Military Museum Blog: March 2020

Colditz Schloss is located in the lovely baroque town of Colditz, about an hour outside Dresden and Leipzig. A castle was first established on this site in the 11th century, but the current castle dates from the 16th century. Saxony however, has lots of magnificent castles and by the 19th century the castle had fallen into disrepair. The state took over the castle and it was repurposed as a workhouse for the poor. One wing was converted into a prison and then an insane asylum. It was later used to isolate tuberculosis patients. In 1933, when the Nazis came to power, it was used as a prison for communists and politically 'undesirable' people.

With the advent of war in 1939, Colditz was transformed into a prisoner of war camp under the designation Oflag IV-C. Officers from the Low Countries and France were originally housed here, but as the war progressed the numbers of British and later American officers increased until by 1943 it was exclusively for British and American high-value, high-risk prisoners. Prisoners who had made multiple escape attempts were imprisoned here because the German's believed that the castle's location on a rocky spur of land in the far east of Germany made it virtually escape proof. It wasn't of course, but it gained Colditz a reputation as one of the highest security prisoner of war camps in Germany.

The town of Colditz is very charming

Colditz town with the castle looming in the background.

Welcome to Colditz! It wouldn't have sounded so welcoming to an Allied POW in 1943.

The castle is built around two courtyards. The outer courtyard was the German barracks and administrative area. There was a grassed lawn area and a coal bunker in this area. The inner courtyard was where the prisoners were held. To access the inner courtyard visitors would need to pass through the guardhouse barracks, passing through two locked gates.

This map provides a clearer schematic of the various areas within the castle. I'll refer to the escape numbers from this map in some of the following photos.

Coming up to the outer gate from the bridge entrance (see 14).

The outer courtyard. This area was the German barracks and administration. During the war this courtyard was a sloping grassed yard. It has since been excavated to allow for vehicle traffic. The area at the back (facing the viewer) was used as a mental hospital in the post-war period and is now a hostel. https://www.jugendherberge.de/en/youth-hostels/colditz-schloss-698/portrait/

In the far right corner, where the balustrade reaches the wall, there is a stairwell leading into a basement which was the scene of one of Colditz' most famous escape attempts (see 18)..

Captain Pat Reid, who went on to write a book about Colditz and the many escape attempts after the war, slipped out of the POW kitchens on 14th October 1942, dashed across the German courtyard and slipped into the Kommandants basement.

The Germans considered the basement escape proof as the castle sits on a solid rock outcrop, making it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to tunnel through.

However, from the Kommandant's basement, there was a small vent window facing the eastern terrace. From there was a steep drop from the terrace into the moat, but if that could be crossed it opened into the Schloss' park and away into the nearby forest.

Pat Reid squeezed through this ventilation window and onto the terrace.

The basement window gave Pat Reid access to this terrace, which now forms part of the grounds of the hostel. https://www.jugendherberge.de/en/youth-hostels/colditz-schloss-698/portrait/

The hostel terrace is visible at the top of the terraced garden. Reid navigated through barbed wire and search lights, dropping down each of the terraces and into the dry moat and escaped into the Schloss park. It would take him four days to reach Switzerland and freedom.

From the Kommandant's basement looking back towards the gate into the prison.

After passing through the first gatehouse, prisoners would pass this passage, through the next gatehouse and into the inner courtyard.

The inner courtyard looking towards the chapel and bell tower from the gatehouse.

This German uniform was fashioned from British and French uniforms. British prisoner Airey Neave successfully escaped in a home made German uniform on 5th January 1942. He slipped through a hole cut in through the wall of the theatre into the guards courtyard, and then slipped out the main gate during the night shift change. He made it to Switzerland two days later.

The inmates tried all manner of escape methods, including in drag. French Lieutenant Boulé fashioned a women's outfit and attempted to walk out through the gate. Ironically, he was sprung by the reaction of British prisoners, who saw him drop something from his pocket and called after him. Boule ignored them and walked on, but this drew the attention of guards and asked for his/her ID. Realizing the game was up, he surrendered.

