A few weeks after the Berlin Wall fell, I was serving in the RAF in Germany, we drove via Colditz to Berlin, for a holiday of a lifetime. We parked out motor caravan in the little square below the castle and walked up towards the gate into the prisoner compound. There was a guy talking French to some people, as we approached he heard us speaking English, and invited us to join him in visiting the compound. Colditz was then still a mental hospital. We visited the cellar below the stairs to the British rooms, we visited the Chapel and saw items recovered from the tunnel. We walked around the compound. As we left he asked us to hold back. As the french people left he invited us to his house, only a short walk from the castle. I remember going up a big oak staircase to a large bedroom. Her we saw items that are normally seen in the books on Colditz. the fake rifles, german uniforms, and the original hatch that Aiery Neave escaped through. he said his family had hidden the items when told to destroy them. We offered to pay him for his time but he would not accept a penny, he was very pro British. We felt very privilaged to have seen the castle in its original state.
We were stationed in RAFG in ‘91 and did the same trip. I was a youngish kid at the time but had seen the Colditz Story movie and couldn’t quite believe we could simply wander in. It was either still a mental hospital at that time too or was in the process of being handed over/re-roled as I remember there being faces at the windows and parts of the castle that were off limits.
@@ackers36 it was a surreal time. After we left the castle we went into the town, and got some shopping. The Cinema had been turned into a supermarket. the stuff was piled on the floor, on the stage were some basic freezers and fridges. First time i had shopped in a supermarket with a slopping floor. We drove into Berlin, the checkpoints had gone but at every one there were russian lorries full of soldiers.
Must have been so surreal and incredible to have visited then! I've seen various documentaries from that time just after the Wall came down and now the castle has a very different look to it with the freshly painted walls etc and clearly better than when it was under the DDR but I can only imagine how imposing it must have been to see itin the 90's! And also incredible to see the items that are now in the museum today! Thank god they were saved and not just disposed of!
@@WW2Wayfinder it was a strange and interesting time. We also visited Buchenwald on the way to Berlin. we were the only people from the west there that day, with lots of Russian Schoolchildren with their teacher in uniform, they totally ignored us, once they heard us speak in english to each other. The camp had not been westernised at the time so when we went into the large building it still had exhibits like the shrunken heads and lampshades of human skin. Everything was labelled in Russian, German, English and Hebrew, with a small relevant flag by the entry. Every entry we read in English glorified Russian and how they had won the patriotic war with little support from the west. As we drove to Berlin we passed through towns that still had evidence of war damage that had been repaired. and lots of Neon signs. the shops with queues were the TV shops, not the food shops!. As we drove into Berlin the checkpoint buildings had been removed to be replaced with Russian lorries, parked to slow you up, with young conscripts sitting in them, you got the sense they were just waiting the call to shut the road.
Saw many episodes of Colditz, great atmosphere, and great actors on both sides of the captors and pows. Thanks for showing us Colditz and telling us the story of the reluctant inhabitants.
You really do justice to history. I can see you put your heart and soul every episode . Thank-you for educating us and entertaining us. We all look forward to the NEXT ONE.
Thank you so much! I do try as it's my passion. I won't try and claim I get it right all the time but it does genuinely come from a place of love for the events of those years and wanting to pay homage to those who went before!
In 1996, on route to Poland, I visited Colditz. Having seen the TV series and read Reids and Eggers books as well as Baders biography, I was taken by the stories of the people who had to stay at the castle and the effort they took to try to escape. There was a small improvised museum in the village itself. It was only possible to visit the castle with a local guide. Entrance of the rooms in the castle was not possible, except for the chapel. There was a plan to make the castle into a museum and the chapel was one of the first steps they took to renovate. Part of the floor was removed and the big floor beams were visible, where the French sawed their way through. I was in awe, because just before this, in the village museum, I saw the knife which they used to do so. This image of the knife and big beams with the distinct sawing marks will be in my mind forever. The stories they can tell. Thanks for your story, brings back lots of memories.
@@PaulBrugman-bl7zk glad you enjoyed it! Must have been quite something to see it back then! It’s definitely had some money invested in the place and now the tour is done via an iPad (not something I’m a fan of as why would you want to stare at a screen while you’re at Colditz!) but that aside the museum in the former Guard HQ just outside the prisoners compound is nicely done.
Glad you liked it. Colditz is a very special pplace and the atmosphere there even today feels very forboding. I cannot imagine what it was like back in the 1940's!
Incredible I did not even realise it was open to the public, so after influencing my Normandy trips looks like you have now motivated me to head out to Colditz! Much appreciated! 😂
I loved reading Pat Reid's book on Colditz - "The Colditz Story" and "The Latter Days of Colditz". I also loved the awesome BBC drama series "Colditz" - packed with great actors - David McCallum, Robert Wagner, Bernard Hepton. Wonderful series - very gripping!
Thank you! I’ve got the series on dvd and loved the John mills 1955 film about the castle so it’s always been a place I’ve wanted to see first hand and I’m glad I did! It’s just a shame that it was the last weekend before the prisoners half was being renovated so I couldn’t really gain access to the places I wanted to but still very pleased I’ve been there.
Jon, I have watched your videos for a while now and I have to say I was transported into Colditz and its WW2 story. In the 70’s I watched the TV series, but you took the story to another level. Thank you.
Thanks Steve! Really kind of you to say that mate and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Apparently the TV series is availbe here on TH-cam now if you've not seen it recently.
I read both of P R Reid's books as a teenager - along with the Great Escape, The Wooden Horse and a couple of other escaper's memoirs - The Colditz Story and The Latter Days of Colditz were both great reads! The ingenuity these men showed in times of adversity was remarkable! Also Kiwi officer Charles Upham VC & Bar was imprisoned there after capture in Nth Africa!
They were incredible weren’t they. I was lucky to have a maths teacher whose mother worked the Comet Line during the war. My regret is I didn’t spend more time asking him about it!
What an amazing video. I'm sure most of WW2 enthusiasts have seen videos or read books about Colditz Castle. I even saw a TV program on the glider story. But this tour of the castle was outstanding. Thanks, Jon for the amazing tour.
It’s an incredible place and even today a daunting on to look up at from the town. I can’t imagine what the POWs must have felt when they first arrived there. The TV Series, Colditz is worth a look if you’re able to find a copy.
I read a comment by Pat Reid’s grandson on one site. What an honour. Pat wrote a book on Colditz . I am old with failing eyesight. Yours looks like a great video which as an historian I will enjoy. Not the right word. Horrific is better. Just started. Had no idea it was so huge. The series on colditz is really worth watching too. I have seen it three times. Am sure this too will be really facjnating. Thank you for posting.
Thank you so much! Colditz is a fascinating place and still in 2024, a very imposing place to visit! I’ve no idea how the men who were marched into captivity there had the mental fortitude to devise the escapes they did! The tv series is also excellent and now on TH-cam!
Awesomeness Jon! This definitely brought back memories of my visit shortly after the fall of East Germany. I had my fuel tokens & filled up my car & took with me my Army sleeping bag & a hooped bivi bag to sleep in at a nearby camp site. The next day I looked around & an English speaking gent asked if I had been to Buchenwald concentration camp, which I had not, so I did stop there on my way back. I have been to Bergen Belsen a few times. Thank you for posting this
Another excellent video. Educational, entertaining and just downright fun overall. Keep up the good work and I look forward to your next video as always.
Thanks!!!! Glad you enjoyed this one and hopefully it shows just how amazing it was that anyone actually escaped from the castle given how dominating it was, and still is tody!
