Prisoners of the Castle: An Epic Story of Survival and … (2024)

The Great Escape is a fairly well-known movie with a star-studded cast. It is set in a POW camp in Poland and portrays the real-life audacious escape attempt of 76 Allied airmen during WWII. A different POW camp in Germany was Colditz Castle. It was supposed to be the most secure German POW camp so was specifically used as the prison of last resort for Allied officers who had previously attempted escape or were otherwise high risk. Despite the designation of "escape proof," Colditz turned out to be the ideal camp for escape-inclined Allied prisoners. With so many escape-prone prisoners housed together it was inevitable that they would plan escapes. They organized and created an "escape committee" which arranged the details of each escape, including who would produce or procure money, tools, maps, disguises or any other required materials. They also organized the dates of escapes so that one group did not interfere with another.

Solitary confinement was the only consequence for escape attempts. Though that is bad enough, the Geneva Convention laws were followed at Colditz so there were no summary executions. The German security officers recognized that it was the duty of the Allied POWs to try to escape and that their own job was to try to stop them. This respectful attitude permeated everyone's life at the camp including prisoner-guard interactions.

I found the ingenious and audacious escapes fascinating and often humorous. But getting out of the camp was only half of the battle. Getting across the German border undetected was a whole other matter. Accounts of the escapees who got beyond the gates read like real-life thrillers. A WWII camp in which German officers treat Allied officers with decency is a world I am glad to know about. I can't quite say that this is a feel-good or fun book but relative to anything else I've read about WWII it is both of those at times. Simply reading the Wiki page about Colditz and the incredible number of inventive schemes is enough to put a smile on my face.

With Prisoners of the Castle we learn about the wily World War II prisoners of Colditz, and their ceaseless breakout attempts - told with the adulation and humor only warranted by a vivaciousness such as theirs. Astonishing triumphs of industry and inventiveness are clarified. For example, we learn some of methods this group of clever men utilized to spy on the Allies from prison.
Naturally, despondency is always close at hand, as efforts to escape backslide, hopelessness lingers. In addition, as WWII continues to rampage, profound severances of class, religion, race and rank frequently shape an environment which makes living behind bars even more punishing. Be that as it may, these men never allow their spirts to be completely snuffed out. The ways in which they frequently worked in unison - in lieu of diversities and any misgivings - provides many lighthearted and inspiring moments for the listener/reader.
With Prisoners of the Castle, Mr. Macintyre does a superlative job in bringing a very important moment in history to the forefront. I learned so much without feeling like I was being taught - thanks to his talents as a gifted wordsmith. He also does a phenomenal job as narrator, and is clearly one of those rare authors who shines as both writer and voice of his novels. Much thanks and kudos.

Colditz, the medieval castle, located in the state of Saxony in Germany, is probably the most famous of the Nazi's POW camps in WWII..........so well known that films have been made about it (although usually fictional). Those Allied prisoners held there were known as "difficult" because they had escaped or attempted to escape from other camps. Colditz was meant to be totally secure and the Nazis were sure that no one would ever break those bonds. Oh, were they wrong!

This book covers, not only the successful escapes but also the many unsuccessful attempts (and there were many). The prisoners were determined and some of their efforts were quite daring, inventive, and amazing. The author delves into the lives and personalities of these brave men and those of the Nazis who were in charge of the camp. The treatment of the prisoners was fairly humane except for solitary confinement and boredom was basically the worst part of the experience.

The population was comprised of Americans, Dutch, French and Polish and the groups tried to keep each other informed of their escape plans and shared ideas. At one point they even constructed a glider but the camp was liberated before it could be used.

There is so much more in this book that it can't all be covered, nor should be, in a review. Needless to say, it is extremely interesting and well written. I highly recommend it

I listened to the audiobook with Simon. They say that truth is stranger than fiction.... This is an amazing book full of incredible true stories of escape, or many attempted escapes of prisoners of war from the notorious castle prison of Colditz. I'm not sure that Colditz is as well know in the U.S.A. In the U.K. it was entrenched in our culture and truly inspired fear.

Ben Macintyre has written a truly gripping account of the inhabitants of Colditz both the German guards and the multi-national prisoners. Narration is also provide by the author, and is amazing. We enjoyed our time listening together over many evenings and remained enthralled throughout.

Quotes:
"Of the 35,000 Allied troops who made their way to safety from captivity or after being shot down about half were carrying one of Hutton's maps."

"Christopher Clayton Hutton's bizarre achievements prove that war is not solely a matter of bombs, bullets and battlefield bravery. They also serve who work out how to hide a compass inside a walnut."

About Douglas Bader: "Each Camp Commandant was deluged with requests from local bigwigs who wanted a chance to see him. A German poster was printed describing his distinctive stiff legged gait in case he should escape again. He was a captive of his own notoriety. Bader was [...] an incorrigible prisoner and a valuable propaganda prize. Germany's highest security prisoner of war camp was the obvious place to put him. This then was the warrior celebrity saluted by the admiring German sentries as he clumped into Colditz on the 18th of August, 1942. A man with legs of tin, a heart of oak and feet of clay."

"After two and a half years, the Whermacht reached the belated conclusion that it was a mistake to cram all the most recalcitrant prisoners of every allied nation into one place. Instead of dampening rebellion, the chemistry of international competition and collaboration had made the place even harder to police."

