Oflag IV-C
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Oflag IV-C, often referred to by its location 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 ...
, overlooking
Colditz Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C POW camp for officers in World War II. Geography Colditz is situated in the Leipzig Bay, southeast of the ...
,
Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
, was one of the most noted
German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...
s for captured enemy
officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...
s 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 ...
; ''Oflag'' is a shortening of ''Offizierslager'', meaning "officers' camp".


Colditz Castle

This thousand-year-old fortress was in the heart of Hitler's Reich, from any frontier not under Nazi control. Its outer walls were seven feet (two metres) thick and the cliff on which it was built had a sheer drop of two hundred and fifty feet (75metres) to the
River Mulde The Mulde () is a river in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe and is long. The river is formed by the confluence, near Colditz, of the Zwickauer Mulde (running through Zwickau) and the Freiberger Mulde (wit ...
below."The Story of Colditz"
/ref>


Timeline

The first prisoners arrived in November 1939; they were 140 Polish officers from the
September Campaign The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...
who were regarded as escape risks. Most of them were later transferred to other Oflags. In October 1940, Donald Middleton, Keith Milne, and
Howard Wardle Howard Douglas Wardle MC (15 August 1915 – 30 January 1995), commonly known as Hank, was a Canadian pilot in the Royal Air Force during World War II. He is notable for being (along with the 'Medium Sized Man, Dominic Bruce) one of the only two ...
(a Canadian who joined the
RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
just before the war) became the first British prisoners at Colditz. On 7November, six British officers, the " Laufen Six", named after the camp (
Oflag VII-C Oflag VII-C was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers located in Laufen Castle, in Laufen in south-eastern Bavaria from 1940 to 1942. Most of the prisoners were British officers captured during the Battle of France in 1940. To ...
) from which they made their first escape, arrived: Harry Elliott, Rupert Barry (later Sir Rupert Barry),
Pat Reid Patrick Robert Reid, (13 November 1910 – 22 May 1990) was a British Army officer and author of history. As a British prisoner of war during the Second World War, he was held captive at Colditz Castle when it was designated Oflag IV-C. Reid wa ...
, Dick Howe, Peter Allan, and
Kenneth Lockwood Captain Kenneth Lockwood (17 December 1911 – 8 October 2007) was a stockbroker and an officer in the British Army. He was one of the first six British prisoners of war to arrive at Oflag IV-C, Colditz, in 1940. He made and assisted in numerou ...
. They were soon joined by a handful of British Army officers and later by Belgian officers. By Christmas 1940 there were 60 Polish officers, 12 Belgians, 50 French, and 30 British, a total of no more than 200 with their orderlies. 200 French officers arrived in February 1941. A number of the French demanded that French Jewish officers be segregated from them and the camp commander obliged; they were moved to the attics. By the end of July 1941, there were more than 500 officers: over 250 French, 150 Polish, 50 British and Commonwealth, 2 Yugoslavian. In April 1941, a French officer, Alain Le Ray, become the first prisoner ever to escape from the Colditz Castle. On 24 July 1941, 68 Dutch officers arrived, mostly members of the Royal Dutch East Indies Army, who had refused to sign a declaration that they would take no part in the war against Germany. According to the German Security Officer, Captain
Reinhold Eggers Reinhold Eggers (1890–1974) was the security officer at Oflag IV-C from November 1940 to April 1945, promoted to chief of security in 1944. The Nova television programme ''Nazi Prison Escape'', a shortened cut of a British documentary series, was ...
, the Dutch officers appeared to be model prisoners at first. Importantly for other internees in the camp, among the 68 Dutch was
Hans Larive Etienne Henri "Hans" Larive, MWO, DSC and bar, (23 September 1915 – 28 December 1984) was a Dutch naval officer during World War II. He escaped from the prisoner of war camp Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle in 1941, and spent the rest of the wa ...
with his knowledge of the