Good summary. Covers all the escapes. I visited Colditz 10 years ago. Well worth a visit. My uncle was not happy with the accommodation and left in October 1942!
We have close friends in England and their father (& father-in-law) was Dick Howe, the escape officer at Colditz. He went back 40 years after the war to tape a BBC special and found things they had hidden before the war ended. Pretty cool...
Great video. I and my co-author were there in April 23, researching the location where the last Dartmoor tin miner, Capt Harry ‘Pop’ Vernon Olver DCLI MM, died in 1943. Much research finally found that he was part of the Escape Committee, probably due to his mining and engineering skills. Pop was 51 when he died, hence the moniker as he was at least 20 years older than the majority of his fellow PoWs, and is now buried in the Berlin Military Cemetery.
Oh wow, thank you for sharing that about Pop! The sheer amount of stories from Colditz was quite overwhelming when I started to really look into the place and I’m glad you were able to go there and retrace his steps! Do you have a book coming out about Captain Vernon then?
Excellent presentation once again, i was lucky enough to stay in the youth hostel within its walls a few years ago. We could walk around the castle before it opened to the public and i came across an unlocked door and thought should i or not, anyway i did venture through it and climbed a series of steps to end up in the attic areas, very eerie and very quiet at the time, wasn’t challenged in any way and i never touched anything, i have photos if required of the upper quite empty floors. I returned to the door quickly thinking someone might have locked us in but we hadn’t, the visit was one i will never forget, thanks again for sharing, Robbo 👍
I also stayed in the hostel! Wasn’t quite what I had expected but still a great experience to be there. I didn’t sneak around much sadly but wish I had now you’ve said that!!!
Thank you! And I agree some of them seem too far fetched to even come from a Hollywood script! Amazing the engenuity those men displayed while they were held captive!
your work here rounded out what I remembered from reading Neave's and Bader's accounts of their time inside there...a grand post and I thank you for making it for us...be well!
Glad I was able to show you something new! Colditz at least used to be a word in common useage when I was growing up in reference to anywhere imposing or where you didn't want to be, and when I was in trianing many years ago RAF Cranwell was nicknamed Colditz by those of us going through training there! Although in fairness we got let out at weekends for the most part!
Fantastic video, thanks very much for sharing. I have been fascinated by Colditz since playing the board game with my family many years ago. It was great to actually see the castle features that became familiar to us from the game. Thanks again and I hope to visit Colditz myself one day.
My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it and I'm a big fan of the board game! I hope you're able to make it over to the castle, and I think there are flights to Leipzig which is the closest airport so it's definitely posible if you have the time.
Great to see this video. I have just binge watched the 1970’s TV series and yes I did watch it back then too. Glad you showed the Colditz game. My brother would always win, whether he was a prisoner or a guard.
The game is great isn't it! I love playing it and to be able to bring it to Colditz was good fun. the 70's TV series was great and I have it on DVD so need to dig it out and watch it again! Thanks for watching!
I grew up in Germany at a Canadian military base and we used to play the board game "Escape From Colditz". Absolutely love this episode and since I am working in Ukraine now will make a renewed attempt to visit this historic site :-)
Great story about Colditz castle Jon, really well done sir. The stories from Colditz castle are absolutely phenomenal and never cease to amaze me. Learned a lot, thank you very much. 🫡
As always Troy, thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. I just wish I'd had more time to film there and document more of it but I only had a small window to film in so did what I could but I'd love to make it back there one day
My pleasure! Just sorry I couln't tell more of the stories from the castle but there are so many it's unreal and I'd need a whole series on them to do it the justice they really deserve!
I visited Colditz in 1991. By the greatest luck I was given a one-to-one guided tour by Stefan Hempel, the then person-in-charge. In those days the place retained its wartime appearance, and parts were still out-of-bounds to visitors. I’d bought Pat Reid’s book at school in 1954 and lapped it up. Took a long time to see the real thing.
Brilliant video. I went there around 8 years ago and had the guided tour. Fascinating. For a long weekend you can base yourself in Leipzig, hire a car and do Colditz, Mittelwerk and Buchenwald fairly easily.
Thank you! Great that you've been there and as you say definitley a lot to see in the surrounding area. Sadly I only had the Saturday and Sunday there but was really pleased to finally be able to get there and see it first hand! THanks for watching!
I had met Reid in 1981 at Avaloncon (board gaming convention) in Baltimore. He was hawking his “Escape from Colditz “ board game. He mentioned about the Zeiss locks and how the Polish prisoners had learned how to unlock them. After Appel the German soldiers would live the area as the cells were locked up. 10 minutes after that everyone was discussing their plans.
Excellent research combined with videos/photos made this piece of WW-II history very interesting. Most of the information presented here I was not aware of, thank you for the tour and experience.
I really enjoyed this as it was one of the first WW2 sites of interest I visited some years ago. A really nice German lady who worked there took me around on a guided tour despite only paying the admission fee! Maybe it was as I took an interest in her little Trabant! The various escape attempts were incredible and amazing how some ALMOST got away. To dress up as a woman then walk alone past German guards took nerves of steel! I took may photos of the castle but perhaps the best are ones taken from the bridge which best shows the dominant presence of the castle and how the POWs must have felt on seeing it for the first time.
I know the spot you mean, hardto imagine how soul destroying it must have been for those men to walk up there and see it for the first time! Glad you've been able to visit the castle and see it first hand!
And the remarkable TWICE AWARDED Victoria Cross Sir Charles Upham, was also sent to Golditz. Described as always angry, on Wars end, immediately armed himself and set off to join the War. Nearly escaped several times from Camps-and sent to Golditz, Captain. But never tried escaping from Golditz I believe. Fabulous effort.
True mate he did try to join up with an American unit but the British put a stop to that and sent him back to Britain..after all he had to receive his bar for his VC from the King...a truly amazing man and a kiwi legend ...get a chance and read his book ..Mark of the Lion..awesome read
He did try to escape from Colditz but l think it was bluff on his part, he made a run for it and got tangled up in some barbed wire. A German guard walked up to him and sighted his gun as if to shoot him. Sir Charles pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and asked the guard for a light. It diffused the moment but l don't think it was a serious escape attempt
@suemcgregor9248 it wasn't colditz prison at all mate ..it was Weinsberg camp ..Oflag Va..he also didn't ask for a light he told the German he refused to be shot by a corporal and to go get an officer which the German did so ...mate really if u don't know the true facts please just don't make it up
Glad you enjoyed this one! Colditz is an incredible place and remains a very imposing sight even today. I just cannot imagine how those young men would have felt as they marched through the gates there.
Thanks for watching! Colditz is one of those places that needs many episodes to do it the justice it deserves given how many incredible tales there are behind the castle walls!
In the mid-1970s, I had the great pleasure of meeting Pat Reid at a Colditz exhibition in the Sussex town of Lewes when we were staying with friends in Brighton, and I have a personally signed copy of his book and I also had a copy of the board game which gave hours of family entertainment.
@@WW2Wayfinder Unfortunately, no I didn't have much time to talk with him other than exchanging pleasantries since there was a long queue of people waiting behind me, but I did manage to shake the great man by the hand and he said "I hope you will enjoy reading the book". The book is a very good read.
