One of the BEST series ever, very well acted you could easily think that each actor was actually authentically in WW2 doing their duties from the Germans to the Allies!!
Von Eissinger was simply lying, of course! Either that or he was seriously deluded. He was one of those deluded German aristocrats who believed they could control Hitler and Nazism.
The acting is incredible! Wonderfull, gripping, insightful and tense. Truly a forgotten masterpiece of a series and this episode is the best yet! Thank you so much for posting this.
What kind of research went into the costumes? Why is the Parisian Kraut wearing a uniform when he is supposed to be Gestapo (whose detectives, as far as I know, wore plainclothes? And why is this uniform with SS and death's head insignia green when the death's head as worn on the black uniforms of the SS camp uniforms?
Believe it or not, the Gestapo did have uniformed officers in addition to plainclothes operatives. Their uniforms were the same as those worn by the regular SS, just with blank black collar patches in lieu of the SS lightning bolts for all ranks under colonel, as well as green trim (meaning these ones are inaccurate; in addition to having the lightning bolts, they have white trim; white was for infantry). And I don't know where you got the idea that the SS only ever wore black, or that only the SS-TV (concentration camp personnel) had the death's head emblem. Except for tank crews, all SS switched to gray (not green) uniforms during the war and the black uniform was phased out except for dress uniforms intended for ceremonial purposes such as parties and parades, and all SS wore the death's head on their cap, not just the SS-TV. They did however have an extra one on their right collar patches for all ranks under colonel, though.
It is a common misconception amongst the English and in Hollywood to mistake German SS- Officers as being members of the Gestapo. The name Gestapo is short for "Geheime Staatspolizei" which translates as "Secret State Police" and as the name points out, was indeed "secret", i.e. did not generally wear any uniform whilst on duty. While many members of the Gestapo may have held a rank in the Allgemeine SS, the Gestapo`s parent organisation (as a subsidiary of the RHSA), the Gestapo should not be confused with the Waffen- SS, which was the armed military force of the SS. The Waffen SS- Officer interogating Dick Player from 16:36 to 20:55 has the Waffen SS rank of Sturmbannführer, which was the equivalent to Major in the army. For further information, WIKIPEDIA has an excellent article on the subject.
It is a common misconception amongst the uninformed and in Hollywood to mistake the British and the English or are you saying the Scots Welsh and N Irish do not make that mistake. For further information, WIKIPEDIA has an excellent article on the subject
The Gestapo did have SS uniforms, they just didn't have the lighting bolts on their collars. Their uniforms were also trimmed in green. The problem is that generally, when people think of the Gestapo, they think only of the plainclothes/undercover operatives, not the uniformed officers. Aside from the fact these guys have the lightning bolts and white trim instead of green, their outfits are reasonably accurate for uniformed Gestapo personnel of the time.
That office where Player is interrogated by the two SS officers looks like it was used for the Commandant's office for the rest of the series. It's redecorated and filmed from a different angle and with a different background but I'm sure it's the same room.
Colditz is a small town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C POW camp for officers
The gay undertones of the last 20 minutes or so of this episode is so clear to see. I remember once a critic reviewed that Dick Player was the repressed gay man in the show.
It’s ironic that Nigel Stock is playing the part of an SS interrogator, when he played the part of an escaped POW being interrogated by the SS in ‘The Great Escape.’
No - Germans speaking English are represented with German accents. But Germans speaking German as heard by German British speaking protagonists is represented as perfect English.
If I was him I'd take the offer, of course it wouldn't change anything and he could still have fought against Hitler instead of ending up in Colditz but then this episode would be pointless..
It is a bit far fetched to believe that one can so easily speak another language and get away with it when speaking to native speakers. It is extremely rare, in my life I doubt I have met more than ten people with this gift. Admittedly the hero was in Germany as a child which would make a difference. I also think his interlocutor had a good point. If Britain had recognised that it was fighting the Nazis and not Germany then things might have been much easier. Even Goebbels recognised as much in his diary.
Lookup2Wakeup I also studied languages at university and am multilingual. For my poly time I know of no-one who learned a language as an adult who speaks like a native. The only way is to have been there as a child.