Singen Singen (Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Singe'') is an industrial city in the very south of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany and just north of the German-Swiss border. Location Singen is an industrial city situated in the very south ...
route. This route into Switzerland was discovered by Larive in 1940 on his first escape attempt from an Oflag in Soest. Larive was caught at the Swiss border near Singen. The interrogating Gestapo officer was so confident the war would soon be won by Germany that he told Larive the safe way across the border near Singen. Larive did not forget and many prisoners later escaped using this route. Within days after their arrival, the Dutch escape officer, Captain
Machiel van den Heuvel Machiel van den Heuvel (7 May 1900, Haarlemmermeer – 29 June 1946, near Bandung) was a Dutch army officer. As a prisoner-of-war in Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle, Germany, during World War II, he served as Escape Officer for the Dutch POWs, ...
, planned and executed his first of many escape plans. On 13 August 1941 the first two Dutchmen escaped successfully from the castle, followed by many more of whom six officers made it to England. Afterwards a number of would-be escapees borrowed Dutch
greatcoat A greatcoat, also known as a watchcoat, is a large overcoat that is typically made of wool designed for warmth and protection against the weather. Its collar and cuffs can be turned out to protect the face and hands from cold and rain, and the ...
s as their disguise. When the Wehrmacht invaded the Netherlands they were short of material for uniforms, so they confiscated anything available. The coats in Dutch field
grey Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...
in particular remained unchanged in colour, since it was similar to the tone already in use by the Germans, thus these greatcoats were nearly identical with very minor alterations. In May 1943, the Wehrmacht High Command decided that Colditz should house only Americans and Commonwealth. In June the Dutch were moved out, followed shortly thereafter by the Poles and Belgians. The final French group left 12 July 1943. By the end of July there were a few
Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...
officers, and 228 Commonwealth officers including Britons, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Irish, and one Indian. On 23 August 1944 Colditz received its first Americans: 49-year-old Colonel Florimund Duke — the oldest American paratrooper of the war, Captain Guy Nunn, and Alfred Suarez. They were all counter-intelligence operatives parachuted into Hungary to prevent it joining forces with Germany. Population was approximately 254 at the start of the early winter that year. On 19 January 1945 six French Generals — Lieutenant-General
Jean Adolphe Louis Robert Flavigny Jean Adolphe Louis Robert Flavigny (1880-1948) was a French general. He was imprisoned in Colditz Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C POW camp ...
, Major-General
Louis Léon Marie André Buisson Louis Buisson (14 December 1889 – 5 December 1955) was a French Major General. During the battle of France, he was the commander of the from 15 May 1940 and later took command of a battle group comprising the 3rd Armored Division, the and the ...
, Major-General Arsène Marie Paul Vauthier, Brigadier-General Albert Joseph Daine, and Brigadier-General René Jacques Mortemart de Boisse — were brought from the camp at Königstein to Colditz Castle. Major-General Gustave Marie Maurice Mesny was murdered by the Germans on the way from Königstein to Colditz Castle. On 5 February, Polish General
Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski Generał Tadeusz Komorowski (1 June 1895 – 24 August 1966), better known by the name Bór-Komorowski (after one of his wartime code-names: ''Bór'' – "The Forest") was a Polish military leader. He was appointed commander in chief a day bef ...
, deputy commander of the ''
Armia Krajowa The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier ZwiÄ…zek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...
'' (Home Army) and responsible for the
Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...
, arrived with his entourage. In March, 1200 French prisoners were brought to Colditz Castle, with 600 more being imprisoned in the town below. When the final battles of the war approached the area, the prisoners became concerned at the danger, both from the SS in the town who may kill them, or from the approaching Allied forces who may mistakenly attack the castle. To prevent this the prisoners persuaded the German guards to surrender to them in secret and prevent the SS from entering. This was successful and on 16 April 1945 Oflag IV C was captured by American soldiers from 1st US Army.