Great presentation, you make it all come alive very nicely, thank you so much. Many close misses but honestly, the watch that came undone and fell off, the zealous Brit who picked it up and out of a gentlemanly outpour of the most harmless and admirable kind, brought it back to the gorgeous... thing, and who, by doing so, in the most involuntary mistake of the century, woke the guards out of some lethargic stupor, turned a brilliant plan into a dismal failure, led the lifetime project of a fellow inmate to its worst possible outcome, and probably had nightmares about it for the rest of his life... Now, that beats any escape story I ever heard of in my whole life, and I will never wear a watch again, ever! : )
@@WW2Wayfinder Indeed, as they say: "A butterfly batting a wing in Africa can cause a hurricane in America", we can consider the consequences of whatever we do always and at length, which is the right thing to do of course, but in the end, even the best intentioned can unknowingly kill the most beautiful dreams, or save the earth, ever heard of Vasily Arkhipov?
Oh wow, I just looked him up and what a story! Hard to imagine how those men of the Advanced Striking force got onboard their aircraft in the Spring of 1940 knowing full well they were no match for the Luftwaffe.
Thank you! It’s definitely a great place to spend a weekend and explore the castle and the town. Still amazes me how those who were POWs there managed the escape attempts that they did!
@@WW2Wayfinder I would love to visit there. I'm an American and I grew up watching the wonderful British series "Colditz" in the 1970's! I still watch it on TH-cam today! 👍
Oh cool! I know that Colditz isn’t as well known in the U.S., or at least I’m led to believe that’s the as it is in the UK. Great that you’ve seen the series, I’ve got it on dvd and really must go through it again!
Every time I see pictures of the Colditz Castle , I see my old school a smaller version of the same style in Dover. It was actually nicknamed as Colditz.
Great episode & highlights the incredible story of S/L G.Stephenson,which I watched in the series 'Colditz' (in black & white) on BBC as a child.I have also visited 19 Sqdn Museum at Duxford
I thoroughly enjoyed this video, Jon, so many thanks for producing it. The drone footage shows the extent of the castle and its impregnability - as you say, first sight of it for the prisoners must have been daunting and somewhat disheartening. I liked the anecdote about Airey Neave's green uniform! The TV series of Colditz is very good and can be found on YT. Best!
Glad you enjoyed it! It's such an impressive place but the walls seem extreemly tall when you're stood inside of the court yard! I just can't imagine the mental fortitude those men had to devise ways to over come them both physically and mentally!
Very interesting information. Did you see the the number of escape attempts by nationality information in the museum? The British attempts were top by very, very many. When I went I was alone with the head guide who had the keys! We went to a solitary confinement cell which was through an office type place. He said that because it overlooked the outside world, prisoners there might have felt less ‘solitary’. I don’t know but the place lived up to my expectations. He told me that several non UK tourists turned up because of its history and were surprised and shocked by its WW2 use.
Thank you! And yes I did, I did the guided tour while I was there as I was curious to see what was behind some of the doors however I wasn't able to do the FULL guided tour sadly as it was the weekend before they closed for the winter and the new iPad tour they've created (not a fan of those personally as I don't want to stare at a screen when I'm in a spot as important as Colditz but just my views on that).
On a related topic, I would like to share a few comments with you about the Great Escape and Stalag Luft III Sagan (now Zagan, Poland). Would you believe that I live outside of Toronto AND only a few miles from the world's largest memorial to the Great Escape (with the exception of the Camp and present museum)? It's absolutely true. The youngest of the 76 escaped prisoners was an Englishman, 21 year-old P/O Tony Bethell. Tony was recaptured and returned to the camp. His escape buddy was one of the '50'. Tony wrote a great deal about the Great Escape, including an unpublished collection of biographies he wrote of ALL 50 of the men executed. He travelled the world at his own expense and provided a copy of this collection to EACH and EVERY one of the families of the '50'! At some point in his adult life (I forget when), Tony emigrated to Canada and eventually married his wife, Lorna, who was a member of the Molson brewing family. In the mid 2000's, Tony was diagnosed with terminal cancer and he and his wife decided to create a legacy in honour of the '50'. Tony said that what had bothered him the most about the execution of the '50' was that each died alone so he vowed to provide a place where no one would die alone. In 2009, Bethell Hospice Caledon opened in the Village of Inglewood, part of the Town of Caledon and about 45 minutes north-west of Toronto, a place where the many volunteers serve Tony's wish so that no one dies alone. BethellHospice.org. Bethell Hospice is entirely funded by a legacy of the Bethell family and countless private donors, myself proudly among them! When Lorna passed away about ten years ago, the family donated the contents of the home she shared with Tony as the core of a huge yard sale, which was held on their property out in the country not far from here. As I walked up the long stone driveway early on a gray Saturday morning, the weather was cold and wet and I found myself wondering whether such days around his home had reminded Tony of the Camp and the morning after his escape. Tony's modest collection of books was for sale and I eagerly searched for a copy of Paul Brickhill's history of the Escape. No luck although Tony did seem to still have a keen interest in aviation and the war. On my way out, I passed a rough looking but quaint birdhouse sitting on a table that I knew immediately I had to have for some reason. I asked a volunteer how much it was and she responded in a somewhat embarrassed fashion that it actually wasn't something they had thought they could sell. Well, $10 later and my wife and I strode happily to our car for the trip home. As soon as I got home, I installed the birdhouse high up on a wooden pole in our backyard and, as soon as the sun came out, my wife and i sat down to admire our best purchase of the day. Almost immediately, two small birds, starlings we believed, landed on the birdhouse and, for the next few hours, they took turns bringing leaves, twigs and the like to turn that birdhouse into their new home. We quickly named them (of course) Lorna and Tony! I remarked to my wife about Tony's odd behaviour though. Every time he arrived back at the birdhouse with his next load, Lorna would stay and help yet every time the Lorna arrived back, Tony would immediately take off. Quite honestly, here are the exact words my wife and I exchanged. I said to her that it seemed that "Tony is always trying to escape". My wife replied "well, that would make sense, wouldn't it?". I don't think either one of us could speak for the next ten minutes. Bethell Hospice Caledon. In memory of the '50'. Regards, Michael Rodgers, Caledon East, Ontario, Canada. MichaelRodgers2016@gmail.com.
@@michaelrodgers6732 an inspiring account which braids into a strong cord many lives, time zones, continents, emotions, decades, a couple of centuries and a couple of species...thank you for sharing it with us...be well, good poster
After watching this video I will never again experience being arbitrarily nicknamed, "Spitfire" in quite the same way again from now on. Not that me being compared to only a vessel for travelling in at the time again by someone else too would impress me so much more now.
I really love your taste and style always so chic. My faves would be the kislux leather backpack and the Swarovski pave diamond ring so gorg. Thank you for your recommendations.
Ben MacIntyre,'s book is nuanced look at the prison at Colditz. It focuses on the internal relations between the different groups of prisoners, and a subtle analysis of the Commadant
how are you guys doing Mark ,i haven't seen you in while. my parachuted into Holland during 'Operation Market Garden' September 14th 1944. take care my friend
New Zealand’s famous Charles Upham from the 20th Battalion, a Pakeha (European Ancestry) battalion from the South Island of New Zealand. The New Zealand Māori 28th Battalion were well feared by their/our enemy. Charles Upham was the only double VC in WW2. The Rugby mindset made the Kiwis very tough, and our troops and population had a high Protein diet!
Damn this was good! Hoping to see more like this. Is this the place where an escape tunnel was shown to a tour guide by former prisoners? The tunnel was unknown until that moment.
Could well have been given how many escape attempts were made from Colditz. The place was like a labyrinth made worse given how it have been built up for centuries without formal plans so all sorts of secret spaces exisited there!
