Escape from Colditz: The Colditz story, and Men of Colditz in One Volume

by P.R. Reid

A British officer relates his activities in and eventual escape from Colditz Castle, one of the best guarded German prisoner-of-war camps.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, War, Military Fiction, Biography, Military History

622 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Major Patrick Robert "Pat" Reid, MBE, MC was a British Army officer and author of non-fiction largely based upon his firsthand experiences during World War II.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Reid

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Colditz Story gets Five Stars to honor the men who would not be caged and fought to escape the toughest Stalag in Nazi Germany. This book is just as exciting to read as it likely was back in the early ‘50s when it was first published. Nail-biting successful and unsuccessful escape attempts from start to end. What a cast of characters. Humor is needed to survive, from a Frenchman:

For Sunshine Holidays
Visit Sunny Colditz
Holiday Hotel
500 beds one bath
Cuisine by French chef
Large staff
Always attentive and vigilant
Once visited, never left

The camp was run by the Wehrmacht and there was a measure of respect for each side. Hilarious account of a visit by the Gestapo:

Then there was the time when the Gestapo decided to search the camp and show the German Wehrmacht how this should be conducted. They employed electric torches to search remote crevices and borrowed the keys of the camp to make the rounds. Before they had finished, both the keys and the torches had disappeared, and they left with their tails between their legs. The German garrison were as pleased as Punch. We returned the keys, after making suitable impressions, to their rightful guardians.

Highly recommended, it was a “captivating” account by a successful escapee.

[Kellyn Roth]

Well ... no, I didn't finish it. But I read the prologue and first chapter, which is what I promised my friend I would, so MUHAHAHA I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING. :P

It really looks like a fascinating story, and someday I might try to read it all the way through. It's very long, but very intriguing.

[Ann Woodbury Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

From a journal entry dated August 2, 1976. At the time I was a somewhat naive 20-year-old.
"I've been reading one of [my 14-year-old brother's] books, Escape from Colditz, about prisoners in a German POW camp. Their vitality, energy, & perseverance to escape (& their humor) is amazing considering their poor diet & housing & the very fact of being a prisoner. This is very different from the Vietnamese POW camps I read about in Reader's Digest--the main difference was that there were lots more people (POWs) in Colditz & they weren't tortured, as they were in Vietnam (& apparently in Japan). Still, many buckled under the stress with severe psychological & mental problems."
Both I and my brothers, as teens, read a lot of this kind of book, usually about World War II, usually about some type of heroism. I loved The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier (also known as Escape from Warsaw) which though fiction was based on fact.

[Thomas Alex]

I first found this tome while a student in high school and found it fascinating reading as a teenager. As a senior reading through it with a more mature and experienced mind, it is equally interesting and educational. It was nice to catch up to an old friend.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this was the original 1940 edition, but can't be sure. Takes place primarily in 1940's, but the structure was about 12,0000 years old. Basic story was told in the first part, but more and more details came throughout the book. It was heavy-going. Took me forever to read, but I was also utterly fascinated. It's quite a slice of history, and a very different outlook on World War II.

[Crissy Crim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Started out interesting. Then it became disjointed and repetitive. As a true story, it has highlights as a history lesson and one has to tip your hats to the soldiers bravery and ingenuity. Saying that, this book was a yawn.

[Heather Bork · Rating 5 out of 5]

This (very long!) book was incredibly interesting and informative. I learned so much and was given a glimpse into a world I never knew existed! The men of Colditz were a different breed altogether and did amazing and almost unbelievable things as POWs in WWII.

[Wm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book 50 years ago and still think it is one of the best non-fiction books I've read.

[Donna Herrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories of escape from WWII German POW prisons

[David Critchfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by someone who escaped

[Joe Hauglie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is unavailable )-: So I read Prisoners of the Castle by Ben MacIntyre. Excellent!!!

[Lisa Hodges · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75🌟

[Howard Raymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is an excellent story told from a point of view that you seldom hear

[Silas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book.