For four years during WWII, Colditz Castle in Germany was a prison for Allied officers (and some lower ranking prisoners who served as their orderlies). These officers were the incorrigible ones - the ones who had escaped before and intended to do so again. The head of the prison was a former school teacher, who knew that putting all of the bad boys in the same class was not a good idea, but he followed the rules for the treatment of military prisoners. His job was to keep them imprisoned and their job was to escape. There were constant, and very creative, escape attempts utilizing tunnels, disguises, forged papers and even hiding in a mattress. Many escaped but most were returned to the prison. Many of the prisoners also found inventive ways to get under the skin of their captors. The end of the book explains what happened to a lot of the people featured in the book.

There was a definite cinematic feel to this book. That is understandable since the story of Coldwitz has been the basis for movies and a TV series. Interviews that were recorded with survivors for the TV series were an invaluable resource for the author. He also used autobiographies written by many of the survivors and also by the head of the prison. This was a very interesting and entertaining book, and the author did a very good job narrating the audiobook.

I knew about this prisoner of war camp from having read and reread and loved Reach for the Sky, a book about Douglas Bader. He not surprisingly makes an appearance in this book and not a flattering one. There is an entire chapter about him and he’s also included in some of the rest of the narrative. It turns out that the book I loved (and still own though maybe not for long) was full of propaganda along with the truth. Almost all this book’s contents were new to me. I learned a lot. I was flabbergasted by a lot of the information. The glider was amazing! I’m so glad that the famous woman journalist took the only photo of it and that the photo was included in the book. When reading I had no idea it would look as good as it did. There were so many other details of the camp and related to the camp that struck me. Even Audrey Hepburn makes a fleeting secondhand appearance.

This is a comprehensive book about its subject. I can’t imagine any more details could be included. I have to give it 5 stars since it’s such a perfect book about Colditz. A half star off because even though it sometimes read like a thriller and was mostly interesting, at times it read slowly and was close to boring with all the minutiae. 4-1/2 stars The account is given (almost) chronologically and I think doing that was a good choice.

Included are wonderful photos and maps and drawings! The book wouldn’t feel as complete without them. This is a superb book.

We first meet the POWs of Colditz as they try their hand at an escape attempt they have been cooking up for several months. The false German uniform had been made, the travel passes had been created, and photographic passports had been produced by clever means. All that was left to do was complete the plan and walk through the gates of one of the most daunting prison camps in the world.

Author Ben Macintyre writes this heavily laden prisoner escape book with great detail, putting you in the mind of the POW’s, their captors, and those trying to help from the outside. This book is packed to the brim with escape attempts, so I thought I would just list some clever things to look out for if you were curious about reading it.

❖ Most of the POW’s had skills to contribute to the daily escape attempts. There were magicians, card sharks, pole vaulters, theater actors, famous ace pilots, electricians, rugby players, charmers, and more.
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❖ Some clever bits include stealing a key, pressing into a bar of soap, and melting tin gathered from the roof to fashion keys to help them in their escape attempts.
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❖ The French had the first few successful attempts. Some vaulted over the wire and climbed the walls, while others dressed up and walked out during a large sporting match.
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❖ It was quite obvious at first that the flaw of Colditz was not in the architecture but in the humans that occupied it.
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❖ As attempts mounted, so did the security. Roll call was confirmed more frequently to stimy tunnel digging, extra lights were added, and gun placements were moved to areas of high activity.
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❖ Since mail was allowed, there was a marriage that took place using photos and vows sent over the wire.
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❖ The prisoners started to devise new ways of combating the constant stifling of their escape attempts by attacking the guard’s psychology. They would roam around the grounds, acting like they were walking dogs or pushing around rocks using their noses. The captors thought they were a bit contrived, but even a slight bit of misdirection would help conceal an attempt in another area.
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❖ A radio was produced so they could keep up-to-date with what was happening on the outside. Magazines of the front were pilfered from guards. This gave the POWs ideas on how others were trying to escape from their respective prisons.
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Food was used as a bartering chip, and they used some of the rations to make drinks. Alcohol production was made using the strangest of ingredients. One of them was a batch flavored with aftershave. It was said to have eaten a hole in the bottom of the plastic container it sat in overnight. Most officers could stomach this variety, but they succumbed to cataclysmic headaches, blurred vision, discolored teeth, and so on. It was not discouraged because it kept morale up, and any prisoner who was inebriated was easier to manage.

|| "Our cross is the curse of waiting." ||

Some chapters are short and filled with details on attempts of varying degrees, while others dig deep into those who had a great impact on their success in escaping. One of those heroic people was Mrs. Markowska.

Mrs. Markowska, also known as Jane Walker, was an agent of British intelligence and a lead associate in the Polish underground. She would shelter escaped British POWs and help smuggle them to safety. She was extremely intelligent and a supreme asset because she spoke German, French, and Polish. Her intolerant and sympathetic behavior was endearing to the escapees, and she treated each one like her own children. She was known for giving the POW’s pep talks, medical treatments, and formal dinners. The POW’s adored her and often times said they loved her.

Another was Douglas Bader, a double-amputee flying ace who inspired the RAF and was deemed by the Daily Mirror as “The Greatest Hero of Them All.” He was courageous and famous, and he became a poster boy for inflight antics. It shined a beacon of light on what is possible and how one can help with the war effort, even if they have a disability. On an offensive, Bader’s plane was hit, and the fuselage tore away from the back. As the plane careened toward the Earth, he removed the Spitfires canopy, but he was not able to get out because his prosthetic leg was caught on the controls. Right before he lost consciousness, he ripped the parachute, and the force disconnected his leg. He floated to the ground with only a few broken ribs. The German captors were so enamored with his condition that they asked the RAF to send them a new leg so he could walk again. After approval from the higher-ups, they named it “Operation Leg.” Now with functioning legs, Bader tried to escape multiple times but always had issues with his leg. He would then find himself in Colditz, where his disregard and insolence for authority kept on.