I saw something about that, it just shows you how well these escape attempts were planned and defended against the German 'Ferrets'! As a child I remember reading one of the books on Colditz, Pat Reid's one I think, and he said that the Glider remained hidden behind its false wall until the 70's, I'm not sure if that was true or not! I'm sure I read that there was a one-off officially sanctioned investigative visit to the castle during the DDR days and it threw up a good number of things around the castle that were still hidden at that time, the glider may have been one of them! Certainly the book I read in the mid 70's had some photos which included the glider, but I don't think it was dated. The glider design is very close to the Slingsby T21, although the Colditz one had the 2 occupants sitting in-line, whereas in the T21 has them side by side with dual controls. There are 2 T21's in the Historic Flight at the Scottish Gliding Centre, Portmoak, nr Scotlandwell, Kinrosshire! These 2 versions differ in that one has open cockpits, and the other has closed cockpit canopies! I regularly flew in them, and other 2-seat gliders as a young child when I was at the Club with my father, who was Senior Tug Pilot for many years!
Some 28 British escaped and made successful home runs .I knew one Lt Commander W L Stephens DSO -he after the war married a girl who helped him on his escape journey, he died when retired in France 20 years ago . France in the earjy
I always think about WW2 POW escape stories is that getting out of the prison camp is only the start of a prisoners problems. The chances are, from a British point of view, is someone is not likely to speak a European language, once out of the prison you are then maybe 4-500miles behind enemy lines, travel is difficult, risking capture by having to interact with rail staff etc. Yo have to admire the courage of the men who tried to escape
The Officer prisoners unbelievably had batmen to scivvy for them. Double amputee and "hero" Douglas Bader had a batman carry him around on his back and treated him like dirt. No wonder they had time on their hands to plot their escapes. I don't want to be churlish. I 'm sure they were brave men but these are the facts. Ian Dee.
@@IanDuckworth-n4b spot on. When I heard of Bader’s treatment of his Batman I was discussed. Not letting him escape when he had the chance was a horrid way to treat someone. While Bader was a good pilot and overcame some monumental stuff, I don’t rate him very highly as a decent person
Not sure about Douglas Bader, but it is my understanding that it was only the Senior British Officers that had a batmen when in German and Italian POW Camps! But, as officers, officers were not expected to work, whereas most other ranks worked on farms! This was written into the Geneva Convention, which made a clear distinction between officers and other ranks, in terms of the T's&C's for POW's. This is why officer POW's had time to plan escapes, and to put on theatrical shows, etc. in Axis Europe. It was totally different in the Far East as Japan wasn't a signatory and all POW's, regardless of rank, were forced to work! I have known a number of ex-POW's, both German and British, who worked on farms during their time as POW's, a German remained here in Scotland, he lived and worked on the farm next to ours, and another neighbour was captured at Dunkirk, interned in a Polish Camp and he and his wife returned a number of times to the farm he worked on during his long 5 years as a POW. My grandparents had 2 Italian POW's who worked on our farm during, or immediately after WW2. A neighbour of my mother's had been an officer POW of the Japanese, after the fall of Singapore I think, he spent time in the USA after his release as, like many, he was too emaciated to return home to the UK straight away!
@@johnrae4633 Nice to hear from someone who actually lived the experience. Too much pontificating these days from authors and "experts" who never heard a shot in anger, or went without food for any time. Thanks for your input. Ian Dee. ( Served in a different war.)
Greetings from New Zealand. Sir, did you go to school with Mark Felton? The two of you minic eachother for thoroughness continuity of thought etc etc Sterling effort for the both of you
A few weeks after the Berlin Wall fell, I was serving in the RAF in Germany, we drove via Colditz to Berlin, for a holiday of a lifetime. We parked out motor caravan in the little square below the castle and walked up towards the gate into the prisoner compound. There was a guy talking French to some people, as we approached he heard us speaking English, and invited us to join him in visiting the compound. Colditz was then still a mental hospital. We visited the cellar below the stairs to the British rooms, we visited the Chapel and saw items recovered from the tunnel. We walked around the compound. As we left he asked us to hold back. As the french people left he invited us to his house, only a short walk from the castle. I remember going up a big oak staircase to a large bedroom. Her we saw items that are normally seen in the books on Colditz. the fake rifles, german uniforms, and the original hatch that Aiery Neave escaped through. he said his family had hidden the items when told to destroy them. We offered to pay him for his time but he would not accept a penny, he was very pro British. We felt very privilaged to have seen the castle in its original state.
We were stationed in RAFG in ‘91 and did the same trip. I was a youngish kid at the time but had seen the Colditz Story movie and couldn’t quite believe we could simply wander in. It was either still a mental hospital at that time too or was in the process of being handed over/re-roled as I remember there being faces at the windows and parts of the castle that were off limits.
@@ackers36 it was a surreal time. After we left the castle we went into the town, and got some shopping. The Cinema had been turned into a supermarket. the stuff was piled on the floor, on the stage were some basic freezers and fridges. First time i had shopped in a supermarket with a slopping floor. We drove into Berlin, the checkpoints had gone but at every one there were russian lorries full of soldiers.
Must have been so surreal and incredible to have visited then! I've seen various documentaries from that time just after the Wall came down and now the castle has a very different look to it with the freshly painted walls etc and clearly better than when it was under the DDR but I can only imagine how imposing it must have been to see itin the 90's! And also incredible to see the items that are now in the museum today! Thank god they were saved and not just disposed of!
@@WW2Wayfinder it was a strange and interesting time. We also visited Buchenwald on the way to Berlin. we were the only people from the west there that day, with lots of Russian Schoolchildren with their teacher in uniform, they totally ignored us, once they heard us speak in english to each other. The camp had not been westernised at the time so when we went into the large building it still had exhibits like the shrunken heads and lampshades of human skin. Everything was labelled in Russian, German, English and Hebrew, with a small relevant flag by the entry. Every entry we read in English glorified Russian and how they had won the patriotic war with little support from the west. As we drove to Berlin we passed through towns that still had evidence of war damage that had been repaired. and lots of Neon signs. the shops with queues were the TV shops, not the food shops!. As we drove into Berlin the checkpoint buildings had been removed to be replaced with Russian lorries, parked to slow you up, with young conscripts sitting in them, you got the sense they were just waiting the call to shut the road.
I was there in October 89….Back then it wasn’t all freshened up like it is now…It was probably more like it was during wartime.
Saw many episodes of Colditz, great atmosphere, and great actors on both sides of the captors and pows.
Thanks for showing us Colditz and telling us the story of the reluctant inhabitants.
It was a great series and I’ve got it on DVD so probably need to rewatch it as I remember it being excellent!
Thanks for watching!
You really do justice to history. I can see you put your heart and soul every episode . Thank-you for educating us and entertaining us. We all look forward to the NEXT ONE.
Thank you so much! I do try as it's my passion. I won't try and claim I get it right all the time but it does genuinely come from a place of love for the events of those years and wanting to pay homage to those who went before!
In 1996, on route to Poland, I visited Colditz. Having seen the TV series and read Reids and Eggers books as well as Baders biography, I was taken by the stories of the people who had to stay at the castle and the effort they took to try to escape. There was a small improvised museum in the village itself. It was only possible to visit the castle with a local guide. Entrance of the rooms in the castle was not possible, except for the chapel. There was a plan to make the castle into a museum and the chapel was one of the first steps they took to renovate. Part of the floor was removed and the big floor beams were visible, where the French sawed their way through. I was in awe, because just before this, in the village museum, I saw the knife which they used to do so. This image of the knife and big beams with the distinct sawing marks will be in my mind forever. The stories they can tell.
