No Escape from Colditz - or so they thought

Tweet

When we were travelling through Germany in a motor-home in 2015 we unexpectedly came across the town of Colditz and its castle which dates back to the Middle Ages. The castle become known internationally when it became a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II. Allied officers who had repeatedly escaped from other camps were held there as it was believed to be almost impossible to escape from the place. A large German garrison occupied the larger outer court and the prisoners lived in an adjacent courtyard building. The official name was Oflag IV-C. Despite being so fortified, it had one of the highest records of successful escape attempts. Its history makes fascinating reading. Among the informational signs within the museum is a list of hundreds of items secreted from supplies and used in escape attempts. Maybe guards became slack believing escape was not an option. There was even a glider in production in one of the more remote areas of the castle. Plans were smuggled out at the end of the war and the glider later recreated, It was found that it would have been capable of playing its part in an escape attempt. Among the occupants were Douglas Bader, British flying ace and double amputee, Desmond Llewleyn who later played Q in 17 James Bond movies, Airey Neave, Conservative MP, and David Stirling, founder of the SAS. The castle is now open to the public and we met a very friendly and interesting Scotsman there who is a volunteer. There is a museum, guided tours are conducted and the chapel has been impressively restored. Glass panels in the flag stone floor reveal the escape tunnel dug by French escapees. The outer courtyard and guard quarters are now used as a youth hostel and hotel.