One of the strategies used by the prisoners to disguise escape attempts was to 'ghost' prisoners. The ghosts would hide within the prison until they could make their escape attempt while other prisoners took their place at roll call and work duties. Two Dutch POWs who were ghosted had their places filled by two papier-mache replicas. Fitted with uniforms, the replicas would be carried in a crowd by fellow prisoners and 'stand' in the back during role call. Of course, if the Germans actually inspected each prisoner closely they would quickly discover the deception, but it was enough to give the ghosts a couple of days head start. It wasn't long before this deception was exposed.

Spartan fittings

Some of the high value prisoners had rooms of their own.

Two British officers were ghosted in the castle chapel. Their fellow prisoners advised the Germans that the two had escaped and they were enrolled in the list of successful escapees. In truth, the two men were hidden beneath the floorboards of the chapel. They could do nothing but lie there during the day but were able to come out at night and were able to move freely around the prison, working on escape plans. It took a lot of dedication to do something like this, cut off from their fellow prisoners, lying in the dark day in, day out.

Tunnel map. The castle was built on a rock escarpment so the Germans believed that tunneling out was not possible. That, of course, fails to take into account what men with a lot of creativity, motivation and time can do. French prisoners began tunneling from under the chapel in 1941.

View down the tunnel shaft.

Tunnel excavation. It wasn't all solid rock under the castle. The French discovered a rubble filled foundation and worked their way through. Unfortunately, the tunnel was discovered and shut down.

A sewing machine constructed from Red Cross boxes and bits and pieces. There were so many unsuccessful escape attempts that the Germans established an escape museum in castle.

A radio constructed from various components smuggled into the prison in Red Cross packaging. The Red Cross may have feigned neutrality, but the British Secret Service infiltrated contraband materials into Red Cross food and clothing packaging from the outset.

The most amazing Colditz escape story is the Colditz glider. This was long thought to be a myth, until a photograph of the glider was uncovered.

The only photograph of the Colditz glider. It was fashioned from wooden spars from the beds and bed sheets. The wing material was stiffened with a cellulose, starch mix. The glider never flew as the was ended before it was finished.

Reproduction of the glider in the loft

So, would it have flown? See for yourself.

Aerial photograph of the castle

Colditz as it was in 1945. This photograph was taken by US troops who liberated the castle on 15th April 1945.

As it stands today. After the war Colditz was in the Soviet Zone and became part of East Germany. For some years the castle continued to be used as a prison, then it became an old person's home, a hospital and eventually a psychiatric hospital. The castle fell into disrepair for many years before it was restored by the State of Saxony in the early 2000s. The former German barracks was converted into a youth hostel and a small museum was opened. Strangely, the German authorities had completely forgotten the castle's war-time association and it was only when western tourists started showing up and expressing interest in the castle's prison history that they realized the tourism potential. Tunnels were re-excavated and the old escape museum artefacts were dragged out of storage. Now there are daily guided tours through the prison and guides recount the stories of heroism and persistence. The tours are well worth it. For more information, check out the castle's website.
http://www.schloss-colditz.com/

To book a room at Colditz - https://www.jugendherberge.de/en/youth-hostels/colditz-schloss-698/portrait/

There is a movie "The Colditz Story" and a TV Series "Colditz" which can be found online, as well as several documentaries.

In 2018 while traveling through the Czech Republic I decided to treat myself to a tank drive. I booked through Offroad Action - http://www.offroadaction.cz/en/homepage/ The driving range was on a former (NATO) military base about 30 kilometres outside Prague. The company had an interesting assortment of vehicles which you could hire, ranging from quad bikes right through to a Soviet T72 tank.

We chose the BMP-1, armoured personnel carrier. The BMP was designed to be a simple to operate, semi-aquatic, multi-purpose armoured personnel carrier. It proved to be so versatile it is still in operational use in dozens of armies around the world. http://tanks-encyclopedia.com/coldwar/USSR/soviet_BMP-1.php

Driving the BMP is easy for anyone who has driven a car. Controls are simple to use and you do not need to use gearbox steering. Turning the BMP is easily done by gently turning the horizontal steering bar. Gently is the optimum word as a sharp turn on the steering bar would throw the tracks in opposite directions, virtually spinning the vehicle like a top. My instructor was very clear - "Do not do this!"

He was also very clear never to use the foot brake. "It will stop too quickly!" The inertia of the tracks is enough to stop the vehicle dead simply by lifting your foot off the accelerator.