CZ-XB; 3MPBLB; 5PBCQ; DNBH1;