I would recommend this book to history buffs and WW readers alike. It tells quite a few enduring and humbling stories about those poor, brave souls who had to endure the camps for years.

|| "The day of freedom is not set by judge or jury, but by events in a distant theater of conflict." ||

❖ Iron Maiden – Run to the Hills
❖ Black Sabbath – War Pigs
❖ Elmer Bernstein – The Great Escape Theme
❖ Hans Zimmer – The Village

Survival and escape from the Nazi fortress prison

I don't know if non-fiction thriller is a legitimate genre but if it is, Ben MacIntyre would be the Stephen King of it. In this book MacIntyre takes on the iconic nazi-castle of Colditz, where high ranking Allied prisoners or prisoners that tried repeatedly to escape, were guarded by the Wehrmacht, which mostly abided by the rules of the Geneva Conventions. In one instance, after succesfully escaping to France, the Germans dutifully sent his suitcase after him.

It is a strange paradox that the Germans decided to lock up the prisoners in a medieval castle, full of unknown passages, drains, cellars and abandoned sections, where medieval doors could be easily picked.

Most of the time therefore is devoted to escape attempts in which creative prisoners tried all sorts of ways to escape - but almost all failed. Not only the attempts itself, but also the perilous journey to the Swiss border, some 400 miles away, gets it due attention.

The prisoners self, almost exclusively English, although there were also some small contingents of Polish, French and Dutch prisoner, were mostly all upper class, who treated the enlisted man who served them with disdain. The French were antisemitic and preferred Pétain to de Gaulle. The Dutch, clean and orderly, were described by the Germans as model prisoners but in fact this was al a calculated sham - no Dutchman would ever bow to the Germans and in fact they were the most successful in their escape attempts, probably aided by the fact that they all spoke German.

Prisoner abuse was rare, and in fact the German prison guard tended to be older non-combatants of World War I. In the later war years, the prisoners were actually better fed than the guards, thanks to the Red Cross packages being sent to them.

MacIntyre writes an entertaining story but sticks to the facts. The prisoners were fed, well treated and - especially compared to other POW camps - had a better chance of survival. He doesn't romanticise the story, which perhaps happened in the Colditz folklore immediate after the war, but also points out the negative aspects of the prisoners and the hardships they endured.

What rests is a vivid portrayal of the iconic castle and its inhabitants. An enjoyable read for everyone, even if you are not a World War 2 buff.

Interesting new book looking at the history of Colditz when it was home to various different POW's during WW2 and the characters involved some well known others not so. learnt some new things about the castle which didn't know beforehand

If one is interested in spy craft and traitors during World War II and the Cold War there are few authors that have produced more satisfying works than Ben Macintyre. Macintyre is a writer-at-large for The Times (U.K.) and has written monographs whose narratives include the history of the British SAS; deceptions that encompass plans to misinform the Nazis in the lead up to the invasions of Sicily and D-Day; well-known spies such as Kim Philby, Oleg Gordievsky, the woman known as Agent Sonya, Eddie Chapman; and his latest the escapees from the Nazi fortress, Colditz. Whether describing and analyzing the actions of double agents loyal to the United States, Britain, or Russia or other topics, Macintyre’s approach to conveying espionage history is clear, concise, entertaining, and remarkably well written. All books are based on sound research and his readers will welcome his latest effort PRISONERS OF THE CASTLE: AN EPIC STORY OF SURVIVAL AND ESCAPE FROM COLDITZ, THE NAZIS FORTRESS PRISON.

As in all of his books. PRISONER OF THE CASTLE tackles subject matter with gusto and goes beyond the conventional story that may have been told before. In his latest effort he breathes new life into one of the greatest war stories ever told as over a period of four years allied prisoners tried to escape the impregnable Nazi fortress. Macintyre traces the evolution of World War II from within the prison to the point of liberation when inmates feared their rescue would not come quickly enough to save them. As described by the author, the prisoners were an amalgam of self-identified “communists, scientists, hom*osexuals, women, aesthetes and philistines, aristocrats, spies, workers, poets, and traitors” who created their own replica of pre-war society and culture within the prison as a means of survival.

There are two components that dominate Macintyre’s monograph; the replica of the British social class structure that dominated prison life, and the integration of an eclectic and diverse group of prisoners whether British, Dutch, French, Polish, or American. There are other themes that the author introduces that include the Nazi leadership that ran Colditz, the ebbs and flows of the war which prisoners were able to keep up with by building a surreptitious radio, the planning of escapes and what happened to the escapees, the plight of Prominente – a group of influential and famous prisoners whom the Nazis sought to maximize a return, and how Berlin reacted to what was occurring in the prison.

Running through the heart of Colditz ran a wide and almost unbridgeable social class divide. This was a camp for captured officers, but it also consisted of a fluctuating population of orderlies, and prisoners of other ranks who performed menial tasks for the Germans, but also served as personal servants for officers. Only officers were allowed to take part in escape attempts and orderlies were not expected to assist them. No orderly tried to escape because if caught the consequences could be devastating. If an officer was caught he was returned to the prison usually unharmed. There was a working class of soldiers and orderlies, and an upper class of officers, reflecting the class structure of the time.

The officers had a British “boarding school mentality.” They tried to recreate the traditions of Eton and other private schools coopting behaviors such as bullying, enslaving individuals on the lower rung of society, “goon-baiting” Germans, and diverse types of entertainment. Those who did not attend a boarding school were rarely included.