"Prominente" and notable inmates

Among the more notable inmates were British fighter ace
Douglas Bader Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, (; 21 February 1910 – 5 September 1982) was a Royal Air Force flying ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared p ...
;
Pat Reid Patrick Robert Reid, (13 November 1910 – 22 May 1990) was a British Army officer and author of history. As a British prisoner of war during the Second World War, he was held captive at Colditz Castle when it was designated Oflag IV-C. Reid wa ...
, the man who brought Colditz to public attention with his post-war books;
Airey Neave Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave, (;) (23 January 1916 – 30 March 1979) was a British soldier, lawyer and Member of Parliament (MP) from 1953 until his assassination in 1979. During World War II he was the first British prisoner-of-war ...
, the first British officer to escape from Colditz and later a British Member of Parliament; New Zealand Army Captain
Charles Upham Charles Hazlitt Upham, (21 September 1908 – 22 November 1994) was a New Zealand soldier who was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) twice during the Second World War - for gallantry in Crete in May 1941, and in Egypt, in July 1942. He was the mo ...
, the only combat soldier ever to receive the Victoria Cross twice; and Sir
David Stirling Sir Archibald David Stirling (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990) was a Scottish officer in the British army, a mountaineer, and the founder and creator of the Special Air Service (SAS). He saw active service during the Second World War. ...
, founder of the wartime
Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
. There were also prisoners called ''Prominente'' (German for 'celebrities'), relatives of Allied VIPs. The first one was
Giles Romilly Giles Samuel Bertram Romilly (19 September 1916 – 2 August 1967) was a communist journalist, Second World War POW, brother of Esmond Romilly, and nephew of Winston Churchill through his wife Clementine Churchill. Romilly was educated at Well ...
, a civilian journalist who was captured in Narvik, Norway who was also a nephew of
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
's wife
Clementine Churchill Clementine Ogilvy Spencer Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill, (; 1 April 1885 â€“ 12 December 1977) was the wife of Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and a life peer in her own right. While legally the daughter ...
.
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
himself specified that Romilly was to be treated with the utmost care and that: # ''The Kommandant and Security Officer answer for Romilly's security with their heads.'' # ''His security is to be assured by any and every exceptional measure you care to take.'' When the end of the war approached, the number of ''Prominente'' increased. Eventually there were Lord Lascelles and
John Elphinstone John Elphinstone, also known as John Elphinston (1722 – 28 February 1785), was a senior British naval officer who worked closely with the Russian Navy after 1770, with approval from the Admiralty, during the period of naval reform under Russi ...
, nephews of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth; Captain The Lord Haig, son of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
Field Marshal Douglas Haig;
Lord Hopetoun John Adrian Louis Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, (25 September 1860 – 29 February 1908) was a British aristocrat and statesman who served as the first governor-general of Australia, in office from 1901 to 1902. He wa ...
, son of
Lord Linlithgow Marquess of Linlithgow, in the County of Linlithgow or West Lothian, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 23 October 1902 for John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun. The current holder of the title is Adrian Hope. This ...
, the
Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...
; Lieutenant John Winant Jr., son of
John Gilbert Winant John Gilbert Winant (February 23, 1889 – November 3, 1947) was an American diplomat and politician with the Republican party after a brief career as a teacher in Concord, New Hampshire. John Winant held positions in New Hampshire, national, an ...
,
US ambassador to Britain The United States ambassador to the United Kingdom (known formally as the ambassador of the United States to the Court of St James's) is the official representative of the president of the United States and the American government to the monarc ...
;
Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski Generał Tadeusz Komorowski (1 June 1895 – 24 August 1966), better known by the name Bór-Komorowski (after one of his wartime code-names: ''Bór'' – "The Forest") was a Polish military leader. He was appointed commander in chief a day bef ...
, commander of
Armia Krajowa The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier ZwiÄ…zek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...
and the
Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...
; and five other Polish generals. British Commando Michael Alexander claimed to be a nephew of field marshal
Harold Alexander Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, (10 December 1891 – 16 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served with distinction in both the First and the Second World War and, afterwards, as Governor G ...
in order to escape execution, but was merely a distant cousin.
Micky Burn Captain Michael Clive Burn, MC (11 December 1912 – 3 September 2010) was an English journalist, commando, writer and poet. Early life Michael Clive "Micky" Burn, born 11 December 1912 in London, was the eldest of four children. The son of C ...
, another well-known inmate of Colditz, was a British commando captured at
Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean ...
. Burn had been a journalist like Romilly before the war, working for ''The Times''. Burn had briefly been an admirer of the Nazi Party and in 1936 had met Adolf Hitler, who signed his copy of ''Mein Kampf''. After war broke out Burn shifted politically to Marxism and gave lectures to prisoners at Colditz, but due to his pre-war interest in Nazi philosophy he was widely regarded with distrust and scorn. John Arundell, 16th Baron Arundell of Wardour (1907–1944) was an aristocrat held at Colditz who, despite his pedigree, was not awarded ''Prominente'' status. Arundell made a habit of exercising in the winter snow; he contracted
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
and died in Chester Military Hospital. Another officer, not listed as among the ''Prominente'' but who became famous after the end of the war, was French military chaplain and Catholic priest
Yves Congar Yves Marie-Joseph Congar (; 13 April 1904 – 22 June 1995) was a French Dominican friar, priest, and theologian. He is perhaps best known for his influence at the Second Vatican Council and for reviving theological interest in the Holy Spiri ...
, who was captured as a POW and later sent there after repeated attempts to escape. He became a noted theologian and was made
cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
in 1994, at age 90. At 1:30 a.m. on 13 April 1945, while the final battles of the war approached the area, the ''Prominente'' were moved under guard and the cover of darkness, over the protestations of the other prisoners. The Allies were concerned that the ''Prominente'' might be used as hostages, bargaining chips and
human shield A human shield is a non-combatant (or a group of non-combatants) who either volunteers or is forced to shield a legitimate military target in order to deter the enemy from attacking it. The use of human shields as a resistance measure was popula ...
s, or that the SS might try to kill them out of spite. But they reached the American lines alive a couple of weeks later, an action aided by the SS head of POW camp administration ''Obergruppenführer''
Gottlob Berger Gottlob Christian Berger (16 July 1896 â€“ 5 January 1975) was a senior German Nazi official who held the rank of '' SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS'' (lieutenant general) and was the chief of the SS Main Office responsibl ...
, which contributed to his lessened sentence after his war crimes verdict in 1949.