I don't see how I have taken Goebbels diary out of context. The Nazis were not backed by the German people all the way, in the elections of November 1932 the Nazis got around one third of the votes - that means that two thirds voted for other parties. As for if I have been abroad or not, a simple glance at my channel would indicate that I have spent some time in countries outside of the UK. I am mutlilingual - proof is on my channel although that would take more than a cursory glance. I also have a degree in linguistics although you will have to take my word on that one. I was also in the British Army during the Cold War and in that time I did not once meet anyone in our forces who could speak as a native. If you claim that you can speak German like a native, why not put up a film on you tube so other people can hear your German. Despite knowing the words and grammar of languages, it is clear that I am a native English speaker and even when I speak English it is clear from my pronunciation of vowel sounds like 'oo' or 'u' that I come from a north eastern working class background.
UKTinker The idea that Germans were somehow better off under the Nazis than before is not born out by statistics. To take a comparison between 1936 and 1928 as an example, to use figures given to Hitler, we see the average wage had fallen, unemployment was higher, food queues were getting longer and prices were also higher. So one or two people may have been better off, but the majority were worse off in an economy run on socialist lines where massive amounts were spent on arms. As for my knowledge, I would suggest to you that as I have travelled and you have not and as I am multilingual and you are not then I am probably more of an authority than you are. You claim that there were people who could pass for Germans who were native English speakers but as you cannot speak the language yourself you would scarcely be in a position to judge.
+Alan Heath 1928 was before the crash, so that's hardly a fair comparison. There's little doubt that that the situation of the mid-late 30s had Germans living far better than they were in 1930. On top of it all, millions had their pride. Both personally and nationally -- something many had never known in the chaos of Weimar and the Depression.
Because they would have had to get a whole bunch of German actors and it's an English production. And to put out a subtitled programme in 1972 would have went down like a lead balloon that's why.
I hope that was a joke mate. if not you really need to do some reading on the subject. you will see that it was not all fun and games. in fact none of it was fun and games.
@@tommyfred6180 Well to be fair, Colditz was a lot better then most normal german POW camps. American, British, and French prisoners were almost never subjected to the atrocious conditions Russian and Polish prisoners were in the first place (one of the reasons german POW's were treated so badly). And Colditz also only housed officers, and officers in german POW prisons usually had a lot more freedom, as well as better rations then a normal private. This can be easily seen in the case of Colditz, with the french prisoners construction a hidden radio room, as well as the fact that, despite it being a high security prison, prisoners were constantly escaping there. Recaptured escapees usually got up to 3 months solitary, which considering you are talking about nazi germany here, is not as bad as it could be.
@@slome815 mate i'm not saying other didn't have it even harder. i thought i made that clear in my last sentence. British under statement i for you. i'v been to the channel islands and see the conditions some Russian POWs suffered and they had it good compared with other Russians did in other camps. as for them getting better because of being officers. well thats you falling for Nazi propergander. that was a story they made up to encourage privet soldiers to join work parties or even fight for them. its bull the red cross boxes they got had nothing in them that others did not get. they also did not get the boxes complete but broken down with lots of stuff removed. so you can reasonably say they got less much of the time. the fact is the building was rundown, very cold even in summer. damp with a water system that barley worked in winter and smelled so bad in summer that some parts of the building could not be used. the guys also didn't have access to open ground or land to cultivate. unlike most other guys held in camps. you are correct that the French guys built a radio room. but that was just down to the skill of the men involved and the fact that lots of the building was abandoned and closed off. so they had space and junk to work with. it was also not the only camp the to this by far. also the the prison did not just hold officers. it had a number of NCO's and other ranks. they just never get a mention. as a last point the reason prisoners mostly got off light for escaping is simple. almost everyone held was well known to the red cross and killing them off would have made waves on a political level re SS and others. that said some did "just die" and many suffered sociological attacks' that are hard both for them to talk about and impossible for most to understand. it was a high profile unit but it never got extra or top end as a result.
Im 54 love showes like this
First ive seen it is today
Its very cool
Hi to all from 🇨🇦👍😀
One of the BEST series ever, very well acted you could easily think that each actor was actually authentically in WW2 doing their duties from the Germans to the Allies!!
Great series, but awful acting.
Great acting from John Quentin as Von Eissinger, some thought provoking dialogue.