Macintyre describes the prison infrastructure that the prisoners studied assiduously to determine weak points and when they might escape. For most prisoners escaping became their life’s work and interestingly the different nationalities kept a score card highlighting successful escapes. The food was abysmal, but edible and it was offset by Red Cross packages of food, clothing, toiletries and other important items. Many packages contained objects hidden in food and other articles that might assist an escape. Prisoners cooperated in digging tunnels, one of which was known as Le Metro dug mostly by the French, performing logistics, obtaining and making tools, and often attempted an escape that involved a substantial number of men. On the other hand, there were prisoners who worked alone and wanted no part of being in a group. The prisoners created numerous committees to regulate prisoner life and tried to produce a sense of normality. One in particular was most important – if a prisoner wanted to try to escape he needed the approval of an Escape Committee headed by the highest ranking officers.

Macintyre’s attention to detail is a strength of the book. He delves into strategies developed and objects needed, i.e.; the “arse keeper,” a cylinder to hide money, small tools and other objects in one’s anatomy was most creative. The prisoners were geniuses in developing tactics to confuse their captors, and instruments that were used to make their escape attempts possible, including a glider that was completely built, but never used.. The author also includes how prisoners tried to keep themselves sane by developing their own entertainment. They set up theater performances, choirs, concerts, bands, jazz ensembles, plays etc. Sanity was a major issue and for those who remained at Colditz for years PTSD was definitely an issue.

The characters Macintyre describes are a diverse and fascinating group. The following stand out. Alain Le Ray, a French Lieutenant in an elite mountain infantry force, and a self-contained individual who planned and tried to execute numerous escapes. Captain Pat Reid, a gregarious member of the British Royal Service Corps who shared his plans and was involved in many escape attempts. Joseph Ellison Platt, a self-righteous Methodist preacher tried, and usually failed to keep prisoners on the straight and narrow. Airey Neave, wounded at Calais used planning escapes as a tool to ease his depression. He would finally escape and work for MI9 to assist other prisoners. Birendranath Mazumdar, an Indian doctor and an officer who was treated poorly by his British “allies” reflecting the racist attitudes of British officers. He turned down working for the Germans but was still a victim of his compatriots. Giles Romilly, a nephew by marriage of Winston Churchill, was a journalist and communist captured in Norway. Christopher Layton Hutton designed and developed numerous escape kits and other inventions for prisoners. Michael Sinclair escaped from Poland who was obsessed with escaping and reuniting with the Anglo-Polish Society, a secret resistance network – he would make seven escape attempts, dying on the last one. Julius Green, a Jewish dentist from Glasgow developed the most prolific code-letter system and treated Nazi patients who disclosed valuable information that he was able to forward to the right authorities. Checko Chalovpka, a Czech pilot whose affair with Irmgard Wernicke, a dental assistant in town who was a spy who fed information provoked awe. Walter Purdy, a British supporter of Oswald Mosley turned against his fellow prisoners and made radio speeches condemning the allies – his fellow prisoners wanted to lynch him. Wing Commander Douglas Bader, a double amputee fighter pilot who was held in high esteem by most prisoners. Lee Carson, a beautiful and fearless journalist who traveled with American troops, who was known as the “Rhine Maiden.” There are also important Nazi figures highlighted by Lt. Reinhold Eggers, the Supreme Security Chief at Colditz who tried to be fair to the prisoners and was often overruled. Eggers is extremely important in that he maintained a written history of the camp that Macintyre had access to. Eggers appears almost as a background narrator of the story presenting his battle with prisoners and the thinking of the German occupiers.

The turning point for prisoners came after D-Day. As long as the German Army was in charge of the camp treatment was palatable. However, as the war turned after D-Day and the July 1944 Plot that failed to assassinate Hitler more and more the SS and the Gestapo under Heinrich Himmler took over the camp. Escapees were warned, if you were captured you would be shot, not just returned to the barracks as before.

I agree with Andrea Pitzer’s September 29, 2022, Washington Post review as she writes, “Macintyre tells the story of the POW camp that had more escape attempts than any other during World War II. He parades a brigade of officers, some of whom have since been lionized or found postwar fame through film, television and multiple books. Ultimately, Macintyre offers a more complete and complex account than is typical in popular histories from the Nazi era. Read in that light, this is less a fairy tale than an honest account of heroic but fallible men in captivity, made more compelling through the acknowledgment of their flaws and failures.”

The strength of the book lies with Macintyre’s unique ability to weave a story involving so many different characters, not allowing individuals to get in the way of his material. Macintyre writes as if he is aware that his story is not a literary one, but a recounting the stories of many important men and stitching together their experiences from the disparate historical record.

This is an excellent account of Colditz, a special prisoner of war camp for special prisoners. These included those who had escaped from other camps, as well asthose who could be used as possible bargaining chips (minor members of the Royal Family, Churchill's nephew and others). Colditz was meant to be completely safe, impregnable and impossible to escape from. Of course, this did not quite work out to be the case.

Although this has incredible accounts of those who tried to escape, often successfully, it is also the story of a very unique prisoner of war camp. It held many officers, who could not be forced to work for the Reich, and whom often imposed their own class rules and public school ways onto those inhabitants of the camp. There are theatre shows, tunnels, coded letters, M19, bizarre escape attempts and many wonderfully erratic and eccentric prisoners. Many are well known - such as Airey Neave, Pat Reid and Douglas Bader. I found the incredibly rude and rather unpleasant Bader curiously moving. When he was shot down, the Germans allowed the RAF to deliver a new leg, which seemed an incredible allowance during wartime. Once he had two prosthetics, he immediately hoisted himself out of a window and hobbled off - even the Germans, who he aimed endless venom at, seemed impressed.