Thanks for your story, brings back lots of memories.
@@PaulBrugman-bl7zk glad you enjoyed it! Must have been quite something to see it back then!
It’s definitely had some money invested in the place and now the tour is done via an iPad (not something I’m a fan of as why would you want to stare at a screen while you’re at Colditz!) but that aside the museum in the former Guard HQ just outside the prisoners compound is nicely done.
Colditz ist ca. 1 Stunde von meinem Heimatort entfernt! Ein sehr guter Bericht, vielen Dank!
Thank you! Definitely worth the visit if you’re able to drive over that way! The artefacts in the museum were incredible to see!
I watched all the Colditz episodes when they came out so this is very meaningful. Thank you.
Glad you liked it. Colditz is a very special pplace and the atmosphere there even today feels very forboding. I cannot imagine what it was like back in the 1940's!
Incredible I did not even realise it was open to the public, so after influencing my Normandy trips looks like you have now motivated me to head out to Colditz! Much appreciated! 😂
I loved reading Pat Reid's book on Colditz - "The Colditz Story" and "The Latter Days of Colditz".
I also loved the awesome BBC drama series "Colditz" - packed with great actors - David McCallum, Robert Wagner, Bernard Hepton.
Wonderful series - very gripping!
I've got Pat's book on a shelf, but sadly not found the time to properlly read it yet but agree about the series, it's excellent!
Watched or seen all movies and TV BBC programs since young, Thanks Wayfinder for this closure !
Great video! Reminds me of watching the TV drama Colditz on Sunday evenings when I was a kid. Brilliant to see the real locations.
Thank you!
I’ve got the series on dvd and loved the John mills 1955 film about the castle so it’s always been a place I’ve wanted to see first hand and I’m glad I did! It’s just a shame that it was the last weekend before the prisoners half was being renovated so I couldn’t really gain access to the places I wanted to but still very pleased I’ve been there.
Jon, I have watched your videos for a while now and I have to say I was transported into Colditz and its WW2 story. In the 70’s I watched the TV series, but you took the story to another level. Thank you.
Thanks Steve! Really kind of you to say that mate and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Apparently the TV series is availbe here on TH-cam now if you've not seen it recently.
Wonderful tour - so many stories! Thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it! Was quite the experience to walk around there and explore the place!
I read both of P R Reid's books as a teenager - along with the Great Escape, The Wooden Horse and a couple of other escaper's memoirs - The Colditz Story and The Latter Days of Colditz were both great reads! The ingenuity these men showed in times of adversity was remarkable! Also Kiwi officer Charles Upham VC & Bar was imprisoned there after capture in Nth Africa!
They were incredible weren’t they. I was lucky to have a maths teacher whose mother worked the Comet Line during the war. My regret is I didn’t spend more time asking him about it!
What an amazing video. I'm sure most of WW2 enthusiasts have seen videos or read books about Colditz Castle. I even saw a TV program on the glider story. But this tour of the castle was outstanding. Thanks, Jon for the amazing tour.
It’s an incredible place and even today a daunting on to look up at from the town. I can’t imagine what the POWs must have felt when they first arrived there.
The TV Series, Colditz is worth a look if you’re able to find a copy.
there was a Hollywood movie made about that glider attempt . i seen it 50 years ago .
I read a comment by Pat Reid’s grandson on one site. What an honour. Pat wrote a book on Colditz . I am old with failing eyesight. Yours looks like a great video which as an historian I will enjoy. Not the right word. Horrific is better. Just started. Had no idea it was so huge. The series on colditz is really worth watching too. I have seen it three times. Am sure this too will be really facjnating. Thank you for posting.
Thank you so much! Colditz is a fascinating place and still in 2024, a very imposing place to visit! I’ve no idea how the men who were marched into captivity there had the mental fortitude to devise the escapes they did!
The tv series is also excellent and now on TH-cam!
Awesomeness Jon!
This definitely brought back memories of my visit shortly after the fall of East Germany.
I had my fuel tokens & filled up my car & took with me my Army sleeping bag & a hooped bivi bag to sleep in at a nearby camp site.
The next day I looked around & an English speaking gent asked if I had been to Buchenwald concentration camp, which I had not, so I did stop there on my way back.
I have been to Bergen Belsen a few times.
Thank you for posting this
Another excellent video. Educational, entertaining and just downright fun overall. Keep up the good work and I look forward to your next video as always.
Thanks!!!! Glad you enjoyed this one and hopefully it shows just how amazing it was that anyone actually escaped from the castle given how dominating it was, and still is tody!
Good summary. Covers all the escapes. I visited Colditz 10 years ago. Well worth a visit. My uncle was not happy with the accommodation and left in October 1942!
I'm using my wife's tablet. I was stationed in Zirndorf, FRG. When the wall came down, I was into DDR every weekend. I visited this place.
Great that you were able to see it in the 90's! I bet it looked quite different then after years of control by the DDR!
I remember watching the television series, this tour is great and brings a lot of extra information. 👍
Thank you! I've not watched the series for a long time now but remember it being really good.
Thank you, epic stories of my youth and life lessons still employed
You're most welome!
Brilliantly done good sir. Thanks for the look inside this fantastic story in history.
❤💯
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!!!
brilliant presentation.....As always....Thanks
Another outstanding video! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you!
how amazing is this !!! thank you so much !!!!
Glad you like it! Colditz has been on my list of must see places for a long time so glad I was able to share it!
Well done. I enjoyed this and learned a great deal.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the episode!
We have close friends in England and their father (& father-in-law) was Dick Howe, the escape officer at Colditz. He went back 40 years after the war to tape a BBC special and found things they had hidden before the war ended. Pretty cool...
Oh wow!!! I’ll have to have a look for that documentary!
Great video. I and my co-author were there in April 23, researching the location where the last Dartmoor tin miner, Capt Harry ‘Pop’ Vernon Olver DCLI MM, died in 1943. Much research finally found that he was part of the Escape Committee, probably due to his mining and engineering skills. Pop was 51 when he died, hence the moniker as he was at least 20 years older than the majority of his fellow PoWs, and is now buried in the Berlin Military Cemetery.
Oh wow, thank you for sharing that about Pop! The sheer amount of stories from Colditz was quite overwhelming when I started to really look into the place and I’m glad you were able to go there and retrace his steps!
Do you have a book coming out about Captain Vernon then?
Excellent presentation once again, i was lucky enough to stay in the youth hostel within its walls a few years ago. We could walk around the castle before it opened to the public and i came across an unlocked door and thought should i or not, anyway i did venture through it and climbed a series of steps to end up in the attic areas, very eerie and very quiet at the time, wasn’t challenged in any way and i never touched anything, i have photos if required of the upper quite empty floors. I returned to the door quickly thinking someone might have locked us in but we hadn’t, the visit was one i will never forget, thanks again for sharing, Robbo 👍
I also stayed in the hostel! Wasn’t quite what I had expected but still a great experience to be there. I didn’t sneak around much sadly but wish I had now you’ve said that!!!
@@WW2Wayfindergot a few pics if interested but not sure how to get them to you 👍
I’d definitely love to see them. My email is: contactww2wayfinder@gmail.com
An absolute great video! What a story, the best moviewriters couldnt even make up some of those escapes/attempts
Thank you! And I agree some of them seem too far fetched to even come from a Hollywood script! Amazing the engenuity those men displayed while they were held captive!
