Colditz: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes [Hardcover]

Henry Chancellor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 22, 2002

Breathtaking and mesmerizing, Colditz: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes is a gripping tale of perseverance, heroism, and adventure. Filled with the thrilling never-before-told personal stories of the prisoners of war held within it's walls -- who made it their personal duty and obsession to escape -- Colditz offers endlessly intriguing stories of consummate survivors who proved the human spirit to be indomitable.

During World War II Colditz, a medieval fortress, served as the only high-security camp in Germany. Its massive walls contained every persistent escapee, troublemaker, and valuable hostage captured by the Germans. Guards and prisoners were almost equal in number, and Colditz -- which boasted such prison-break deterrents as walls up to twelve feet thick, battlements of solid rock, and a 150-foot drop from the castle to the valley below -- was considered escape proof. But the prisoners -- many of whom were high-ranking military officers -- were determined to accomplish the impossible and pooled their collective talents to create the greatest escape academy of the war. Three hundred officers attempted to escape and thirty achieved what they considered to be the home run, journeying all the way back to their native country.

In Colditz, Henry Chancellor breaks new ground by offering the prisoners' own stories of the great escapes. Using more than fifty original interviews, the English, French, Dutch, and Polish officers and their guards describe in their own words their experiences in the notorious castle. They reveal their boredom and frustrations, as well as the challenges inherent in making maps out of jelly or constructing tunnels with mere cutlery knives. The stories are by turns comic and tragic as much of their labor and invention ended in failure, but what emerges is a story of breathtaking ingenuity and daring, and an intriguing portrait of the fascinating game of wits between captives and captors, who were bound together by mutual respect and extraordinary tolerance.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Colditz, based on author Henry Chancellor's television documentary series, tells the story of the German high security prison camp (a 700-room castle), which during World War II housed the most dangerous (i.e. escape-prone) Allied POWs. The men, officers all, were mandated by the Geneva Convention to escape. There were, over the course of the war, 310 such attempts, 32 of them successful. Colditz is a comprehensive overview. While not neglecting daily prison existence (a world replete with boredom, privation, and occasional acts of treachery), it is strongest recounting the prisoners' many efforts to outwit their captors, occasions of astonishing energy and guile. The prisoners not only dug, climbed, and vaulted their way to freedom, but concocted elaborate disguises, false documents, and on one occasion built a working glider. Chancellor's is an accessible, reliable tale of invention, bravery, and determination. --H. O'Billovitch

From Publishers Weekly

British filmmaker Chancellor's nonfiction debut is a comprehensive history of the medieval castle turned into a German WWII prisoner-of-war camp. Besides the expected escape stories, 15 years of research has yielded a well-written narrative that covers the perspective of both prisoners and warders. Everyday features of life included the "ghosts" of Colditz, meaning POWs who hid from the Germans within the castle and took the place of escaping prisoners at roll calls; "goon-baiting," the regular taunting of guards by prisoners; prisoners who could open every door in the prison, and did, in order to make life more palatable; and a surprisingly complex system of coding the POWs developed to use in the letters they sent home. Successful escapes and unsuccessful attempts by a variety of means, including tunnels, impersonation of German guards and vaulting over fences, are described in detail. The unsuccessful are often more compelling than the successful "home runs." Firsthand accounts, from among 80 interviews as well as memoirs, are woven into the narrative; the emphasis on British escapes in many earlier works is augmented by accounts of escapes by French, Dutch and Polish prisoners. The perspective of German guards who thwarted many innovative escape attempts provides even better understanding. (Jan.)Forecast: This book is a companion piece to a previously aired film documentary series of the same name. Reruns could boost sales if the book is mentioned onscreen; otherwise, sales will probably be limited to buffs and, because of the firsthand accounts, scholars.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (January 22, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060012528
• ISBN-13: 978-0060012526
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #542,945 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting & Thorough History, April 9, 2002

By 

John P. Rooney "John" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Colditz: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes (Hardcover)

"Colditz", by Henry Chancellor, sub-titled "The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes". William Morrow, 2001.