German staff and visitors

Keeping the castle running in a secure and efficient manner was a difficult task, and the Germans maintained a larger garrison at the castle than at many of their other prison camps. Between 1939 and 1945 more than 70 German officers and enlisted men worked in a wide variety of staff positions, as well as overseeing prisoners' labour. There was also a large contingent of civilians and local townspeople who worked on the castle grounds. Some were in maintenance, some in medical roles, some were there in a supervisory role (
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
leaders, Swiss Red Cross observers, etc.). Some family members of the German military officers lived at the camp.


Security officers

* Captain
Paul Priem Paul Priem (11 March 1893 – 2 August 1943) was a German officer in the ''Wehrmacht'' during World War II and a noted member of the German staff at the Colditz Castle POW camp. During the Greater Poland Uprising of 1918–1919, he fought again ...
was the first Security Officer. Pat Reid said he "possessed a rare quality among Germans – a sense of humour". * Captain
Reinhold Eggers Reinhold Eggers (1890–1974) was the security officer at Oflag IV-C from November 1940 to April 1945, promoted to chief of security in 1944. The Nova television programme ''Nazi Prison Escape'', a shortened cut of a British documentary series, was ...
was Security Officer from November 1940 until April 1945, promoted to chief of security in 1944. He was also the only English-speaker among the Germans at Colditz, thus was involved in every interaction with the prisoners or between the Senior Officers and the Kommandant serving as translator.http://www.herofiles.org/resources/books.shtml Dutchman Lieutenant Damiaen J. van Doorninck said of him, "This man was our opponent, but nevertheless he earned our respect by his correct attitude, self-control and total lack of rancour despite all the harassment we gave him."


Kommandants

* Oberst Schmidt 1939 – August 1942 * Oberst Glaesche 1 August 1942 – 13 February 1943 * Oberst Prawitt 14 February 1943 – 15 April 1945