As time passed, power shifted and you felt the German officers balancing the best way to get out of the war alive. As such, this is an incredible tale, not only of a unique place and time, but of a world in minitature, with all its postive and negative aspects. The best and worst of mankind is here, from snobbery and racism, to incredible bravery and kindness. Ben Macintyre always tells a wonderful tale and I enjoyed this book as I have enjoyed all the others I have read by him.

Ben Macintyre returns here, with his devilishly absorbing writing style, to examine one of the legendary POW camps used by the Germans to house Allied officers during the Second World War, Colditz Castle.

Flowing chronologically, Macintyre effortlessly weaves a fascinating narrative of prisoner relations, (both between nationalities and the enemy ‘goons’ that held them captive), the effects of captivity on their mental health, prisoner rations and diets, and of course the ingenious escape methods cooked up by the plucky chaps detained there. All of which are explored in fascinating first hand accounts and rid of any biased viewpoints.

An impeccably readable and enlightening read, ‘Colditz’ is undoubtedly now one of the most authoritative accounts of the legendary gothic castle and its residents throughout the war.

While clearly war and prisoners of war are serious subjects, and Ben Macintyre covers them extremely well, he has also managed to write a funny book with a very British sense of humour. Fortunately Macintyre can write history which is hugely entertaining, while also being informative and intelligent. He covers not just the increasingly risky escape attempts, but also gives a sense of day to day life including goon-baiting, monotony, hunger, and the British obsession with social class.

War stories are usually about what happened. The story of Colditz, by contrast, is largely a tale of inactivity, a long procession of duplicate days when little of note occurred, punctuated by moments of intense excitement.

Absolutely fascinating. Well researched and written, this book was a treasure trove of information on not only the history of the camp but also the psychology of the prisoners and the guards. The bravery of all the prisoners of Colditz is astonishing, as well as their maintained sense of humor. I appreciated how the author used nationality as a guiding point but not a definitive personality guide. The differences between the German and British minds (and of course American, Dutch, Polish, the list goes on) is shown in stark contrast - but it's not all-absorbing.

Another important contrast is the treatment of Jews vs POWs. The Jews and other "undesirables" sent to concentration camps like Auschwitz had it much, much worse than the prisoners of Colditz. But the POWs still faced hunger & food shortages, near-constant supervision, and of course the danger of being powerless in enemy hands. Yet prisoners of Colditz were among the better-treated POWs - the main men in charge of the camp actually (mostly) adhered to the Geneva Convention of 1929. Which naturally didn't stop the prisoners from attempting to escape. Some of the most comedic bits of this book are during escapes. Their creativity and courage was indomitable.

The book focuses partially on the history of the castle during WWII (including some information about the village outside it), the systems the Germans used to spy on the prisoners and the prisoners used to spy on the Germans, the methods by which items & information were smuggled into Colditz and information was smuggled out, and of course the numerous escape attempts. With plenty of humor but also grave sadness, Prisoners of the Castle is not only factual but emotional.

In all, Macintyre did an excellent job chronicling both the good and the bad of Colditz. Unfortunately, though I did enjoy this book, I can only recommend it to a mature audience. The author did not shy away from the harsher sexual reality of prison life and some bits go into more detail than I was comfortable with. Nevertheless, on the whole Prisoners of the Castle is an excellent book on a difficult and saddening topic.

Lessons in how to (not) escape from a medieval, gothic castle. A game they called it. A serious game, by still, a game. And eventually a game of life and death. Sore losers, those Nazis.

Not one of Mac's very best books. I guess not enough has been documented to turn this into a smooth narrative. It lacks a bit of focus, feels like a collection of anecdotes at times. Still a valuable read, though.

The war prisoners are great. Such an eccentric bunch. If this were fiction, you wouldn't believe these guys were there.

Also great; the way one of the main security officers, Reinhold Eggers, responds to all these crazy inmates trying to escape in the most bizarre ways.

Not only did he respect them, he was impressed. Amazed. Stupefied. And so was I.

War stories are usually about what happened. The story of Colditz, by contrast, is largely a tale of inactivity, a long procession of duplicate days when little of note occurred, punctuated by moments of intense excitement.

I honestly could not have asked for a more perfect summary of the feel of Prisoners of the Castle.

While POTC offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the prisoners within the walls of the Colditz castle POW camp as well as those of some of the more prominent guards of the castle, at times, it was a bit of a slog. As I mentioned in one of my status updates, the content is well researched & entertaining but the storytelling could have benefitted from more critical editing and paring down of some of the extraneous detail. The individual stories within this book are fascinating, enlightening and engaging but interspersed between and within these stories are trivial, extraneous details that bog down the narrative. Not even 50%, I began to feel the drag to the point I low key wanted to quit. Forging on was absolutely worth it though as POTC is filled with information and stories that are surprising, shocking, inspiring and humorous as well as those that are heartbreaking, enraging and saddening.

Having read many WWII books and memoirs, Prisoners of the Castle is a new and unique addition to my WWII library that helps to broaden my perspective and understanding of the war and lives of those touched by it.

I tend to prefer to read a book before listening to the audiobook but in this case, I think I would have preferred to listen to the audiobook from the outset. The audio sample sounds good and I may return to it some day.