Fantastic journal. Thank you
You are so welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent tour. Thank you.
Macintyre's book sheds light on the brutal hierarchy amongst the prisoners.
I need to get a copy of that book as I've heard good things about it!
your work here rounded out what I remembered from reading Neave's and Bader's accounts of their time inside there...a grand post and I thank you for making it for us...be well!
Thank you! It’s a fascinating place to explore and definitely a place I’d like to go back to and spend more time retracting the escapees steps
This is exactly why I love this channel! I learn so much! Never heard of Colditz castle or of it's war use!! Absolutely awesome! Thank you!
Glad I was able to show you something new! Colditz at least used to be a word in common useage when I was growing up in reference to anywhere imposing or where you didn't want to be, and when I was in trianing many years ago RAF Cranwell was nicknamed Colditz by those of us going through training there! Although in fairness we got let out at weekends for the most part!
Excellent video thank you very much 😊👍🇬🇧
Glad you enjoyed it! Colditz is a fascinating place to visit!
Absolutely marvelous tour video.
Thank you! glad you enjoyed it!
Fantastic video, thanks very much for sharing. I have been fascinated by Colditz since playing the board game with my family many years ago. It was great to actually see the castle features that became familiar to us from the game. Thanks again and I hope to visit Colditz myself one day.
My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it and I'm a big fan of the board game! I hope you're able to make it over to the castle, and I think there are flights to Leipzig which is the closest airport so it's definitely posible if you have the time.
One of the best episodes Jon,well done
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. It’s such a fascinating place, I just wish I could have spent longer there exploring it!
Great to see this video. I have just binge watched the 1970’s TV series and yes I did watch it back then too. Glad you showed the Colditz game. My brother would always win, whether he was a prisoner or a guard.
The game is great isn't it! I love playing it and to be able to bring it to Colditz was good fun. the 70's TV series was great and I have it on DVD so need to dig it out and watch it again! Thanks for watching!
I grew up in Germany at a Canadian military base and we used to play the board game "Escape From Colditz". Absolutely love this episode and since I am working in Ukraine now will make a renewed attempt to visit this historic site :-)
the board game is great isn't it! hope you're able to get backk to Colditz soon and keep your head down over there!
Very interesting video, we have again learned quite a bit about WW2
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Great story about Colditz castle Jon, really well done sir. The stories from Colditz castle are absolutely phenomenal and never cease to amaze me. Learned a lot, thank you very much. 🫡
As always Troy, thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. I just wish I'd had more time to film there and document more of it but I only had a small window to film in so did what I could but I'd love to make it back there one day
Well told thank you
Thank you so much!
Excellent video, Jon! I’m always looking forward to the next one. Love your channel!
Thank you! Glad you liked this one, it took a long time to edit in amoungst other stuff going on so I'm glad I was finally able to publish it!
Smashing Jon loved the story incredible detail. Thanks !!!
My pleasure! Just sorry I couln't tell more of the stories from the castle but there are so many it's unreal and I'd need a whole series on them to do it the justice they really deserve!
Fantastic video. thanks for sharing
My plesure, thanks for taking the time to watch nad I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Absolutely wonderful coverage and detailing of events. Like yourself I've always been enamored with the events of this great historic site.
Many thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it, it really is an incredible place to visit given the sheer amount of escapes and the stories from there!
Brilliant video, thank you
Thanks you so much! Glad you enjoyed it!
Been a long time coming, watched this a couple of times already......loved it mate!
Thanks mate! Definitly one of the longer edits as I had a raging cold while I was there which ws just my luck!
I visited Colditz in 1991. By the greatest luck I was given a one-to-one guided tour by Stefan Hempel, the then person-in-charge. In those days the place retained its wartime appearance, and parts were still out-of-bounds to visitors. I’d bought Pat Reid’s book at school in 1954 and lapped it up. Took a long time to see the real thing.
Great Vid, Jon. I enjoyed that as much as I enjoyed the Colditz tv series!
Glad you enjoyed it! The tv series was great wasn't it, and hard to think most of it was filmed in the north of England and Scotland I beleive!
Fantastic video, mate thanks
Glad you enjoyed it. Colditz is a great place to explore.
Brilliant video. I went there around 8 years ago and had the guided tour. Fascinating. For a long weekend you can base yourself in Leipzig, hire a car and do Colditz, Mittelwerk and Buchenwald fairly easily.
Thank you! Great that you've been there and as you say definitley a lot to see in the surrounding area. Sadly I only had the Saturday and Sunday there but was really pleased to finally be able to get there and see it first hand! THanks for watching!
I had met Reid in 1981 at Avaloncon (board gaming convention) in Baltimore. He was hawking his “Escape from Colditz “ board game. He mentioned about the Zeiss locks and how the Polish prisoners had learned how to unlock them. After Appel the German soldiers would live the area as the cells were locked up. 10 minutes after that everyone was discussing their plans.
Thanks Mate love the storytelling.
Learnt a lot
My pleasure! I just hope I was able to show just how impressive and yet imposing Colidtz Castle still is to this day! Thanks for watching.
Always enjoy your content and we never miss them, thank you for all the indebt history posts.
Thank you Greg I really appreciate that!
Excellent research combined with videos/photos made this piece of WW-II history very interesting. Most of the information presented here I was not aware of, thank you for the tour and experience.
You're most welcome! Hopefully it showed some areas that aren't often seen on documentaries about the castle!
What a piece of History. Great job Jon 👏.
Thank you Mike! Glad you enjoed it and hopefully it shows just how imposing Colditz Castle truly was!
I really enjoyed this as it was one of the first WW2 sites of interest I visited some years ago. A really nice German lady who worked there took me around on a guided tour despite only paying the admission fee! Maybe it was as I took an interest in her little Trabant! The various escape attempts were incredible and amazing how some ALMOST got away. To dress up as a woman then walk alone past German guards took nerves of steel! I took may photos of the castle but perhaps the best are ones taken from the bridge which best shows the dominant presence of the castle and how the POWs must have felt on seeing it for the first time.
I know the spot you mean, hardto imagine how soul destroying it must have been for those men to walk up there and see it for the first time! Glad you've been able to visit the castle and see it first hand!
Great job !!!!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks!
Thank you!!!!!
Really enjoyed this video, so informative and interesting, thanks very much for your excellent work, keep it up !
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
And the remarkable TWICE AWARDED Victoria Cross Sir Charles Upham, was also sent to Golditz. Described as always angry, on Wars end, immediately armed himself and set off to join the War. Nearly escaped several times from Camps-and sent to Golditz, Captain. But never tried escaping from Golditz I believe. Fabulous effort.
True mate he did try to join up with an American unit but the British put a stop to that and sent him back to Britain..after all he had to receive his bar for his VC from the King...a truly amazing man and a kiwi legend ...get a chance and read his book ..Mark of the Lion..awesome read
Amazing.
He did try to escape from Colditz but l think it was bluff on his part, he made a run for it and got tangled up in some barbed wire. A German guard walked up to him and sighted his gun as if to shoot him. Sir Charles pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and asked the guard for a light. It diffused the moment but l don't think it was a serious escape attempt
@suemcgregor9248 it wasn't colditz prison at all mate ..it was Weinsberg camp ..Oflag Va..he also didn't ask for a light he told the German he refused to be shot by a corporal and to go get an officer which the German did so ...mate really if u don't know the true facts please just don't make it up
@@michaelrooks4030Sorry, l didn't make it up. I think l got the wrong person
Thank you Jon for a amazing video I had heard stories about the castle , what a amazing place. please bring more like this.