Life in the camp

In Colditz, the Wehrmacht followed the
Geneva Convention upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conven ...
. Would-be escapees were punished with solitary confinement, instead of being summarily executed. In principle, the security officers recognized that it was the duty of the POWs to try to escape and that their own job was to stop them. Prisoners could even form
gentlemen's agreement A gentlemen's agreement, or gentleman's agreement, is an informal and legally non-binding agreement between two or more parties. It is typically oral, but it may be written or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or th ...
s with the guards, such as not using borrowed tools for escape attempts. Most of the guard company was composed of World War I veterans and young soldiers not fit for the front. Because Colditz was a high security camp, the Germans organized three and then later four ''Appells'' (roll calls) per day to count the prisoners. If they discovered someone had escaped, they alerted every police and train station within a radius, and many local members of the Hitler Youth would help to recapture any escapees. Because of the number of Red Cross food parcels, prisoners sometimes ate better than their guards, who had to rely on Wehrmacht rations. Prisoners could use their relative luxuries for trade and, for example, exchange their cigarettes for German ''
Reichsmark The (; sign: ℛℳ; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of Germany from 1924 until 20 June 1948 in West Germany, where it was replaced with the , and until 23 June 1948 in East Germany, where it was replaced by the East German mark. The Reich ...
s'' that they hoped could later use in their escape attempts. Occasionally this turned out to be a mistake as several of the bills they received were of the earlier ''
Papiermark The Papiermark (; 'paper mark', officially just ''Mark'', sign: ℳ) was the German currency from 4 August 1914 when the link between the Goldmark and gold was abandoned, due to the outbreak of World War I. In particular, the Papiermark was th ...
'' varieties that were no longer considered valid. There were also other currencies in circulation, including the ''Registermark'', used for travelling and investments in Germany; the ''Reisemark'', for tourists; the ''Kreditsperrmark'', for sales of property belonging to foreigners; the ''Effektensperrmark'', arising from the sale of securities in Germany; the ''Reichskreditkassenschein'' in occupied territories; and the ''Behelfszahlungsmittel'' (Auxiliary Payment Certificates) for the German Armed Forces. The ''Kreditsperrmark'' and ''Effektensperrmark'' were consolidated into the ''Handelsperrmark'' in 1939. Because of the massive variety of currency types and uses, in several escape attempts, escapees with one of these various currencies printed before 1939 were told their money was no good — leaving them moneyless and easier to recapture. Prisoners had to make their own entertainment. In August 1941 the first camp
Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
were organized by the Polish prisoners. Events were held in football (soccer), volleyball, boxing, and chess, but the closing ceremony was interrupted by a German fire drill. "The British came in last place in every event cheerfully, to the dismay of the other participants who took the competition deadly seriously," according to the British inmate John Wilkens in a 1986 interview. Prisoners also formed a Polish
choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
, a Dutch Hawaiian
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
band, and a French
orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
. The British put on homemade revues, classical plays and farces including: ''
Gaslight Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either direct ...
'', ''
Rope A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly ...
'', ''
The Man Who Came to Dinner ''The Man Who Came to Dinner'' is a comedy play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It debuted on October 16, 1939, at the Music Box Theatre in New York City, where it ran until 1941, closing after 739 performances. It then enjoyed a number of N ...
'', ''
Pygmalion Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to: Mythology * Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue Stage * ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau * ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...
'', and ''
The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...
''. Several prisoners intentionally grew their hair long so as better to portray female roles. Prisoner
Jock Hamilton-Baillie John Robert Edward Hamilton-Baillie Military Cross, MC (1 March 1919 – 16 April 2003), was a British Royal Engineers officer famed for numerous escapes from German prisoner of war camps during World War II. During his later life he was a found ...
used to shave his legs, rub them in brown shoe polish, and draw a line down the back of his legs in pencil to simulate the appearance of silk stockings. This allowed him special "bath privileges" in the German guards washroom, since the prisoners' showers were unable to get the polish off his legs. Staging these plays even gained the prisoners access to "parole tools", tools which were used to build the sets and promised not to be used to escape. During the summer months, the theatre's peak periods, there were new productions every two weeks. The biggest success of the theatre however was the Christmas-themed ''Ballet Nonsense'' which premiered on November 16, 1941, and ran until the November 18, 1941 show which Hauptmann Priem (the first prison warden of Colditz) attended. Another pastime which occupied much of the prisoners' time was the production of
moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...
alcohol. Initially started by the Polish contingent using a recipe of yeast, water, German jam and sugar from their Red Cross parcels, and then taken up by other prisoners, it did not take long for stills to be secreted all across Colditz (one of which remained undiscovered until a tourist trip in 1984). Prisoner Michael Farr, whose family ran Hawker's Gin (the sole purveyors of Sloe gin with a Royal Warrant), managed to make a sparkling wine dubbed "Château Colditz". Some prisoners would get black teeth or even temporary blindness from consuming this beverage — a condition known as "jam-happy" — as it contained many impurities. Although the German guards despised the drunken prisoners, they generally turned a blind eye to the distilling. Officers also studied languages, learning from each other, and told stories. Most popular of these stories were the embellished retelling of BBC broadcasts by Jim Rogers. Since mail was regularly screened by censors, and the German newspapers received by prisoners contained much Nazi propaganda, the only reliable information prisoners could obtain on the progress of the war in Europe was through BBC broadcasts received via one of two radios which were secreted in the castle. These radios were smuggled in by French prisoner Frédérick Guigues and named "Arthur 1" and "Arthur 2". The first radio was quickly discovered because of a mole, but the second remained secreted until Guigues returned and removed it during a tour of the castle in 1965. The prisoners' "Radio Laboratory" was not permanently exposed until 1992 during repairs to the roof. Later the most popular way to pass the time was ''stoolball'', a particularly rough version of
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
, where there were two stools at either end of the prisoners' courtyard and goals were scored by touching the opponent's stool with the ball. This game served as an outlet for pent-up aggression, and also provided noise to cover the sounds of tunnel-digging. In addition to escape attempts, prisoners tried to make the life of their guards more miserable by resorting to " goon-baiting", making nuisances of themselves by harassing the guards. For example, they would drop water bombs on the guards.
Douglas Bader Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, (; 21 February 1910 – 5 September 1982) was a Royal Air Force flying ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared p ...
encouraged his junior officers to do the same. British Flight Lieutenant
Pete Tunstall Peter David Tunstall (1 December 1918 – 27 July 2013) was a squadron leader in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and a prisoner of war (POW) held at Colditz Castle. He holds the record for the most time spent by an Allied POW ...
especially tried to cause havoc by disturbing the roll call even if nobody was trying to escape, so that the guards would not become suspicious when somebody was. He went through a total of five
courts-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
and suffered a total of 415 days in solitary confinement.


