Georg Martin Schädlich was a corporal of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, who kept a diary while he was a guard at

Colditz castle Castle Colditz (or ''Schloss Colditz'' in German) is a Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz in the state of Saxony in Germany. The castle is between the towns of Hartha and Grimma on a hill spur over the r ...

prisoner-of-war camp from 1941 to 1943. This diary was later published by his grandson, Thomas Schädlich. Schädlich was a first war veteran who was called up for service in the German Army in 1940. After service in France he was transferred to his home town to work as a prison guard. He kept his diary throughout his time at Colditz and it notably provides insight into the time spent in captivity there by Commandos from

Operation Musketoon Operation Musketoon was the codeword of a British–Norwegian commando raid in the Second World War. The operation was mounted against the German-held Glomfjord power plant in Norway from 11 to 21 September 1942. The raiders consisted of two of ...

. Another diary kept by one of the youngest Musketoon Commandos, Eric Curtis, provides short annotations from the same period. The two diaries together enable comparing and contrasting the captor and prisoner experiences of the time. Georg Martin Schädlich provides a key link to the Musketoon Commando's Diary as he was in very close contact with the Commandos and supervised their captivity. Schädlich, was known by the Colditz prisoner community as “The Ferret” or the “Corporal with the keys”. It was also said he could ‘sniff out a tunnel’ and the prisoners had a begrudging respect for his powers. Schädlich was also referred to in the Command Diary as their ‘good man’. Schädlich kept hold of the Commando Diary once the Commandos were taken away to Berlin. Later in the war Schädlich lost his life in Italy, dying of a wound to the stomach. His family kept his diary and many years later his journal was published by his grandson, Thomas Schädlich.

Bibliography

* *Operation Musketoon - http://operationmusketoon.com/capture-execution/colditz-castle-oflag-ivc/colditz-diaries/ German Army soldiers of World War II German Army personnel killed in World War II German diarists German Army personnel of World War I People from Colditz Military personnel from Saxony {{Nazi-stub