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.

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.

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!

Colditz ist ca. 1 Stunde von meinem Heimatort entfernt! Ein sehr guter Bericht, vielen Dank!

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.

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.

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.

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...

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!

Great video! Reminds me of watching the TV drama Colditz on Sunday evenings when I was a kid. Brilliant to see the real locations.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Wonderful tour - so many stories! Thanks for sharing.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 👍

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! : )

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.

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!

Excellent video thank you very much 😊👍🇬🇧

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.

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.

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.

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!

Excellent video, Jon! I’m always looking forward to the next one. Love your channel!

Been a long time coming, watched this a couple of times already......loved it mate!

Thank you, epic stories of my youth and life lessons still employed

how amazing is this !!! thank you so much !!!!

Well done. I enjoyed this and learned a great deal.

What a piece of History. Great job Jon 👏.

Another outstanding video! Thanks for sharing.

Thank you Jon for a amazing video I had heard stories about the castle , what a amazing place. please bring more like this.

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.

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. 🫡

Brilliantly done good sir. Thanks for the look inside this fantastic story in history. ❤💯

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.

Fantastic journal. Thank you

Smashing Jon loved the story incredible detail. Thanks !!!

Absolutely wonderful coverage and detailing of events. Like yourself I've always been enamored with the events of this great historic site.

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.

Really enjoyed this video, so informative and interesting, thanks very much for your excellent work, keep it up !

Always enjoy your content and we never miss them, thank you for all the indebt history posts.

Thanks Mate love the storytelling. Learnt a lot

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.

An absolute great video! What a story, the best moviewriters couldnt even make up some of those escapes/attempts

I remember watching the television series, this tour is great and brings a lot of extra information. 👍

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!

Excellent tour. Thank you. Macintyre's book sheds light on the brutal hierarchy amongst the prisoners.

Hello , I have been watching a few Episodes of " Colditz" starring David McCallum and Bernard Hepton , fantastic story . ✌

One of the best episodes Jon,well done

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

Brilliant video, thank you

Great Vid, Jon. I enjoyed that as much as I enjoyed the Colditz tv series!

Love it !! Very good video thank u . Ur a very good narrator . Very good story 👌

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

Fantastic video, mate thanks

brilliant presentation.....As always....Thanks

Fantastic video. thanks for sharing

Top notch! Would love to get there one day,cheers 🇦🇺

great video really enjoyed this

Absolutely marvelous tour video.

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

Very interesting video, we have again learned quite a bit about WW2

amazing watch .great stuff

Thanks for this. I am subbed and enjoy your content.

Well told thank you

Great video, great research.

Thank you. My friend's uncle was there. Charles Lockett RAF.

This is an amazing episode! I learned so much! Excellent!!!

Great job !!!!

Thanks!

Very riviting , this is a great documentary. And there's no people in the background which is very rare it seems.

Airey Neave wrote his book They Have Their Exits

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.

Nice video. Thanks. 👍

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

Well done!

He done the wig and forgot the watch. 😂😂

The Best ! 😊😊

Thank you. Very interesting. Is is worth staying in the area a few days to see other attractions.

Winston Churchill's nephew, was not; in reality; of churchill's lineage.. he simply shared the same surname and used it to his advantage.

Bravo!

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.

The clever ones, never got caught!

Superbe document de qualité

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

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

Just up the road from Colditz was another Prison Camp that was Grimma.

How beautiful is it?

The TV series is fantastic.

great tv show with robert wagner and david mccellum

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.

Was Airey Neave not also the British officer that handed the indictment to Hermann Goering just before the Nuremberg trials?

I don't know if there were bBelgium prisoners but i do know there were Dutch officers in captivity

My grandfather was at colditz . He never really talked about it so that alone says a lot doesn't it. Typical of the Germans to cash in on the past. A Hostal.... Please. So not only has it been proven they deny history by not teaching this in their schools they result to , like I've already said cashing in on the place. When my grandfather made the only return trip to colditz with my father in the 80s my grandfather even had to correct the guide who was given false information. My grandfather was in the end asked to complete the tour which he did ,so the tour was accompanied by a very red faced guide, but the group went away for once being told the truth.