This is a lengthy and well-documented book, telling the story of the "recalcitrant" Allied prisoners who were remanded to Colditz Castle in eastern Germany during World War II. The purpose of using Colditz castle as a prison camp was, as is well known, to provide a camp from which no prisoner could escape. As a last resort, "recalcitrant" prisoners, who had already shown a strong inclination to escape from other camps of the Nazis, were transferred to Colditz, deep in the eastern reaches of the Reich. The theory was that the prisoners could not get out of the high castle and, even if they did, they had great distances between them and freedom. Of course, all these efforts did not work, and Henry Chancellor spins 391 pages of the tales of the many different escape schemes. He devotes an Appendix, of eleven pages, to listing the names of he prisoners who attempted to escape , their methods, and the results. Overall, Mr. Chancellor lists "...316 officers involved in 174 attempts"... with 32 successful escapes, i.e. reaching freedom in neutral or Allied countries. Perhaps the most unbelievable scheme was the actual construction of a glider in the chapel attic, for escape by using the winds caused by the castle's location in the mountains. Chancellor documents this effort with photographs of the actual glider.

The book is an even-handed treatment of all nationalities involved; the author even-goes so far as to interviewing the German guards who served at Colditz. Polish POWs were first imprisoned at Colditz castle, and then, along with the fortunes of war, came French and British officers. Much of the story is about these three groups. Years ago, as a young boy, I had read Paul Brickhill's "The Great Escape", and I was later surprised by the (artistic license)changes made in the picture of the same name. In this book, however, Americans are noted, but Americans played a minor role as they arrived too late in the war for any escape attempts.

Since this book is based upon a television documentary, there are three batches of interesting photos. Overall, the book is well written and interesting.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just for Serious Buffs, April 11, 2002

By 

DL Simmons (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colditz: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes (Hardcover)

I thoroughly enjoyed the read even though I had neither seen the companion documentary nor am a serious student of the subject matter. After reading this book, I do very much want to see the documentary and hope that PBS repeats it in the near future. The book is an engrossing, informative and quick read that paints a vivid portrait of life in this unique prisoner of war camp. It wasn't "Hogan's Heros", but it did have its lighter moments, and apparently the men here were treated reasonably well by their German captors who scrupulously adhered to the rules of the Geneva Convention. It was, however, a prisoner of war camp with all its incumbent privations and limitations, so the planning and executing of escapes was the rule of the day. What I particularly appreciate about the book is that it goes into almost scholarly detail on some of the more elaborate escape attempts without getting so esoteric as to lose the more casual reader's attention. Chancellor proves himself to be a deft writer with a light touch who really did his homework here. What emerges is a detailed account of some truly ingenious methodology developed within very severe limitations. MacGyver had nothing on these guys. It was also gratifying to see that the Germans were also treated even handedly in the book. In many cases, they appeared to show amazing and, if we are to believe the stereotypes, uncharacteristic restraint. In fact, I am so interested in finding out what was going on in their minds, I just ordered, "Colditz: The German Story" by Reinhold Eggers who was head of security there.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reads like a novel!, February 2, 2010

By 

Thomas J. Vit Jr. (Fort Dodge, IA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Colditz: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes (Hardcover)

I just finished up this book and felt I just had to write a review. I thought it was interesting, and entertaining start to finish. It reads like a novel, and I even dfound myself laughing at the antics involved.

The ingenuity, planning, fearlessness, and in some cases blatant disregard for one's safety was amazing. It was mind-boggling difficulties involved in not only escaping the castle Colditz, but escaping Nazi-occupied Europe in general. It put alot of things into context, as one cannot simply "boy-scout" it throught the hills and woods to the Swiss border. Indeed, an escaper's journey was only starting once he left the walls of Colditz.

I second at least one previous reviewer that this book is not just for hardcore history readers. Theres something in it for everybody.