Von Eissinger was simply lying, of course! Either that or he was seriously deluded. He was one of those deluded German aristocrats who believed they could control Hitler and Nazism.
The acting is incredible! Wonderfull, gripping, insightful and tense. Truly a forgotten masterpiece of a series and this episode is the best yet!
Thank you so much for posting this.
Today i learned of it
Started at ep1
This is gonna be good
the best episode of the whole series
"The Americans: they put all their most talented people into musical comedies, and all their natural comedians into politics".
So what's new?
This is better than the revised version.
🤣
"I love a Political Joke, until one gets elected that is!!!"
Absolutely loved the books, what a fantastic series. Love it. ❤️❤️❤️👍👍👍
17:00 - Major Reinhardt from Secret Army. Yet another actor doing duty in that and this.
Yes and the guy he is interrogating was in Secret Army as well (Flt Lt Curtiss of MI-19 in Session 1)
McCallum and Stock from The Great Escape - how many others from that classic end up in this excellent series! loving it soooo far!
Superb series.
39:00 "Protected by the most powerful army in the world....I didn't mean the Italians" L0L
Strange episode..whilst he ends in Colditz later, this back story does all sound a bit bizarre
R. A. F. Wing Commander . Douglas Based spent some time at Colditz Castle to the end of hostilities . May 1945 .
Von Eissinger looks like Dracula.
Continuity error : Player whilst being interviewed by the Gestapo in Paris, although he makes out that they are in Berlin twice!
What is the name for the classical music that was played by Eissinger at his house and at the restaurant?
Von Eissinger was taking a tremendous risk.
Ha! - That's my great uncle playing the Polish officer! Gods - what a shock!
Wow that's cool!
Oh how amazing. He played it so well.
In Europe (& other places) the 3rd floor refers to what in the US is called the 4th floor...
What kind of research went into the costumes? Why is the Parisian Kraut wearing a uniform when he is supposed to be Gestapo (whose detectives, as far as I know, wore plainclothes? And why is this uniform with SS and death's head insignia green when the death's head as worn on the black uniforms of the SS camp uniforms?
Believe it or not, the Gestapo did have uniformed officers in addition to plainclothes operatives. Their uniforms were the same as those worn by the regular SS, just with blank black collar patches in lieu of the SS lightning bolts for all ranks under colonel, as well as green trim (meaning these ones are inaccurate; in addition to having the lightning bolts, they have white trim; white was for infantry).
And I don't know where you got the idea that the SS only ever wore black, or that only the SS-TV (concentration camp personnel) had the death's head emblem. Except for tank crews, all SS switched to gray (not green) uniforms during the war and the black uniform was phased out except for dress uniforms intended for ceremonial purposes such as parties and parades, and all SS wore the death's head on their cap, not just the SS-TV. They did however have an extra one on their right collar patches for all ranks under colonel, though.
@@williamhiers1280spot on. Due to Hollywood, many people think that all the SS wore black uniforms throughout the war years.
Also, gotta love the chubby SS officer in Paris. I've never seen a man so drunk on his own self-importance!
That’s Nigel Stock, who played the part of an escaped POW who was shot by the SS in the Great Escape.
It is a common misconception amongst the English and in Hollywood to mistake German SS- Officers as being members of the Gestapo. The name Gestapo is short for "Geheime Staatspolizei" which translates as "Secret State Police" and as the name points out, was indeed "secret", i.e. did not generally wear any uniform whilst on duty. While many members of the Gestapo may have held a rank in the Allgemeine SS, the Gestapo`s parent organisation (as a subsidiary of the RHSA), the Gestapo should not be confused with the Waffen- SS, which was the armed military force of the SS. The Waffen SS- Officer interogating Dick Player from 16:36 to 20:55 has the Waffen SS rank of Sturmbannführer, which was the equivalent to Major in the army.
For further information, WIKIPEDIA has an excellent article on the subject.
Should be wearing an SD uniform.
It is a common misconception amongst the uninformed and in Hollywood to mistake the British and the English or are you saying the Scots Welsh and N Irish do not make that mistake. For further information, WIKIPEDIA has an excellent article on the subject
The Gestapo did have SS uniforms, they just didn't have the lighting bolts on their collars. Their uniforms were also trimmed in green. The problem is that generally, when people think of the Gestapo, they think only of the plainclothes/undercover operatives, not the uniformed officers. Aside from the fact these guys have the lightning bolts and white trim instead of green, their outfits are reasonably accurate for uniformed Gestapo personnel of the time.
