Colditz prisoners of the castle

Look Inside Reading Guide. Reading Guide. Sep 13, Minutes Buy. For four years, these prisoners of the castle tested its walls and its guards with ingenious escape attempts that would become legend.

In a forbidding Gothic castle on a hilltop in the heart of Nazi Germany, an unlikely band of British officers spent the Second World War plotting daring escapes from their German captors. Or so the story of Colditz has gone, unchallenged for 70 years. But that tale contains only part of the truth. The astonishing inside story, revealed for the first time in this new book by bestselling historian Ben Macintyre, is a tale of the indomitable human spirit, but also one of snobbery, class conflict, homosexuality, bullying, espionage, boredom, insanity and farce. With access to an astonishing range of material, Macintyre reveals a remarkable cast of characters of multiple nationalities hitherto hidden from history, with captors and prisoners living for years cheek-by-jowl in a thrilling game of cat and mouse.

Colditz prisoners of the castle

Jump to ratings and reviews. Want to read. Rate this book. Ben Macintyre. Goodreads Choice Award. For four years, these prisoners of the castle tested its walls and its guards with ingenious escape attempts that would become legend. But as Macintyre shows, the story of Colditz was about much more than escape. Its population represented a society in miniature, full of heroes and traitors, class conflicts and secret alliances, and the full range of human joy and despair. Bringing together the wartime intrigue of his acclaimed Operation Mincemeat and keen psychological portraits of his bestselling true-life spy stories, Macintyre has breathed new life into one of the greatest war stories ever told. Loading interface About the author. Ben Macintyre 37 books 3, followers. Ben Macintyre is a writer-at-large for The Times U.

A half star off because even though it sometimes read like a thriller and was mostly interesting, at times it read slowly and was close to boring with all the minutiae. Not one of Mac's very best books.

The castle is between the towns of Hartha and Grimma on a hill spur over the river Zwickauer Mulde , a tributary of the River Elbe. It had the first wildlife park in Germany when, during , the castle park was converted into one of the largest menageries in Europe. The castle gained international infamy as the site of Oflag IV-C , a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II for "incorrigible" Allied officers who had repeatedly attempted to escape from other camps. By , the town around the market was established. Around that time the larger villages Hohnbach, Thierbaum , Ebersbach and Tautenhain also developed. As a result of family dynastic politics, the town of Colditz was incorporated into the Margraviate of Meissen. During , the Hussites attacked Colditz and set town and castle on fire.

Its purpose was to restrain those Allied prisoners who had attempted to escape from other Oflags and so Colditz housed various nationalities who were mainly British, Dutch, French and Polish. Richmond is warned by the Kommandant that "escaping is verboten" but Richmond has no intention of heeding this advice. All the prisoners are wary of Priem, the chief security officer, who is efficient and tenacious. Reid and other British officers attempt to open a manhole cover one night but are foiled by a simultaneous French attempt which alerts the German guards. Reid and La Tour argue about the lack of co-operation, both blaming the other. Later, a British tunnel is making progress until it meets another being dug by the Dutch officers and a collapse occurs. Richmond decides to act and proposes the creation by each nationality of escape officers who must liaise at all times to make sure attempts do not interfere with each other. This would be on the understanding that the escape officers do not themselves take part in an escape.

Colditz prisoners of the castle

During the Second World War, German officials thought they had come up with a genius idea to control unruly prisoners of war: throw them into Oflag IV-C, a prominent and intimidating camp in Colditz Castle. Instead, they unintentionally created their own "university of escapology," according to historian Ben Macintyre. They set fire to the classroom," he told The Current 's Matt Galloway.

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Simply reading the Wiki page about Colditz and the incredible number of inventive schemes is enough to put a smile on my face. The only faint criticism I have of this book is that it is, by nature, rather episodic. Macintyre has also written and… More about Ben Macintyre. The glider was never used, as the camp was liberated not long after its completion. The Pope at War David I. Get involved Support us Jobs Volunteer. In the final months, the prisoners began to starve, as did the guards. The Prominente were sequestered apart from the other officers and received better food. They also serve who work out how to hide a compass inside a walnut. Ben Macintyre always tells a wonderful tale and I enjoyed this book as I have enjoyed all the others I have read by him. He not surprisingly makes an appearance in this book and not a flattering one.

Colditz Castle, located in the Saxony town of the same name, has a long history.

Narration is also provide by the author, and is amazing. The perspective is also very limited. This respectful attitude permeated everyone's life at the camp including prisoner-guard interactions. To find out more about how we collect, store and use your personal information, read our Privacy Policy. Sign up to the National Army Museum newsletter Be the first to hear about our latest events, exhibitions and offers. I found the ingenious and audacious escapes fascinating and often humorous. Around , renovation and new building work on the castle were done by order of Prince Ernest , who died in Castle Colditz in I was so impressed and drawn in by this book and will definitely look into more of Macintyre's work now! Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. Editions: Paperback Hardcover ePub Audiobook.