3.75 -4 stars

Ben Macintyre has done it again. At this point, I should stop being surprised. Generally speaking, I’m more of a fan of his espionage tales than the broader war histories he’s done, but this takes all of those elements and boils it down to one incredible pressure-cooker of a story. Macintyre has always been a fantastic storyteller who makes history come alive, but you can almost feel the walls of Colditz closing in on you while reading this, and I think he’s outdone himself in conveying how history feels to its participants. I loved the way he explores the culture of the camp as well, looking at the ways race and sexuality and class defined the war experience of so many. Absolutely brilliant.

Some great stories, but it can also be a bit slow. The perspective is also very limited.

> the Germans thought they had escaped. In fact, they were hiding in a secret compartment under the chapel pulpit that had once been part of the great French tunnel. At night, they would emerge and be replaced by two other prisoners, while Harvey and Best slept in the vacated beds: the Germans sometimes conducted head counts of sleeping prisoners. They both took the names of other officers, in case they happened to be intercepted by the guards, and circulated like normal prisoners, until the next roll call: Harvey was “D. E. Bartlett” and Best became “Bob Barnes.” After an escape, a ghost would take the place of an escaper, to buy time, before disappearing back into the hole.

What joy -- a new Ben Macintyre book!*

I don't think I'm the only one that looks forward to a new book from Macintyre's pen, and this book has rightfully garnered glowing reviews. What strikes me here, as in a previous book on, Rogue Heroes: The History of the SAS, Britain's Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of War, is his refusal to whitewash or sugarcoat anything. In Rogue Heroes, as I recall, the French Resistance came in for some less than flattering portrayal at times, and here Macintyre demonstrates the characters and actions of both the POWs and their German keepers with admirable even-handedness.

There were some real surprises for me here, too. Who knew there was a link between one of the prisoners and Audrey Hepburn, for example? (Read most of the book and you'll find out what it was.) Aside from some of the most famous prisoners (a few of whom came in for a scathing analysis, such as flying ace Douglas Bader), the person who most intrigued me was the German security officer and former schoolmaster Reinhold Eggers, who doggedly thwarted many of the escape plans but who also won the admiration of some of the prisoners for his fairness and strict adherence to the Geneva Convention. He wrote a book after the war, Colditz: The German Story, which I think would make an appropriate follow-up to this book.

The only faint criticism I have of this book is that it is, by nature, rather episodic. It does focus on a few of the prisoners, but there are many who come and go - whether by escape, transfer to another POW camp, or death. Still, I had no trouble following the cast of characters and events outside the castle's walls. It certainly made interesting reading after having seen the movie "The Great Escape" any number of times. No motorcycle stunts in this book (or at Stalag Luft III, for that matter), but fascinating nonetheless.

*(Wow, I just looked over my book list and noted that this is the thirteenth book I've read by Ben Macintyre.)

Totally gripping and immersive. I hadn't read much about POW camps in WWII, and Colditz in Germany was a unique and fascinating one. The idea of a "gentleman's prison" run in a gentlemanly manner during WWII was new to me, let alone one with an additional built-in culture of escape attempts. It may be counterintuitive to think of a "fun" nonfiction book about WWII, but I did feel that way about this book, largely because of Ben Macintyre's skill in presenting his mammoth amount of research in a highly readable and suspenseful way. I was so impressed and drawn in by this book and will definitely look into more of Macintyre's work now!

An excellent book on Colditz, much more realistic and rounded than some of the previous accounts which seemed to glamourise the legend. Clearly very well researched from German officer sources as well as Allied accounts.

3.5 stars

Excellent, well researched and absolutely engrossing account about the infamous WWII POW prison at Colditz Castle, including plenty of tales of resilience, ingenuity and audacity in recounting some of the many escape attempts - some successful, others much less so - undertaken from there.

I devoured this book. The number of remarkable stories it contains is incredible, the pacing is fast and taut, and the inclusion of original recollections from the prisoners and one of their captors adds tremendous texture. Transfixing.

This was a really fascinating read. I would recommend it to anyone even the slightest bit interested by WWII or history in general. A German castle prison in WWII dedicated to the troublesome escape-prone, virulently anti-German, or Very Important prisoners, more or less overseen by a head security officer who lived and breathed the Geneva Convention, who was quite taken by British manners and customs. It was weirdly comedic at times, mostly in the early 1940's, with most prisoners in (relatively) good spirits and many of them pettily annoying the guards, making escape attempts on the daily (in the case of one particular summer), and eating pretty well through the good efforts of the Red Cross. By late 1944 things are not quite dismal, dark, and depressing as your average WWII story, but getting far closer to it and I did maybe cry a little at the end.

There is just SO much here to talk about; so many interesting tidbits and stories and individuals, some slimy, others much more heroic. Eggers started a Colditz Museum with foiled escape souvenirs, complete with photos of reenacted escape attempts. They legitimately caught several prisoners attempting escape (one dressed as the Colditz electrician, another dressed as a woman) and requested they pose for a photo for the museum scrapbook. And these are supplied mid-book, which was fantastic. There is too much I could go on about, so just read the book honestly.

Anything related to the sexual exploits or frustrations of the prisoners wasn't really something I was keen on reading, but thankfully, it was kept fairly brief. The author made a bit of a stretch, claiming oh so many of the men engaged in hom*osexual acts. We know some did from memoirs or whatnot, and I'm not so naïve as to think others didn't and just never came out and admitted it. But the author also claimed that it must have been going on in a fairly large scale, while in the same breath, mentioning that (with the aforementioned exceptions) it was never verified/caught onto by the guards/we don't have proof. Well, then, I guess better to leave it at that.

I'll say it here, Eggers deserved better.