Glad you enjoyed this one! Colditz is an incredible place and remains a very imposing sight even today. I just cannot imagine how those young men would have felt as they marched through the gates there.
@@WW2Wayfinder I to can't even imagine how they felt as they marched into places like this had to be horrible.
Love it !! Very good video thank u . Ur a very good narrator . Very good story 👌
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
amazing watch .great stuff
Thanks for watching! Colditz is one of those places that needs many episodes to do it the justice it deserves given how many incredible tales there are behind the castle walls!
In the mid-1970s, I had the great pleasure of meeting Pat Reid at a Colditz exhibition in the Sussex town of Lewes when we were staying with friends in Brighton, and I have a personally signed copy of his book and I also had a copy of the board game which gave hours of family entertainment.
That’s so cool! Did you have a chance to talk with him about his time in Colditz?
@@WW2Wayfinder Unfortunately, no I didn't have much time to talk with him other than exchanging pleasantries since there was a long queue of people waiting behind me, but I did manage to shake the great man by the hand and he said "I hope you will enjoy reading the book". The book is a very good read.
Great presentation, you make it all come alive very nicely, thank you so much. Many close misses but honestly, the watch that came undone and fell off, the zealous Brit who picked it up and out of a gentlemanly outpour of the most harmless and admirable kind, brought it back to the gorgeous... thing, and who, by doing so, in the most involuntary mistake of the century, woke the guards out of some lethargic stupor, turned a brilliant plan into a dismal failure, led the lifetime project of a fellow inmate to its worst possible outcome, and probably had nightmares about it for the rest of his life... Now, that beats any escape story I ever heard of in my whole life, and I will never wear a watch again, ever! : )
Thank you! Yes, its quite incredible isn't it how that one gesture of kindness led to the attempt failing!
@@WW2Wayfinder Indeed, as they say: "A butterfly batting a wing in Africa can cause a hurricane in America", we can consider the consequences of whatever we do always and at length, which is the right thing to do of course, but in the end, even the best intentioned can unknowingly kill the most beautiful dreams, or save the earth, ever heard of Vasily Arkhipov?
Great video, great research.
Thank you so much!
Thank you. My friend's uncle was there. Charles Lockett RAF.
Oh wow, I just looked him up and what a story! Hard to imagine how those men of the Advanced Striking force got onboard their aircraft in the Spring of 1940 knowing full well they were no match for the Luftwaffe.
Indeed, Fairey Battle, obsolete. My friend has very interesting memorabilia.
Well done!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the episode!
The Best ! 😊😊
Thank you!
great video really enjoyed this
Thank you!
Top notch! Would love to get there one day,cheers 🇦🇺
Thank you! It’s definitely a great place to spend a weekend and explore the castle and the town. Still amazes me how those who were POWs there managed the escape attempts that they did!
Bravo!
Thank you!
Nice video. Thanks. 👍
Thanks for watching! I'd definitly recommend a visit to the castle if you're able to travel that way as it's quite something to see it in person!
@@WW2Wayfinder I would love to visit there. I'm an American and I grew up watching the wonderful British series "Colditz" in the 1970's! I still watch it on TH-cam today! 👍
Oh cool! I know that Colditz isn’t as well known in the U.S., or at least I’m led to believe that’s the as it is in the UK. Great that you’ve seen the series, I’ve got it on dvd and really must go through it again!
Every time I see pictures of the Colditz Castle , I see my old school a smaller version of the same style in Dover. It was actually nicknamed as Colditz.
This is an amazing episode! I learned so much! Excellent!!!
Glad you enjoyed it! I'm just sorry I couldn't cover all the incredible stories from the castle as it would take so many episodes to do it justice!
Great episode & highlights the incredible story of S/L G.Stephenson,which I watched in the series 'Colditz' (in black & white) on BBC as a child.I have also visited 19 Sqdn Museum at Duxford
Thank you! Everytime I see his former Spitfire fly at Duxford I'm grateful to those who took the time and money to put it back in the air!
Thanks for this. I am subbed and enjoy your content.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed this one, it was quite incredible to be able to visit there and see it first hand!
@@WW2Wayfinder Yes, it's an incredible and imposing place. Thanks again.
I thoroughly enjoyed this video, Jon, so many thanks for producing it. The drone footage shows the extent of the castle and its impregnability - as you say, first sight of it for the prisoners must have been daunting and somewhat disheartening. I liked the anecdote about Airey Neave's green uniform! The TV series of Colditz is very good and can be found on YT. Best!
Glad you enjoyed it! It's such an impressive place but the walls seem extreemly tall when you're stood inside of the court yard! I just can't imagine the mental fortitude those men had to devise ways to over come them both physically and mentally!
Superbe document de qualité
Merci!
Very interesting information. Did you see the the number of escape attempts by nationality information in the museum? The British attempts were top by very, very many. When I went I was alone with the head guide who had the keys! We went to a solitary confinement cell which was through an office type place. He said that because it overlooked the outside world, prisoners there might have felt less ‘solitary’. I don’t know but the place lived up to my expectations. He told me that several non UK tourists turned up because of its history and were surprised and shocked by its WW2 use.
Thank you! And yes I did, I did the guided tour while I was there as I was curious to see what was behind some of the doors however I wasn't able to do the FULL guided tour sadly as it was the weekend before they closed for the winter and the new iPad tour they've created (not a fan of those personally as I don't want to stare at a screen when I'm in a spot as important as Colditz but just my views on that).
On a related topic, I would like to share a few comments with you about the Great Escape and Stalag Luft III Sagan (now Zagan, Poland). Would you believe that I live outside of Toronto AND only a few miles from the world's largest memorial to the Great Escape (with the exception of the Camp and present museum)? It's absolutely true. The youngest of the 76 escaped prisoners was an Englishman, 21 year-old P/O Tony Bethell. Tony was recaptured and returned to the camp. His escape buddy was one of the '50'. Tony wrote a great deal about the Great Escape, including an unpublished collection of biographies he wrote of ALL 50 of the men executed. He travelled the world at his own expense and provided a copy of this collection to EACH and EVERY one of the families of the '50'! At some point in his adult life (I forget when), Tony emigrated to Canada and eventually married his wife, Lorna, who was a member of the Molson brewing family. In the mid 2000's, Tony was diagnosed with terminal cancer and he and his wife decided to create a legacy in honour of the '50'. Tony said that what had bothered him the most about the execution of the '50' was that each died alone so he vowed to provide a place where no one would die alone. In 2009, Bethell Hospice Caledon opened in the Village of Inglewood, part of the Town of Caledon and about 45 minutes north-west of Toronto, a place where the many volunteers serve Tony's wish so that no one dies alone. BethellHospice.org. Bethell Hospice is entirely funded by a legacy of the Bethell family and countless private donors, myself proudly among them! When Lorna passed away about ten years ago, the family donated the contents of the home she shared with Tony as the core of a huge yard sale, which was held on their property out in the country not far from here. As I walked up the long stone driveway early on a gray Saturday morning, the weather was cold and wet and I found myself wondering whether such days around his home had reminded Tony of the Camp and the morning after his escape. Tony's modest collection of books was for sale and I eagerly searched for a copy of Paul Brickhill's history of the Escape. No luck although Tony did seem to still have a keen interest in aviation and the war. On my way out, I passed a rough looking but quaint birdhouse sitting on a table that I knew immediately I had to have for some reason. I asked a volunteer how much it was and she responded in a somewhat embarrassed fashion that it actually wasn't something they had thought they could sell. Well, $10 later and my wife and I strode happily to our car for the trip home. As soon as I got home, I installed the birdhouse high up on a wooden pole in our backyard and, as soon as the sun came out, my wife and i sat down to admire our best purchase of the day. Almost immediately, two small birds, starlings we believed, landed on the birdhouse and, for the next few hours, they took turns bringing leaves, twigs and the like to turn that birdhouse into their new home. We quickly named them (of course) Lorna and Tony! I remarked to my wife about Tony's odd behaviour though. Every time he arrived back at the birdhouse with his next load, Lorna would stay and help yet every time the Lorna arrived back, Tony would immediately take off. Quite honestly, here are the exact words my wife and I exchanged. I said to her that it seemed that "Tony is always trying to escape". My wife replied "well, that would make sense, wouldn't it?". I don't think either one of us could speak for the next ten minutes. Bethell Hospice Caledon. In memory of the '50'. Regards, Michael Rodgers, Caledon East, Ontario, Canada. MichaelRodgers2016@gmail.com.
