Oflag IV-C: Colditz Castle

Colditz Castle during the war.

In the town of Colditz in Saxony, Germany, there is a castle atop a hillside overlooking the town. It was built in the 1200s and had assumed various roles over the centuries, from fortress to mental institution. In World War II, however, it would become notorious as being the German's best POW camp around. The Germans thought it was impossible to escape Colditz. The prisoners thought otherwise.

At first, the majority of prisoners were either Polish, French, or British. Later, there would be Russians, Slovaks, Americans, Australians, and many more nationalities. Among these prisoners were the 'prominente', prisoners that held relations to key officials in the Allied governments. One was the nephew of Churchill's wife, and another the nephew of a Soviet general. These prisoners were kept separate, and were possibly seen as potential bargaining chips for the Germans should they lose. All had a common goal once in the castle: to get out by whatever means possible. The castle was designated Oflag IV-C, Oflag being short for Offizierslager, or officer's camp. The German Army watching over the castle believed it to be inescapable. Needless to say, they were wrong.

While the sheer number of escapes undertaken by the prisoners is too verbose to cover in a short amount of time, there are a few notable escape attempts. While tunneling through the castle was a daunting task, and more uncommon than other methods, the French were able to start a tunnel from the top of the clock tower and burrow almost the entire way outside the wall. It might've been successful had the tunnel entrance not been discovered. Another notable escape attempt was the ambitious plan to impersonate one of the German officers, and walk out the main gate, hopefully leading to a mass escape. Unfortunately, at the last checkpoint his cover was blown, and the guard on duty accidentally shot the impersonating prisoner. He would recover, but his escaping days were over.

Another unusual escape attempt was for a prisoner, taking advantage of a bend in the trail to the prisoner's exercise yard, would throw a blanket specially prepared with leaves and twigs over himself and play dead on the side of the trail while the guards walked by. This was one of the many successful escapes from Colditz. However, with each escape attempt being either successful or not, the possible avenues of escape out of the castle were blocked off one by one.

The only known photo of the "Colditz Cock"

When news of the escapees from Stalag Luft III being shot came to the castle, morale sank. It was followed shortly thereafter by an announcement by the German Army saying that any caught escapees would be killed. After that, escapes dried up to almost zero. However, there was one last plan conceived, one that could only have been conceived at Colditz: build a glider and fly it off the roof. The glider would seat two people, and be slung off the roof of one of the buildings and land in a field across the river. The glider was actually completed, but before it could be flown, the Americans liberated the camp, and to this day only one photograph is known to exist of the original "Colditz Cock".

The prisoners were freed, and the castle still remains to this day. However, the castle has not given up all of its secrets. One of the two hidden radios the prisoners kept was only found by the Germans in 1992. Also, a half-converted uniform, some money, and a map of Germany were found under some floorboards in 1998. Maybe someday more artifacts will be uncovered. For a more thorough account of Colditz' history as a POW camp, there are numerous books, but I recommend "Colditz: The Untold Story of Germany's Great Escapes" by Henry Chancellor. Until next time, take care, and thank you.