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I'd never heard of Colditz until discussing the events of The Great Escape (movie and real life accounts) with my dad, and he mentioned a POW prison where the inmates had secretly made a glider in the attic. Wait, WHAT? Ok, now the events in the animated film Chicken Run make even more parodied sense. Obviously, I had to find a book about this IMMEDIATELY. To my delight, a new book had just come out, and it was even available on audio.

This was utterly fascinating, not only the escape attempts of the prisoners, but also the politics within the prison, the relationships with the guards, the people on the outside who collaborated to smuggle escape equipment into the prison......

Obviously, this is a war story so most of this is pretty bleak. However, there are plenty of moments of humor, touching humanism, and joy. I got legitimately choked up when the men starting building the glider, despite the extreme unlikeliness that it would work. "...It had more to do with mythical escapism and imagination than with a real escape. It was a dream for the prisoner collective: to fly away to freedom." After years of mostly failed escape attempts, increasing loss of hope as rations and other supplies dwindled, and deep fears that the prisoners might all be murdered if Germany was losing and the Allied powers reached the castle....imagine these defeated men pooling their ingenuity to build something so magnificent, such a beautiful dream of freedom. Ugh, it got to me.

Definitely recommended.

I received a free advance digital galley from the publisher, via Netgalley.

Colditz, a forbidding German castle fortress, was the destination for Allied officer POWs, and some other high-profile prisoners. It’s important to know that Colditz was different from POW Stalags for enlisted men run by the often brutal Gestapo and SS guards. Colditz was staffed by Wehrmacht (regular army) personnel who generally complied with the Geneva Convention. According to the Geneva Convention, captors were allowed to set their enlisted prisoners to work—but not officers. As a result, most of the prisoners at Colditz were at the leisure to go stir crazy, unless they thought of other ways to keep their minds busy—like dreaming up escape plans.

There were dozens of attempts from 1941 to 1945, and Macintyre chronicles them in all their variety, inventiveness, and risk. Despite what you might see in old movies, it was rare that an escape was successful and, even when they were, the escapee still had to make his way across hundreds of miles of hostile territory to get to Switzerland or another border. Few did, but you can imagine the spark it gave to the prisoners when they learned of a successful escape.

The book isn’t just about the escape attempts, though. A closed community tends to have intensified social dynamics. On the positive side, the prisoners threw themselves into cultural pursuits, including putting on concerts, skits and plays. Hilariously, the British chaplain was appalled at prisoners dressing up as women for some of the plays and skits they acted out in the castle’s theater, thinking that even these ridiculously ersatz women would stir the men’s passions.

At Colditz, there were various nationalities, primarily British, French, Dutch and Polish, and they didn’t always work well together. There were also problems with class conflict, racial prejudice, and anti-Semitism among some of the prisoners. Sadly, there were prisoners who shared many of the same fascist and racist attitudes as the Nazis. Some prisoners were communist sympathizers, which foreshadowed the Cold War conflict. These differences caused problems in themselves, but also served to further divide the prisoners when some suspected that there were moles among them tipping off the Germans to escape plans.

A special intelligence operation in the UK, MI9, came up with dozens of ingenious ways of smuggling contraband and information to the Colditz prisoners. MI9 wisely equipped flyers with many hidden escape aids, in case they were shot down and captured. When you read about some of these bits of spycraft, you won’t be surprised to learn that their inventor inspired the creation of the Q character in the Bond films. Amazingly, Denholm Elliott, who played Q, was a POW of the Germans in WW2 (though not at Colditz).

As always, Macintyre’s book reads more like a novel than a history. His research is deep and detailed, but he weaves it smoothly into his storytelling. Just as I hoped, he includes a postscript describing the postwar lives of the most notable characters. This factual story is more gripping and entertaining than any fiction about Colditz could hope to be.

World War II prisoner-of-war escapes are a staple of adventure fiction. IMDB lists twenty-one films on the theme, most prominently the 1963 production The Great Escape, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough. In reality, however, successful escapes were rare. Britain’s Imperial War Museum notes that “Of the 170,000 British and Commonwealth prisoners of war in Germany in the Second World War, fewer than 1,200 of them managed to escape successfully and make a ‘home run.'” But the numbers fall far short of conveying the sheer drama in the German camps. And perhaps the most colorful examples have emerged from Colditz, the Nazi camp for Allied officers in Germany’s east from 1939 to 1945. Author Ben MacIntyre brings the drama into high relief in Prisoners of the Castle, a nonfiction rendering of life in the most famous of the nearly one hundred WWII Nazi POW camps.

A MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON FOR ESCAPE-PRONE OFFICERS
Beginning in 1940, Colditz Castle served as a maximum security prison for a special breed of Allied officers. Colditz held hundreds of French, British, Polish, Dutch, and Belgian officers who had been caught escaping from other POW camps. The population shifted dramatically over the years, with huge numbers of French officers sometimes housed for short periods. Understandably, a Briton himself, MacIntyre focuses on the British, some of whom were interned there for as long as five years. His biographical sketches of the best-known among them are fascinating portraits of extraordinary individuals. They’re easily worth the price of the book.

DRAMATIC ESCAPES—AND BESTSELLING BOOKS
Much of the drama in MacIntyre’s account centers on the almost continuous succession of attempted escapes, many of which were extremely elaborate and required months of preparation. One British officer tried eight times, but many others were almost equally persistent. Few were successful. Although there are reports of 174 who made their way outside the castle’s walls, only thirty-two of them reached home. Colditz was 400 kilometers from Switzerland, and the route led through vast expanses of heavily policed Nazi territory.