Escape attempts


In popular culture

Oflag IV-C provided the inspiration for both television and film because of the widely popular retellings by Pat Reid and Airey Neave. This started as early as 1955 with the release of ''
The Colditz Story ''The Colditz Story'' is a 1955 British prisoner of war film starring John Mills and Eric Portman and directed by Guy Hamilton. It is based on the 1952 memoir written by Pat Reid, a British army officer who was imprisoned in Oflag IV-C, Colditz ...
'', followed by ''
The Birdmen ''The Birdmen'', also known as ''Escape of the Birdmen'' and ''Colditz: Escape of the Birdmen'', is a 1971 television film directed by Philip Leacock and starring Doug McClure and René Auberjonois. It was a fictionalized account based on a prop ...
'' in 1971, continuing until 2005 with the ''Colditz'' mini-series. The escape stories of Colditz Castle have inspired several board and video games, such as ''
Escape from Colditz ''Escape from Colditz'' is a strategy card and dice-based board game produced by Gibsons Games of London and first released in 1973. The original game box features escape equipment on the lid and has a four section, black plastic internal game ite ...
'' and ''
Commandos Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
''. In contrast, the existence of Colditz is virtually unknown in Germany today. Eggers wrote a book based on his experiences of the German side of events.


Cinema

* ''
The Colditz Story ''The Colditz Story'' is a 1955 British prisoner of war film starring John Mills and Eric Portman and directed by Guy Hamilton. It is based on the 1952 memoir written by Pat Reid, a British army officer who was imprisoned in Oflag IV-C, Colditz ...
'' (1955) was a
drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
tic film re-enactment of life in the camp during World War II, based entirely on the books of
Pat Reid Patrick Robert Reid, (13 November 1910 – 22 May 1990) was a British Army officer and author of history. As a British prisoner of war during the Second World War, he was held captive at Colditz Castle when it was designated Oflag IV-C. Reid wa ...
, directed by
Guy Hamilton Mervyn Ian Guy Hamilton, DSC (16 September 1922 – 20 April 2016) was an English film director. He directed 22 films from the 1950s to the 1980s, including four James Bond films. Early life Hamilton was born in Paris on 16 September 1922, wh ...
for a
British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...
in 1956. It has been called an ''"Outstanding factual World War Two drama about Allied POW's held in Germany's most secure wartime prison."''


Television and TV movies

* '' Escape of the Birdmen'' (1971) was a television movie loosely based on Pat Reid's book. This movie is of note in that it is the first movie based on Pat Reid's books to reference the Colditz glider, devised and built by Bill Goldfinch with Jack Best his partner in the construction. * ''
Colditz Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C POW camp for officers in World War II. Geography Colditz is situated in the Leipzig Bay, southeast of the ...
'' (1972–1974) was a television drama series aired on BBC1 television. It ran for a total of 28 episodes across two seasons, progressing in time from the opening of the camp until its liberation in 1945. The first three episodes of the series acted as an introduction to the plot of the show, and introduced the viewers to the three central characters by following the events that led up to their arrival at the camp. The series was a joint production between the BBC and Universal TV (an American company), but for reasons unknown, it never aired in the United States. Episodes 24 "A Very Important Person" and 25 "Chameleon" did however air in the US as a two-hour TV movie entitled ''Escape From Colditz'', in 1974. A review of the film was printed in the newspaper ''
The News Of The World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national red top tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling English-language newspaper, and at closure still had one o ...
'', which praised it saying: ''"It has all the realism, dignity and courage of the men it commemorates."'' Its more notable actors include
Jack Hedley Jack Snowdon Hawkins (28 October 1929 – 11 December 2021), better known as Jack Hedley, was an English film, voice, radio, stage, character, theater, screen and television actor best known for his performances on television. His birth name n ...
as Lieutenant Colonel John Preston from 1972–74,
Edward Hardwicke Edward Cedric Hardwicke (7 August 1932 – 16 May 2011) was an English actor, who had a distinguished career on the stage and on-screen. He was best known for playing Captain Pat Grant in ''Colditz'' (1972-73), and Dr. Watson in Granada Te ...
as Captain Pat Grant from 1972–73,
Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor of stage, screen, and television. He is known for starring in the television shows '' It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch'' (1975–1978), and ''Hart to Hart'' (1979– ...
as Major Phil Carrington from 1972–74,
David McCallum David Keith McCallum Jr. (born 19 September 1933) is a Scottish actor and musician. He first gained recognition in the 1960s for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television series ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E''. In recent years, McCallum ...
as Flight Lieutenant Simon Carter from 1972–74, and Dan O'Herlihy as Lieutenant Colonel Max Dodd in 1974. * ''Escape from Colditz'' (2001) was a British Channel 4 television documentary. * ''Colditz'' (2005) was a mini-series on
ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...
, based on Henry Chancellor's book ''Colditz: The Definitive History'', directed by Stuart Orme. This tale is much more fictional than its predecessors, with fictional characters and situations that are merely based on real people and events. It features
Jason Priestley Jason Bradford Priestley (born August 28, 1969) is a Canadian actor and television director. He is best known as the virtuous Brandon Walsh on the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–1998, 2000), as Richard "Fitz" Fitzpatrick in t ...
(''
Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran fo ...
'') as Rhett Barker,
James Fox William Fox (born 19 May 1939), known professionally as James Fox, is an English actor. He appeared in several notable films of the 1960s and early 1970s, including '' King Rat'', ''The Servant'', ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' and ''Performanc ...
as Lt. Col. Jimmy Fordham,
Damian Lewis Damian Watcyn Lewis (born 11 February 1971) is an English actor, presenter and producer. He is best known for portraying U.S. Army Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries '' Band of Brothers'', which earned him a Golden Globe nomination ...
('' Band of Brothers'') as Lt. Nicholas McGrade, Tom Hardy ('' Black Hawk Down'') as Lt. Jack Rose,
Sophia Myles Sophia Jane Myles (; born 18 March 1980) is an English actress. She is best known in film for portraying Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward in Thunderbirds (2004 film), ''Thunderbirds'' (2004), Isolde in ''Tristan & Isolde (film), Tristan & Isolde'' (2 ...
('' Thunderbirds'') as Lizzie Carter, Guy Henry as Capt. Sawyer and
Timothy West Timothy Lancaster West, CBE (born 20 October 1934) is an English actor and presenter. He has appeared frequently on both stage and television, including stints in both ''Coronation Street'' (as Eric Babbage) and ''EastEnders'' (as Stan Carter) ...
as Warren. * In
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
's
NOVA A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
documentary series, "''Escape From Nazi Alcatraz''" (Season 41, Episode 12), is about a planned escape by a group of British officers from Colditz Castle.


