Colditz, the German Story

This is the first account of Colditz, the most famous of the German prisoner of war camps, as seen from the German side. The author was on the staff there for the greater part of the war, latterly in charge of security. No-one was sent to Colditz unless he already had a political or escaping record. In this fortress, therefore, were concentrated the toughest and most ingenious of all the Allied officers in German hands. Through the long war years there was no let-up in their attempts to get out, nor in the efforts of Eggers and his staff to keep them in. Tunnelling, impersonation, disguise, attempted bribery of guards, forgery of documents and trickery of all kinds were continuous. Into this entertaining and exciting book come a host of lively characters, many of them, like Douglas Bader, already known as tough, uncompromising individualists. Howard Gee, the translator of this book, had the distinction of being one of the only two civilian internees in Colditz.