Colditz: The Full Story

by P. R. Reid

Overview

The Germans thought escape was impossible. These men proved them wrong.

Colditz Castle, located near Leipzig Germany, was the last stop for select Allied prisoners during World War II. It was here, a reportedly impregnable fortress, that the Germans sent all the prisoners who escaped from other prisons. Once within the walls, the Germans reasoned, escaping was impossible. Yet during the four-year period when the castle was used as a prison, over three hundred men escaped, thirty-one through Nazi Germany.

Prisoners from ten different Allied countries worked together to form a truly international escape academy. They created skeleton keys, forged German passes, drafted maps, and constructed all types of tools and machinery out of whatever they could find. The ingenuity of the prisoners knew no bounds: they tried everything from tunneling underneath the castle's walls to hiding in the garbage to disguising themselves as German officers. They even built a glider, which they never used. Resourcefulness and hard work won a few of them their freedom.

Author and former British Army officer, P.R. Reid, was one of the men who escaped from Colditz and made it home to tell the story. This paperback edition, introduced into the Zenith Military Classic series, introduces this thrilling WWII story to a new generation of readers. Four appendices at the end of book provide a full listing of prisoners and staff, all of the attempted escapes, the secret code used to communicate between prisoners and the outside world, and more.



"[T]his book is highly recommended reading."

--The New York Times

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627885706
Publisher:	Zenith Press
Publication date:	01/15/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	292,825
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

P.R. Reid (1910–1990) was a British Army officer who was held captive at Colditz Castle when it was designated Oflag IV-C during the World War II era. Reid was one of the few to escape from Colditz, crossing the border into neutral Switzerland in late 1942 after two years as a prisoner of war. After the war ended, Reid became a diplomat and administrator before eventually returning to his prewar career in civil engineering. He is the author of several books on his time at Colditz Castle, which together were the basis for movies, television series, and a board game.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi

Chapter 1 Yesterday's Shadows: Autumn 1939 1

Chapter 2 Poland Leads the Way: 1940 14

Chapter 3 The Challenge: Christmas 1940 to Early Spring 1941 28

Chapter 4 Restless Captives: Spring 1941 43

Chapter 5 Tameless and Proud: Early Summer 1941 58

Chapter 6 Sixty-Eight Dutchmen: Summer 1941 67

Chapter 7 A Bolt from the Blue: Late Summer 1941 79

Chapter 8 The Incorrigibles: Autumn and Winter 1941 91

Chapter 9 A Voice in Every Wind: Winter 1941-1942 103

Chapter 10 'Tis All a Checker Board: Winter to Spring 1942 109

Chapter 11 Physician Heal Thyself: Spring 1942 120

Chapter 12 Never a Dull Moment: Late Spring and Early Summer 1942 131

Chapter 13 No Coward Souls: Summer and Early Autumn 1942 141

Chapter 14 Swift Be Thy Flight: Late Autumn 1942 153

Chapter 15 Of Whom Each Strives: Winter and Early Spring 1943 163

Chapter 16 A Measure of Sliding Sand: Spring and Summer 1943 181

Chapter 17 That Dares Send a Challenge: Autumn and Winter 1943-1944 191

Chapter 18 Ashes and Snow: Spring 1944 204

Chapter 19 A Vision of Freedom: Summer and Autumn 1944 212

Chapter 20 They Mingled in the Fray: Autumn and Winter 1944-1945 229

Chapter 21 Firm to Their Mark: Winter 1944-1945 238

Chapter 22 Let the Hawk Fly Wild: Early Spring 1945 246

Chapter 23 In Spite of Darkness: April 1945 255

Chapter 24 A Grand Finale: April 1945 267

Epilogue: After Colditz 275

Appendix 1 Colditz Prisoners and Staff 281

Appendix 2 Escapes 314

Appendix 3 The Code 323

Appendix 4 An Exchange of Letters between the Author and Professor R. V. Jones, Author of Most Secret War 326

Appendix 5 Prisoners of War in the Western Theaters of the Second World War 529

Bibliography 333

Index 336

Editorial Reviews

Supposedly escape-proof, Germany's Colditz Castle turned out to be notoriously porous. Halfway through WW II, Allied prisoners already had launched 44 escape attempts, with 16 ``home runs'' from the castle. Reid here expands his war classic, The Colditz Story, with interviews and diaries (including a particularly revealng one kept by the German security officer there). The preparations of escape committees are described along with accounts of the more dare-devil escapes. The high spirits and resourcefulness of the men throughout their incarceration are astounding. Reid relates in hilarious detail how the prisoners never missed an opportunity to bait their captors (at one point a British officer convincingly impersonated Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria). The final scene is most affecting: the reception accorded Pfc. Alan M. Murphy of New York, the first Allied soldier to enter Colditz on the day of liberation. Photos. (May)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

"[T]his book is highly recommended reading."

—The New York Times

From the Publisher