@@wcatholic1 The SD and Gestapo were two different organizations.
Thank You. That was interesting. I did wonder why they had uniforms as I believe the Gestapo did not.
30:30. I don't understand his authority.
Two Doctor Watsons in one episode.
Hardwicke and whom, and when?
39:23 worth the episode by itself! "...and the Americans?"
LOL!
+Scott Clinton Yup nowadays nothing has changed.
That office where Player is interrogated by the two SS officers looks like it was used for the Commandant's office for the rest of the series. It's redecorated and filmed from a different angle and with a different background but I'm sure it's the same room.
Ikr 😂
Nice timee
That german at the station doesn't sound very german does he?
I dont think "Who izt ze clever dick who izt playing games with meine letterhosen?" would improve that line of dialoge.
the train station
he studied in england before the war :)
I believe Colditz Castle is in Austria . May be in Bavaria Germany . Thank you .
Colditz is a small town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C POW camp for officers
Getting interrogated by the demon headmaster!!!
Anyone tell me why he refused the proposition the rationale behind.
The gay undertones of the last 20 minutes or so of this episode is so clear to see. I remember once a critic reviewed that Dick Player was the repressed gay man in the show.
It’s ironic that Nigel Stock is playing the part of an SS interrogator, when he played the part of an escaped POW being interrogated by the SS in ‘The Great Escape.’
After genuine attempts at German accents in the first two episodes, they just gave up in this one, didn't they?
No - Germans speaking English are represented with German accents. But Germans speaking German as heard by German British speaking protagonists is represented as perfect English.
@@ianinkster2261 wadda bout that guy singing in the shower
@@ianinkster2261 A bit like 'Allo 'Allo, then...
why all this criticisim about Gestapos,so what ,just enjoy the stories for what they are. Just entertainment
This series is based on a true pow prison. Enjoy the program. Few if any of these were ever made. Wish it lasted longer.
Would a very talented and skilled son of a diplomat really end up in a submarine? This stories a bit all over the joint
There was a war on, you know.
Do you not understand this is a true story written by someone who was actually there?
If I was him I'd take the offer, of course it wouldn't change anything and he could still have fought against Hitler instead of ending up in Colditz but then this episode would be pointless..
I say German officers with impeccable British accents. Good show old bean.
One approves, what?
It's to represent what a clipped German officer class accent might sound like .Better than fake German accents speaking English I think.
🤣
Great series...but poor accents on this one.
From the days when the BBC made great programs unlike the schlock the make now
L'ufficiale s.s. senza gli occhiali è il solito attore che fa fegelain nel film the bunker..
He actually looks like a "craut"😁...[[ have German blood, born in Germany of US parents] That's what the Yanks(us) called the Germans in WW2....
He arrives at Colditz in a suit but has a navy uniform the rest of the series.
As part of the Geneva convention, prisoners on both sides had access to their uniforms.
Sent through the Red Cross.
I don't know about Dick Player. Perhaps the Gestapo was onto something.
He acts and talks like a regular, experienced spy.
Metal clip anachronism.
United Europe, =EU, except Italians. GB fights alone, never mind the commonwealth.
You appear to be talking bollocks
Commonwealth cares a shit about UK
fdfdfdfd ffjkhgjkgffhsfgkkfgj
The commonwealth was solidly on Britain’s side in 1940.
Is it just me or is anybody else mistaking the actor who plays Herr Eissinger for Herr Flick?
It is a bit far fetched to believe that one can so easily speak another language and get away with it when speaking to native speakers. It is extremely rare, in my life I doubt I have met more than ten people with this gift. Admittedly the hero was in Germany as a child which would make a difference.
I also think his interlocutor had a good point. If Britain had recognised that it was fighting the Nazis and not Germany then things might have been much easier. Even Goebbels recognised as much in his diary.
Lookup2Wakeup I also studied languages at university and am multilingual. For my poly time I know of no-one who learned a language as an adult who speaks like a native. The only way is to have been there as a child.
I don't see how I have taken Goebbels diary out of context. The Nazis were not backed by the German people all the way, in the elections of November 1932 the Nazis got around one third of the votes - that means that two thirds voted for other parties.
