Author(s): Major P. R. Reid

Aust History

Colditz was the last stop for prisoners of war during WWII. Those who persisted in escaping from other camps were sent to the impregnable fortress of Colditz Castle, situated on a rocky outcrop high above the River Mulde. Once within the walls of the castle, the Germans reasoned, escape was impossible. And yet many prisoners attempted escape and many succeeded Pat Reid was one of those men. Appointed 'Escape Officer' by his fellow inmates, he masterminded many of the attempts. From tunnelling, to hiding in rubbish sacks, disguising themselves as German officers and even leaping from the castle walls, nothing was too dangerous or foolhardy compared to imprisonment by the enemy. Reid's own escape, in 1942, was both one of the most simple and the most daring. First published in 1952, The Colditz Story is a classic escape story in the tradition of The Great Escape and The Wooden Horse.