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Through first-hand accounts of hundreds of ordinary prisoners of war, Paul MacKenzie strips away the mythology and presents the real picture of what it was like to be captured and interrogated and to endure the physical and mental hardships of captivity. Colditz is placed in a wider historical context.
Though only one among hundreds of prison camps in which British servicemen were held between 1939 and 1945, Colditz enjoys unparalleled name recognition both in Britain and in other parts of the English-speaking world. Colditz remains a potent symbol of key virtues--including ingenuity and perseverance against apparently overwhelming odds--that form part of the popular mythology surrounding the British war effort in World War II. Colditz has played a major role in shaping perceptions of the POW experience in Nazi Germany, an experience in which escaping is assumed to be paramount and "Outwitting the Hun" a universal sport. The story of Colditz has been told in a variety of forms but in this book MacKenzie chronicles the development of the Colditz myth and puts what happened inside the castle in the context of British and Commonwealth POW life in Germany as a whole. Being a captive of the Third Reich--from the moment of surrender down to the day of liberation and repatriation --was more complicated and a good deal tougher than the popular myth would suggest. The physical and mental demands of survival far outweighed escaping activity in order of importance in most camps almost all of the time, and even in Colditz the reality was in some respects very different from the almost Boy's Own caricature that developed during the post-war decades. In The Colditz Myth MacKenzie seeks, for the first time, to place Colditz--both the camp and the legend-- in a wider historical context.
Fully illustrated with photographs and historical artifacts, this detailed history reveals what life was like inside the infamous Nazi POW camp. During the Second World War, the centuries-old Colditz castle took on an infamous new purpose. It became the site of Oflag IV-C, a prisoner of war camp designated for Allied officers who had escaped from other camps, including such famous names as Douglas Bader, Lorne Welch and Jack Best. This authoritative history reveals the secrets of the Sonderlager—or “Special Camp.” Historian Michael Booker draws on forty years of research into the subject, including interviews with former prisoners, as well as the German commandant Gerhard Prawitt and the head of security Captain Reinhold Eggers. He relates stories of British, Polish, and French prisoners, and their many and varied attempts to escape. These narratives are supported throughout with rare wartime photographs as well as a priceless collection of artifacts and memorabilia from the castle, some of which have never been seen before.
The Nazis thought escape was impossible. Colditz is the true story of the Allied prisoners held there and their (sometimes successful) efforts to escape, written by one of the POWs.
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Second World War, from the highest-rated fighter aces to the most inventive escape equipment used to break out of Colditz; from army pay by rank to the largest battleships; from the most stirring speeches to the biggest tactical errors; from the strangest regimental mottoes to the plays most performed by ENSA; and from the dates each country joined the war to the most unlikely spies. All the major events and dates in the war are covered in detail, but equal emphasis is placed on the human experience of combat. Often poignant and always revealing, World War II: the Book of Lists offers a unique insight into the deadliest conflict in human history.
From Calais to Colditz has never been published before but readers will surely agree that the wait has been worthwhile. The author was a young platoon commander when his battalion were ordered by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to defend Calais to the last man and so distract German attention from the evacuation of the BEF at Dunkirk.After an intense four day battle, the survivors were subjected to a gruelling twelve day march towards Germany. There followed incarceration in a succession of POW camps during which the author succeeded in escaping twice, both over the wire and by tunnelling, remaining at large on one occasion for twelve days. These exploits qualified him for a place in the notorious Colditz Castle, the supposed escape-proof camp. The descriptions of his colourful fellow prisoners, their captors and their extraordinary experiences are as good as any of the previous accounts and in many respects more revealing.How fortunate it is that From Calais to Colditz can now be read by a wide audience.
A collection of prisoner of war and concentration camp survivor stories from some of the toughest World War II camps in Europe and the Pacific, this book details the daring escapes and highlights the fundamental aspects of human nature that made such heroic efforts possible. Levine takes a comprehensive approach, including evasion efforts by those fleeing before the enemy who never reached formal prisoner of war camps, as well as escapes from ghettoes and labor camps. Levine pays particular attention to dramatic escapes by small boat. Many are not widely known, although some were made over vast distances or in fantastically difficult conditions from enemy-occupied areas. Accounts include attempts at freedom from both German and Japanese prisoner of war camps, stories that reveal much about the conditions prisoners endured. Some of these escapes are far more amazing than the famed Great Escape from Stalag Luft III. German and Austrian prisoners also recount their amazing flights from India to Tibet and Burma. This study challenges some ideas about behavior in extreme situations and casts interesting light on human nature.
Many of the most famous escapes in history took place during the Second World War. These daring flights from Nazi-occupied Europe would never have been possible but for the assistance of a hitherto secret British service: MI9. This small, dedicated and endlessly inventive team gave hope to the men who had fallen into enemy hands, and aid to resistance fighters in occupied territory. It sent money, maps, clothes, compasses, even hacksaws – and in return coded letters from the prisoner-of-war camps and provided invaluable news of what was happening in the enemy's homeland. Understaffed and under-resourced, MI9 nonetheless made a terrific contribution to the Allied war effort. First published in 1979, this book tells the full, inside story of an extraordinary organisation.