Fiction

*''The Colditz Legacy'',
Guy Walters Guy Edward Barham Walters (born 8 August 1971) is a British author, historian, and journalist. He is the author and editor of nine books on the Second World War, including war thrillers, and a historical analysis of the Berlin Olympic Games. ...
, Headline, London, 2005, *''Yes, Farewell'', Michael Burn, Jonathan Cape, London, 1946 *''The Narrow Door at Colditz'', Robert L. Wise, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, 2004, *''Revenge of the Damned'', Chris Bunch and Allan Cole, Del Rey Books, New York, 1989, features an escape from a thinly-veiled "Koldyeze prison" clearly modelled on Colditz.


Games

* ''Escape from Castle Colditz'' — a
board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...
from Invicta Games in 1972. * ''
Escape from Colditz ''Escape from Colditz'' is a strategy card and dice-based board game produced by Gibsons Games of London and first released in 1973. The original game box features escape equipment on the lid and has a four section, black plastic internal game ite ...
'' — a board game from
Parker Brothers Parker Brothers (known by Parker outside of North America) was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand of Hasbro. More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883. Among its products wer ...
in 1973. This game was designed by Pat Reid and later re-designed by Gibson Games in the 1980s and as ''Skedaddle!'' by Crowhurst Games in 1992 and re-released again in 2011.Skedaddle! , BoardGameGeek
/ref> * ''Escape from Colditz'' — a 1991 video game developed by Digital Magic for the
Commodore Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...
, was based on the Parker Brothers board game. *''
Prisoner of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
'' has two levels set in Colditz. *'' Commandos 2: Men of Courage'' — the mission, Castle Colditz, is based on the same castle and involves assisting the escape of all allied prisoners in the castle. * The Colditz Story — a 1987 video game published by
Atlantis Software Atlantis Software was a London-based United Kingdom, UK video game, computer games Software publisher, publisher that published a number of games during the 1980s and early 1990s. The company was set up by Michael Cole and Rodger Coghill in Janu ...
for the
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...


Music

*
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
band "Colditz Glider" is named after the construction of a glider to escape Oflag IV-C. The group draws parallels between the prisoners drawn together to escape and the band creating music to escape.


Other media

*The ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' audio play ''
Colditz Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C POW camp for officers in World War II. Geography Colditz is situated in the Leipzig Bay, southeast of the ...
'' by Big Finish is based in Colditz, with the
Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and the final incarnation of the original Doctor Who series. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. W ...
's companion
Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
mentioning several well-known names and escape attempts.


