Prisoners of the Castle: An Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz, the Nazis' Fortress Prison
Ben Macintyre
The definitive and surprising true story of one of history’s most notorious prisons—and the remarkable cast of POWs who tried relentlessly to escape their captors, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Spy and the TraitorIn this gripping narrative, Ben Macintyre tackles one of the most famous prison stories in history and makes it utterly his own. During World War II, the German army used the towering Colditz Castle to hold the most defiant Allied prisoners. For four years, these prisoners of the castle tested its walls and its guards with ingenious escape attempts that would become legend. more
368 pages, Hardcover
First published Crown
4.27
Rating
6940
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671
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Ben Macintyre
39 books 3169 followers
Ben Macintyre is a writer-at-large for The Times (U.K.) and the bestselling author of The Spy and the Traitor, A Spy Among Friends, Double Cross, Operation Mincemeat, Agent Zigzag, and Rogue Heroes, among other books. Macintyre has also written and presented BBC documentaries of his work.Community reviews
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. more
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. more
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. more
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. more
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. more
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. more
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. more
Survival and escape from the Nazi fortress prisonI 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. more
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 . more
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. more
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. more
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. . more
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. more
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. more
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. more
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. more
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. more
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. more
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. more
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. more
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. more
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. more
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. more
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. more
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. more
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. more
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. more
After seeing this author at Adelaide Writers’ Week I just had to give this one a read, and I wasn’t disappointed. This is the fascinating story of Colditz Castle, a POW camp for the ‘bad boys’ who had tried to escape other camps or who had caused other problems. Run by the German Army rather than the SS, there was an adherence to the Geneva Convention. Allied officers consequently formed escape committees, and the amazing stories go from there. This was a work of non fiction that, while remaining factual, was completely readable. more
For a WWII book, this was surprisingly humorous and refreshing. It’s a true account of a castle in Colditz, Germany that was used as the top security prison for allied prisoners of war. The level of ingenuity and detail required for escape efforts from the prison was extremely impressive. I highly recommend the book, especially for someone looking for an interesting, non-fiction read. I will say that I went back and forth between being captivated by the book and wondering when it would end. more