Cover of Colditz: The Definitive History: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes

Colditz: The Definitive History: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes

Breathtaking and mesmerizing, Colditzis a gripping tale of perseverance, heroism, and adventure. Filled with the thrilling never-before-told personal stories of the prisoners of war held within the walls of this medieval fortress turned German high-security prison camp, Colditzoffers endlessly intriguing stories of consummate survivors who proved the human spirit to be indomitable.

Read more

In more than fifty original interviews, the English, French, Dutch, and Polish officers and their guards describe 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 an intriguing portrait of the fascinating game of wits between captives and captors, who were bound together by mutual respect and extraordinary tolerance.

Audience
adult
Length
long · 496 pages

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it. Point at it (on a phone, tap it) for less of it instead.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

Liked Colditz: The Definitive History: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked Colditz: The Definitive History: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. Colditz: The Full Story Shares pow, World War II, history
  2. The German War: A Nation Under Arms Shares history, World War II, nonfiction
  3. Hitler's Last Gamble: Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 to January 1945 Shares history, World War II, war
  4. I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors Shares Holocaust, nonfiction

“People who read Colditz: The Definitive History: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes tend to reach for these next.”

  1. The White Rabbit: The Secret Agent the Gestapo Could Not Crack
  2. Nazis and the Occult: The Dark Forces Unleashed by the Third Reich
  3. Abandon Ship!: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, the Navy's Greatest Sea Disaster
  4. The Miracle of Dunkirk

“If you want more of the same (history about military history), start with these.”

  1. The Fire: The Bombing of Germany, 1940-1945
  2. The Colditz Story
  3. The First And The Last
  4. Waffen SS

“If it was the World War II that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. D DAY Through German Eyes - The Hidden Story of June 6th 1944
  2. Soldaten: On Fighting, Killing, and Dying
  3. How Hitler Could Have Won World War II: The Fatal Errors That Led to Nazi Defeat
  4. Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Von Ryan's Express
  2. The Seven Professors of the Far North
  3. A Man on the Moon
  4. Spork