See also

*
MI9 MI9, the British Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 9, was a highly secret department of the War Office between 1939 and 1945. During World War II it had two principal tasks: (1) assisting in the escape of Allied prisoners of war (P ...
*
Christopher Hutton Christopher William Clayton Hutton (1893–1965) a soldier, airman, journalist and inventor, was recruited as an intelligence officer to work for MI9, a branch of the British Military Intelligence, during the Second World War.Hutton, Clayto ...


References


Sources

*


External links


VirtualColditz.com
— Videos and photos of Colditz Castle as it is today.

— Site is predominantly in German, some sections have an English translation.
NOVA "Nazi Prison Escape"
— Homepage to the NOVA TV episode "Nazi Prison Escape"

— Site is in French but has a good list of books available about Colditz and its POW's.

— Links to resources about German POW's and has links to obituaries for some former prisoners.
''Escape to Colditz'' by Andrew Walker
—
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
News Magazine 8 August 2003.
ColditzCastle.Net Oflag IVc & Colditz
— A definitive history & guide to visiting: large photo gallery, then & now
Colditz Castle Oflag IVC
— English language tour and history of Colditz.

— Channel 4 web game whose object is to escape from Colditz Castle.
The Colditz Prison Escape Glider
— How to make your own Colditz Glider with plans.

— Site with additional information and many links
Karl Höffkes German film archive
Newsreel from a private archive: Two minutes of film of the castle and prisoners starts at timestamp 10:14:37


POW memoirs



— About Captain Birendra Nath Mazumdar M.D. the only Indian POW at Colditz.

— Site is predominantly in French, some sections have an English translation.

— The Escape of Flight Lieutenant Wardle R.A.F From Colditz Castle.

— This is an exhibition of the watercolours of Pierre Lelong showing daily life at Oflag IVc. These watercolours seem "sanitized" and may have been censored by the German guards.


Audio interviews

From the
Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...
(IWM) oral history collection: * :Tucki was a Polish officer served with 44th Infantry Regt in Poland, 1939; POW in Oflag VII A, Murnau, Germany, 1939–1941; escaped to Hungary, 1941 and returned to German captivity; POW in Oflag IV C, Colditz, Oflag 10 C Lubeck and Oflag 6 B, Dessel in Germany, 1942–1945 * :
Lorne Welch Patrick Palles Lorne Elphinstone Welch, (12 August 1916 – 15 May 1998), known as Lorne Welch, was a British engineer, pilot and Colditz prisoner of war. He was educated at Stowe School and became an engineer and then an engine test flight o ...
was a British NCO flying instructor in GB, 1938–1942; officer with 25 Operation Training Unit, RAF in GB, 1942; POW at Stalag Luft III, Sagan and Oflag IV C, Colditz in Germany, 1943–1945 * :Dominic Bruce served as navigator with Bomber Command, 1939–1941; POW in Spangenburg Castle and Oflag IV C, Colditz in Germany, 1941–1945 From all IWM collections: * *


Prisoner obituaries

* James de Deane Yule: September 17, 1916 – December 25, 2000 â€
obituary
* John William Best: 1913 – April 22, 2000 â€
John William Best
*
Dominic Bruce Dominic Bruce, (7 June 1915 – 12 February 2000) was a British Royal Air Force officer, known as the "Medium Sized Man." He has been described as "the most ingenious escaper" of the Second World War. He made seventeen attempts at escaping from ...
: June 7, 1915 – February 12, 2000 â€
obituary
*
Hugh Bruce Hugh Glenrinnes Bruce (26 January 1919 – 9 January 2003) was a prisoner of war in Colditz Castle and later commanding officer of the Special Boat Service. Early life Hugh Glenrinnes Bruce was born at Mhow in India, where his father was serving ...
: January 26, 1919 – January 9, 2003 â€
obituary
* James Hugh Cecil (Jim) Chesshire: December 28, 1916 – October, 2000 â€

* Hugo Ironside: June 14, 1918 – October 3, 2008 â€
obituary
* Douggie Moir: August 24, 1918 – May 6, 2008 â€

*
Francis Steinmetz Francis Steinmetz (20 September 1914 – 2 January 2006) was an officer in the Royal Netherlands Navy who escaped from Oflag IV-C, Colditz Castle, a German POW camp, during World War II, making a "home run" to safety. Early life Steinmetz was b ...
: 20 September 1914 – 2 January 2006 â€
obituary
*
Pete Tunstall Peter David Tunstall (1 December 1918 – 27 July 2013) was a squadron leader in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and a prisoner of war (POW) held at Colditz Castle. He holds the record for the most time spent by an Allied POW ...
: 1 December 1918 – 27 July 2013 â€
obituary
* Patrick Palles Lorne Elphinstone Welch: 12 August 1916 – 15 May 1998 â€
obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oflag Iv-C Oflags Colditz Castle