[booklearner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has long been on my mom’s shelf. She and I share the same interest in stories of WWII, including POW experiences and especially escape attempts! I remember the Steve McQueen film The Great Escape was a favorite of mine from around age 8. So of course this was on my reading list! The problem was that I was confused because it goes by several different titles, has different editions, sequels, compilations—which do I choose to read? As it turns out, I wish that I had gone with Reid’s later edition, “Colditz: The Full Story”. His first history of Colditz was written a mere few years after his experiences and he did not have more details until much later. I will be getting my hands on that version [as well as several films on it], but yet I can recommend these books by Reid because they make for great reading. Reid appears to keep a light “stiff upper lip” attitude toward his captivity, yet I’m sure things were rougher when suffering the reality. I originally thought this would be a detailing one large escape attempt, rather like the one from the famous Stalag Luft III (The Great Escape, by Paul Brickhill). Instead, I quickly found it to be a narration of the author’s experiences at the fortress Colditz and the numerous failed and successful escapes made from there. More like Hogan’s Heroes though much more serious, real, and dangerous. The prisoners’ innovativeness, and ability to laugh and create entertainment even in a sparse atmosphere was enjoyable to read. No matter how many avenues were thought of, tried, discovered, foiled and so on, they could always come back with another idea to escape. Reid said there were basically two types of prisoners—those who succumbed to their imprisonment, and those who could deal with the depression that accompanied it and so put all their energy toward escape plans. Which one would you be?

[heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a long-time comfort read of mine, complete with derring-do, clever disguises, and remarkably little death for a WWII novel. It is the story of the "inescapable" Castle Colditz, where all the escapists from other prison camps were concentrated.

I like it for the clever nature of the disguises and the reasonably humanizing view of everyone involved.

Plus I found a picture of one of the escape costumes involved!
https://twitter.com/RealTimeWWII/stat...

Read if: You need an antidote to The Great Escape. You think it's interesting to see what people could do given enough time.

Skip if: You are looking for a weighty tome with every detail written out.

Also read: McAuslan in the Rough for a light take on a dark time.

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read many P.O.W. stories from the point of view of prisoners in the Pacific who were treated quite harshly by their Japanese captors. This often makes it difficult to see the seriousness of the plights of those captured by the Germans. The things that men do in this story sound like a lark at an all-male boarding school. (picking locks, digging tunnels, making their own liquor, sharing their Red Cross packages, etc.)

Another factor may be that the books I've read about European P.O.W.s have been written by Britishers who may have understated the true horrors of imprisonment. Whatever the case may be, this is a fascinating book for those who like stories about human ingenuity in the face of impossibilities. (Colditz was supposedly impossible to escape from.) But if you are looking for gritty, nail-biting action you'll need to look elsewhere. Might I suggest the following? The Scarlet and the Black by Gallagher, Return from the River Kwai by Blair, or The Hiding Place by Ten Boom

[Emily]

I felt it was disjointed. There were no characters I could latch onto - not even his friends. There were way too many names and ranks to keep track of. There were moments of excitement, but mostly, nothing like what I expected.


Warning: The following may contain spoilers.

I did like that he finally escaped, and that it was through the most uncomplicated and unconvoluted of his plans, and that it was hairbrained enough that he didn't think it would actually work. I didn't like that he didn't say whether or not he ever saw his friends again.

[Mark Singer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another childhood favorite that I used to read from the local library until I bought my own copy. Colditz Castle in eastern Germany was where repeat Allied officer escapers from prisoner-of-war camps were sent during World War II by their German captors. Reid, a British officer who was held there, escaped in 1942 and wrote this thrilling story of the castle and the many escape attempts during the war.

[Josh Tipple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable, a must read for anyone who has played the board game. The writing is at times very prosaic and there are a lot of tangential stories, but all very amusing. At times it's gripping and at others light hearted, but at all times comes across as an honest account of the shenanigans in Colditz.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book as a child taught me that anything was possible as long as enough thought and planning was involved.

[Edmund · Rating 4 out of 5]

See 'The Great Escape.'

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best escape story out there. It's incredible - I absolutely loved it.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really awesome book!

[John Doe · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book oh so long ago. I highly recommend it. I was there running free at the end of the book!

[Astrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colditz '40-'45

[Robbie Crossfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent read, some of the activities carried out right under the German guards noses were astounding, and actually made me laugh out loud on numerous occasions

[Bonnie Ulrich-Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best WWII book on escapes, great detail, & characters>

[raul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super WW2 tales from Colditz Castle where many of the Nazi's highest value prisoners were kept.