@@michaelrodgers6732 an inspiring account which braids into a strong cord many lives, time zones, continents, emotions, decades, a couple of centuries and a couple of species...thank you for sharing it with us...be well, good poster
After watching this video I will never again experience being arbitrarily nicknamed, "Spitfire" in quite the same way again from now on. Not that me being compared to only a vessel for travelling in at the time again by someone else too would impress me so much more now.
Very riviting , this is a great documentary. And there's no people in the background which is very rare it seems.
Thank you! I was lucky that it was the last weekend in October last year before they closed for the winter and it was really quiet.
I really love your taste and style always so chic. My faves would be the kislux leather backpack and the Swarovski pave diamond ring so gorg. Thank you for your recommendations.
Ben MacIntyre,'s book is nuanced look at the prison at Colditz. It focuses on the internal relations between the different groups of prisoners, and a subtle analysis of the Commadant
How beautiful is it?
The TV series is fantastic.
I've got the boxset on DVD and it's been years since I've seen so need to break it oout and some point and get stuck into it again!
@@WW2Wayfinder Liked and subd!
Thank you! Hope you like my other stuff on here!
The clever ones, never got caught!
how are you guys doing Mark ,i haven't seen you in while. my parachuted into Holland during 'Operation Market Garden' September 14th 1944. take care my friend
Thank you. Very interesting. Is is worth staying in the area a few days to see other attractions.
Thank you, and yes I'd recommend a week in the area as there is a lot of wartime histroy around there. For example Dresden isn't too far away.
@@WW2Wayfinder ah excellent. Thank you. Much appreciated
New Zealand’s famous Charles Upham from the 20th Battalion, a Pakeha (European Ancestry) battalion from the South Island of New Zealand. The New Zealand Māori 28th Battalion were well feared by their/our enemy. Charles Upham was the only double VC in WW2. The Rugby mindset made the Kiwis very tough, and our troops and population had a high Protein diet!
@@robertmiller2173 he features at 33:10😀
Damn this was good! Hoping to see more like this. Is this the place where an escape tunnel was shown to a tour guide by former prisoners? The tunnel was unknown until that moment.
Could well have been given how many escape attempts were made from Colditz. The place was like a labyrinth made worse given how it have been built up for centuries without formal plans so all sorts of secret spaces exisited there!
I saw something about that, it just shows you how well these escape attempts were planned and defended against the German 'Ferrets'!
As a child I remember reading one of the books on Colditz, Pat Reid's one I think, and he said that the Glider remained hidden behind its false wall until the 70's, I'm not sure if that was true or not! I'm sure I read that there was a one-off officially sanctioned investigative visit to the castle during the DDR days and it threw up a good number of things around the castle that were still hidden at that time, the glider may have been one of them! Certainly the book I read in the mid 70's had some photos which included the glider, but I don't think it was dated.
The glider design is very close to the Slingsby T21, although the Colditz one had the 2 occupants sitting in-line, whereas in the T21 has them side by side with dual controls. There are 2 T21's in the Historic Flight at the Scottish Gliding Centre, Portmoak, nr Scotlandwell, Kinrosshire! These 2 versions differ in that one has open cockpits, and the other has closed cockpit canopies! I regularly flew in them, and other 2-seat gliders as a young child when I was at the Club with my father, who was Senior Tug Pilot for many years!
Airey Neave wrote his book They Have Their Exits
I need to find a copy of that at some point!
Some 28 British escaped and made successful home runs .I knew one Lt Commander W L Stephens DSO -he after the war married a girl who helped him on his escape journey, he died when retired in France 20 years ago .
France in the earjy
I always think about WW2 POW escape stories is that getting out of the prison camp is only the start of a prisoners problems.
The chances are, from a British point of view, is someone is not likely to speak a European language, once out of the prison you are then maybe 4-500miles behind enemy lines, travel is difficult, risking capture by having to interact with rail staff etc.
Yo have to admire the courage of the men who tried to escape
Desperation
The Officer prisoners unbelievably had batmen to scivvy for them. Double amputee and "hero" Douglas Bader had a batman carry him around on his back and treated him like dirt. No wonder they had time on their hands to plot their escapes. I don't want to be churlish. I 'm sure they were brave men but these are the facts. Ian Dee.
@@IanDuckworth-n4b spot on. When I heard of Bader’s treatment of his Batman I was discussed. Not letting him escape when he had the chance was a horrid way to treat someone. While Bader was a good pilot and overcame some monumental stuff, I don’t rate him very highly as a decent person
Not sure about Douglas Bader, but it is my understanding that it was only the Senior British Officers that had a batmen when in German and Italian POW Camps!
But, as officers, officers were not expected to work, whereas most other ranks worked on farms! This was written into the Geneva Convention, which made a clear distinction between officers and other ranks, in terms of the T's&C's for POW's. This is why officer POW's had time to plan escapes, and to put on theatrical shows, etc. in Axis Europe. It was totally different in the Far East as Japan wasn't a signatory and all POW's, regardless of rank, were forced to work!
I have known a number of ex-POW's, both German and British, who worked on farms during their time as POW's, a German remained here in Scotland, he lived and worked on the farm next to ours, and another neighbour was captured at Dunkirk, interned in a Polish Camp and he and his wife returned a number of times to the farm he worked on during his long 5 years as a POW. My grandparents had 2 Italian POW's who worked on our farm during, or immediately after WW2.
A neighbour of my mother's had been an officer POW of the Japanese, after the fall of Singapore I think, he spent time in the USA after his release as, like many, he was too emaciated to return home to the UK straight away!
@@johnrae4633 Nice to hear from someone who actually lived the experience. Too much pontificating these days from authors and "experts" who never heard a shot in anger, or went without food for any time. Thanks for your input. Ian Dee. ( Served in a different war.)
@@IanDuckworth-n4b Being born in 1960, I didn't live through it personally, but I knew plenty who did!
Just up the road from Colditz was another Prison Camp that was Grimma.
So much wartime history in that area, along with the Cold War and the DDR too so definitley a great spot for history buffs!
Greetings from New Zealand. Sir, did you go to school with Mark Felton? The two of you minic eachother for thoroughness continuity of thought etc etc Sterling effort for the both of you
haha thank you! Very kind of you to say so.