Some of the few who did escape gained fame, becoming celebrities in Britain for years after the war. A surprising number kept diaries, as did at least one of the guards, which were among MacIntyre’s principal sources. And several wrote bestselling books about the experience, distorting and contributing to the enduring legend of Colditz in the British imagination. No doubt, it was their skill as writers which had a lot to do with making Colditz the most famous of the many WWII Nazi POW camps.

THE “PROMINENTE“
Someone high in the Nazi hierarchy—MacIntyre speculates that it was Heinrich Himmler—decided midway through the war that if Germany lost he might trade his own life for a handful of prominent British officers. When German troops captured Giles Romilly, Winston Churchill’s Communist nephew, he was sent to Colditz at Adolf Hitler’s personal order, the first of the “Prominente.” (Churchill despised the man, and in any case he would never have let such a connection influence his conduct of the war.)

Soon, at orders from above, the sons of World War I Field Marshall Douglas Haig, the Viceroy of India, and the US Ambassador to Britain joined Romilly. Other Prominente included the commander in the Warsaw Uprising and a handful of members of the sprawling British royal family. And a man masquerading as the nephew of a top British commander bluffed his way into the group, although he was only a distant cousin.

The Prominente were sequestered apart from the other officers and received better food. They were the most privileged among the prisoners at Colditz—until April 1945, when Adolf Hitler ordered that they be executed. The drama surrounding that order, which was never carried out, reveals a great deal about the state of the German military as the Nazi state disintegrated.

CONDITIONS AT COLDITZ WERE SURPRISING
MacIntyre’s account may upend your understanding of conditions and practices in a Nazi POW camp—at least those in camps where only Western officers were imprisoned. Until the later stages of the war, as Germany’s defeat first became likely and then certain, the British, French, Dutch, Polish, and Belgian officers interned at Colditz had free access to packages from the International Red Cross that brought them a bounty of food, warm clothing, and family news on a continuous basis. In fact, because of the food they received, they ate much better and were far healthier than the Germans guarding them. But only Western officers fared well, at least at Colditz. The Wehrmacht officer in direct command of the guards insisted they be treated fairly and respectfully.

At other WWII Nazi POW camps, conditions even for officers might have been worse. And circ*mstances changed even at Colditz beginning in 1944, when the prison food, still the basis of their diet, grew steadily less plentiful and nutritious. Then the flow of Red Cross packages stopped, as the war came home to Germany. In the final months, the prisoners began to starve, as did the guards.

Enlisted men received harsher treatment even at Colditz, which included forced labor as batmen to the officers. Elsewhere, Soviet POWs experienced far, far worse. According to Wikipedia, “It is estimated that at least 3.3 million Soviet POWs died in Nazi custody, out of 5.7 million. This figure represents a total of 57% of all Soviet POWs and it may be contrasted with 8,300 out of 231,000 British and U.S. prisoners, or 3.6%.” Most of the Soviet soldiers who died in German custody were among the 2.8 million taken in 1941-42 as the Nazi juggernaut raged across Russian land toward Moscow and Leningrad.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ben MacIntyre (1963-) is a columnist for The Times of London and the author of at least fourteen works of nonfiction, of which this book is the latest. His father was an Oxford University historian, and he himself gained a degree in history from St. John’s College, Cambridge. So it seems no accident that all MacIntyre’s books are histories. He is best known for his writing about World War II and espionage. Five of his books have been made into documentaries for the BBC. They are all based on in-depth research that seems the equal of anything a diligent academic historian might display.

I've been reading more narrative nonfiction lately (as you may have noticed!) and I'm honestly having a great time. History was probably my second favorite subject in school, so getting to find new ways to dive into the historical events that were beat into our heads as kids has been exciting and enlightening.

Prisoners of the Castle is the first thing I've ever read that showed me what being a POW is like—but only if you were a POW in Colditz. Ben Macintyre demonstrates what a unique experience it was to be imprisoned in this German castle, and how the imprisonment changed a wide cast of men. I appreciated that the book was broken out into each year of WWII, and how even when a prisoner manages to escape (a feat that gets harder and harder as more are able to get out), Macintyre won't let them leave the pages without explaining where they went, even years after their imprisonment.

What's interesting to note is that the POWs were certainly treated horribly—they faced starvation and horrible accommodations and disease—but not nearly as horribly as, say, the people thrown into concentration camps, or even their own guards, who had poorer rations than their prisoners did. While I appreciate this in-depth look into what life was like for the fraction of men in Colditz, it was only a portion, and it made me more curious about how others experienced WWII.

So, I think between Prisoners of the Castle and The Splendid and the Vile which I read earlier this month, I guess you could say a deeper interest in WWII has been sparked that I don't think is going to leave me anytime soon.

Colditz Castle held POWs who prison camps could no contain due to chronic escapes attempts and unruly behavior. The inmates ranged from French to British nationalities but were later mostly British during the last few years. The prisoners lived in a microcosm of their home country with strict adherence to social class and racism toward colonized persons. The escape plans and devices to smuggle in the tools of breaking out were ingenious enough to inspire James Bond gadgets. What was not enjoyable was how common soldiers like Alex Ross were expected to wait on their so called betters like slaves. The worst was Douglas Bader who even if he was a double amputee fighter pilot had no right to treat Alex Ross like dirt and leave the castle way ahead of the others. The prominent POWS ate better than even their captors and could not be shot like the lower orders if they escaped. Though the stories of these men is interesting I still see Colditz castle as more of a Country club for those on top of the social strata.