Colditz Castle: The incredible escape attempts from WWII's most iconic POW camp

As the threat of a Second World War intensified in the late 1930s, the need for secure facilities to hold future captured Allied officers became a top priority for the German military.

As a result, Colditz Castle, which was already famous for its thick walls and elevated position overlooking the town of Colditz, was transformed into Oflag IV-C in 1939.

This high-security prisoner-of-war camp was specifically designed to detain those who had repeatedly attempted to escape from other camps.

Among its first inmates were British, French, Polish, and Belgian officers. 

By early 1940, Colditz had completed its transition from a quiet medieval castle to a forbidding fortress teeming with prisoners.

It soon gained a reputation as the escape-proof camp. At its peak, around 300 people were held within its walls. 

Colditz Castle's German personnel maintained tight security measures to ensure the high-risk prisoners remained confined.

The castle was surrounded by barbed wire fences and steep cliffs, making it nearly impossible to scale without proper equipment.

Guard towers were strategically positioned along the perimeter. Each of them was manned by soldiers armed with machine guns.

Additionally, German guards routinely patrolled the interior and exterior grounds of the castle to detect any suspicious activity.

In particular, searchlights would illuminate the castle at night, and guards conducted headcounts multiple times a day to ensure that no prisoner was missing. 

Within the castle, guards monitored key points to deter escapes, including the workshops where prisoners were allowed to create art and craftwork.

Also, the rooms were regularly searched for contraband. Over time, the guards even used trained dogs to detect tunnels or hidden tools.

Moreover, the German officers oversaw the daily activities of the prisoners, ensuring that all their movements were restricted and scrutinized.

They employed methods like strip searches and sudden inspections to catch inmates off guard.

The German commandants, who were rotated periodically, relied heavily on their administrative staff to keep meticulous records of prisoner activity.

They implemented the sonderlager classification, which identified certain prisoners as "special" due to their repeated escape attempts.

They then required extra surveillance and restrictions. 

Unbeknownst to the guards, the inmates managed to organize a "ghost committee", which was responsible for creating distractions and covering for those who were absent during roll calls due to ongoing escape attempts.

Over the years, this committee successfully executed numerous diversions, allowing at least 32 prisoners to attempt escape. 

Also, the prisoners even crafted escape tools from everyday materials, turning parts of bedframes into grappling hooks and radio parts into communication devices.

More openly, they also held educational classes and a library that housed over 1,500 books smuggled in by various means.

In addition, sports were a major part of camp life. Prisoners participated in soccer, volleyball, and chess to keep physically and mentally fit.  

Colditz Castle housed some of the most daring and resourceful prisoners of World War II, each with a compelling story of resistance against the constraints of captivity.

An early prominent figure was French Lieutenant Alain Le Ray, the first prisoner to escape from Colditz.

In April 1941, he managed to evade the guards by using a handmade rope to scale the walls.

Le Ray's success motivated his fellow inmates to devise their own escape plans.

Among them was Pat Reid, a British Army officer whose escape exploits became legendary.

Reid successfully escaped from Colditz in 1942 after multiple attempts. 

There was also the audacious attempt by British Flight Lieutenant Dominic Bruce, who gained the nickname "The Medium-Sized Man" for squeezing through tight spaces, including a narrow air vent during one of his escape attempts.

The castle also held American officers, including Charles King, one of the few Americans to make a successful break.

King and a companion disguised themselves as German officers in 1942 and walked out of the main gate.

Furthermore, in 1943, a group of Dutch officers spent months digging a tunnel from their cellar sleeping quarters towards the outer walls.

This endeavor involved secretly disposing of the excavated earth in gardens or beneath floorboards.

Unfortunately, the tunnel was discovered mere days before its intended use. 

Perhaps the most imaginative attempts is now known as the Colditz Glider. It was conceived in 1944 by British POWs.

The plan involved constructing a two-seater glider from materials scavenged or stolen from within the camp, including bed sheets, floorboards, and electrical wiring.

The prisoners then built the glider in a secluded attic above the castle's chapel: a space that German guards rarely inspected. 

To maintain secrecy, the prisoners worked under the cover of noise from the castle activities and used a forged security pass to transport materials discreetly.

With the design based on technical knowledge from an engineer among the prisoners, the glider was equipped with a launch system involving a bathtub full of concrete to serve as a counterweight.

This system was intended to catapult the glider from the roof over the walls of Colditz.

Unfortunately, despite the meticulous planning and the advanced stage of completion, the glider was never used.

The war ended before the plan was set in motion. 

On April 16, 1945, American soldiers reached Colditz and freed the remaining prisoners.

They effectively ending its operation as a war camp. In the aftermath of liberation, Colditz Castle underwent a significant transformation.

Initially, it served as a temporary holding area for German prisoners and displaced persons.

Then, as Europe grappled with the devastation wrought by the war, Colditz eventually returned to civilian use.

It eventually saw use as a hospital and a nursing home.