As for if I have been abroad or not, a simple glance at my channel would indicate that I have spent some time in countries outside of the UK. I am mutlilingual - proof is on my channel although that would take more than a cursory glance. I also have a degree in linguistics although you will have to take my word on that one.
I was also in the British Army during the Cold War and in that time I did not once meet anyone in our forces who could speak as a native. If you claim that you can speak German like a native, why not put up a film on you tube so other people can hear your German. Despite knowing the words and grammar of languages, it is clear that I am a native English speaker and even when I speak English it is clear from my pronunciation of vowel sounds like 'oo' or 'u' that I come from a north eastern working class background.
UKTinker
The idea that Germans were somehow better off under the Nazis than before is not born out by statistics. To take a comparison between 1936 and 1928 as an example, to use figures given to Hitler, we see the average wage had fallen, unemployment was higher, food queues were getting longer and prices were also higher. So one or two people may have been better off, but the majority were worse off in an economy run on socialist lines where massive amounts were spent on arms.
As for my knowledge, I would suggest to you that as I have travelled and you have not and as I am multilingual and you are not then I am probably more of an authority than you are. You claim that there were people who could pass for Germans who were native English speakers but as you cannot speak the language yourself you would scarcely be in a position to judge.
+Alan Heath 1928 was before the crash, so that's hardly a fair comparison. There's little doubt that that the situation of the mid-late 30s had Germans living far better than they were in 1930. On top of it all, millions had their pride. Both personally and nationally -- something many had never known in the chaos of Weimar and the Depression.
@38:34 Du hast! U.S.A and U.K.
this could be the german version of ello ello.
Why can't they just talk in German and give subtitles it would be more realistic.
Because they would have had to get a whole bunch of German actors and it's an English production. And to put out a subtitled programme in 1972 would have went down like a lead balloon that's why.
@@ewanmacfarlane9195 Really?
V.english German guards!
I so would love to have been a prisoner in colditz the digging the stories at night us against gerry
I doubt it. No fun being hungry much of the time.
I hope that was a joke mate. if not you really need to do some reading on the subject. you will see that it was not all fun and games. in fact none of it was fun and games.
@@tommyfred6180 Well to be fair, Colditz was a lot better then most normal german POW camps. American, British, and French prisoners were almost never subjected to the atrocious conditions Russian and Polish prisoners were in the first place (one of the reasons german POW's were treated so badly). And Colditz also only housed officers, and officers in german POW prisons usually had a lot more freedom, as well as better rations then a normal private.
This can be easily seen in the case of Colditz, with the french prisoners construction a hidden radio room, as well as the fact that, despite it being a high security prison, prisoners were constantly escaping there. Recaptured escapees usually got up to 3 months solitary, which considering you are talking about nazi germany here, is not as bad as it could be.
@@slome815 mate i'm not saying other didn't have it even harder. i thought i made that clear in my last sentence. British under statement i for you. i'v been to the channel islands and see the conditions some Russian POWs suffered and they had it good compared with other Russians did in other camps.
as for them getting better because of being officers. well thats you falling for Nazi propergander. that was a story they made up to encourage privet soldiers to join work parties or even fight for them. its bull the red cross boxes they got had nothing in them that others did not get. they also did not get the boxes complete but broken down with lots of stuff removed. so you can reasonably say they got less much of the time.
the fact is the building was rundown, very cold even in summer. damp with a water system that barley worked in winter and smelled so bad in summer that some parts of the building could not be used. the guys also didn't have access to open ground or land to cultivate. unlike most other guys held in camps.
you are correct that the French guys built a radio room. but that was just down to the skill of the men involved and the fact that lots of the building was abandoned and closed off. so they had space and junk to work with. it was also not the only camp the to this by far.
also the the prison did not just hold officers. it had a number of NCO's and other ranks. they just never get a mention.
as a last point the reason prisoners mostly got off light for escaping is simple. almost everyone held was well known to the red cross and killing them off would have made waves on a political level re SS and others. that said some did "just die" and many suffered sociological attacks' that are hard both for them to talk about and impossible for most to understand. it was a high profile unit but it never got extra or top end as a result.
For any fans interested facebook.com/Colditztvseries