I Didn't Know We Were Close to Colditz
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325758)
Rockingham, Australia
January 18, 2016 6:00am CST
Early in August 2015 we were travelling through the Czech Republic in our motor-home. We were now heading back towards Germany and we were due to meet an old young friend (!) in Leipzig on 5 August. General impressions of the Czech Republic was that it was a poorer region than many we had passed through.
There was lots of broad acre farming. Old buildings had not been restored but had obviously once been very beautiful. We stayed the night at a camping site near a big public swimming pool, and found ourselves within a very short distance of Colditz Castle.
Colditz Castle is a Renaissance castle which gained international fame during World War II as a prisoner-of-war camp for those who had repeatedly attempted escape from other camps. However it had one of the highest records of successful escape attempts, probably because of the determination of those within to escape. Colditz was the camp on which the film 'the Great Escape' was modelled. Sir Douglas Bader was one of its inmates. Articles on both Colditz Castle and the 'great escape' make fascinating reading.
Nowadays the castle is open to visitors with guided tours showing tourists where cleverly hidden tunnels allowed prisoner to make their bids for freedom. The guards' quarters have been converted into a youth hostel. Have you seen the film 'The Great Escape'?
I created this video with the YouTube Slideshow Creator (http://www.youtube.com/upload)
14 people like this
17 responses
@JudyEv (325758)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Jan 16
I forgot to add in the story that they were excavating an old horse swimming pool in the courtyard which was used when horses came back covered in mud after hunting expeditions (not sure which century this was). The pool was filled with warm water and the horses walked into it.
3 people like this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
18 Jan 16
the true stories from Colditz are astonishing - prisoners were even building a glider to escape by when they were liberated
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@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
19 Jan 16
@JudyEv Bader's story is one of the most amazing from the whole war
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@JudyEv (325758)
• Rockingham, Australia
19 Jan 16
It's quite fascinating. After the war, some men made a glider similar to what was being planned and reckoned it might have been successful. And after the 'big escape' which didn't quite work, the Germans did an inventory of their stores and there was a whole heap of stuff missing. It makes very interesting reading. There is a journal extract in Colditz about a soccer/rugby match and Bader was goal-keeper.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325758)
• Rockingham, Australia
19 Jan 16
@arthurchappell I should go back and research it but didn't his batman parachute with him into enemy territory or whatever?
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@iamshane487 (1139)
• Manila, Philippines
18 Jan 16
I have heard it many times, but not been there. It's really a historical place!
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@iamshane487 (1139)
• Manila, Philippines
18 Jan 16
@JudyEv that was terrible! There are many cases that become viral on the other media networking sites about the escaping prisoners that failed.
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@JudyEv (325758)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Jan 16
It was the only way we could afford to stay away so long. We bought the motor-home in Ireland then ferried it to the continent. There were plenty of caravan parks, etc all the way.
@moffittjc (118442)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Jan 16
Even though the movie came out decades before my time, I remember watching it multiple times as a child. It was one of my favorite movies. It starred Steve McQueen, and if I remember correctly, also had Charles Bronson, James Garner and James Coburn in it. Those were (and still are) some of my favorite actors!
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@moffittjc (118442)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Jan 16
@JudyEv I went back today and looked it up to make sure I had the right actors, and yes, I remembered correctly! I can't believe my memory was that good, considering I watched that movie as a kid and hadn't seen it in probably 30 years!
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@JudyEv (325758)
• Rockingham, Australia
21 Jan 16
@moffittjc It must have had a real impact on you!
@DianneN (246819)
• United States
18 Jan 16
I have seen the film. I love to read anything and see films about the great wars. I didn't see that when we visited the Czech Republic. My son visited many of the camps and castles on his travels, but I will ask him if he visited Colditz Castle. I will look at your video now. Thanks for sharing.
1 person likes this
@tuttiharris (1338)
• Chattanooga, Tennessee
21 Jan 16
Oh my, love your video, and love the castle, would love to go through it. We have a big estate here in NC in the states we visit pretty often. It was the Home of the Biltmores, and it is humongous. I love going there and walking through it and the land around it. It is absolutely aswesome. thank you so much for the video.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325758)
• Rockingham, Australia
21 Jan 16
Glad you liked it. Some of these old estates were massive weren't they? Impossible to own without having servants though!
@rebelann (111174)
• El Paso, Texas
23 Jan 16
Nice slideshow, I've only seen Frankfort Germany but that was way back in the late 1950s and I was between 6 to 9, the only thing I remember is the church steeple because the bells were ringing.
@JudyEv (325758)
• Rockingham, Australia
19 Jan 16
The Germans were quite sure that prisoners wouldn't be able to escape but they were wrong.
