At the outbreak of WWII, the ancient gothic castle of Colditz was converted into a prisoner-of-war camp. Its location on a rocky spur overlooking a river made it the ideal location for a high-security prison, or so the Germans thought.
Sent to Colditz were some of the most difficult allied prisoners-of-war.
Made famous after the second world war in memoirs, films and TV, Colditz was known for its multiple escape attempts, some of great derring-do, others were feats of ingenuity and engineering.
In this episode, I'm joined by Ben Macintyre.
Ben is the bestselling author of books including Agent Sonya, SAS: Rogue Heroes, The Spy and the Traitor, Agent Zigzag, Operation Mincemeat and A Spy Among Friends. Ben's new book Prisoners of the Castle: An Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz, the Nazis’ Fortress Prison takes a new look at the Colditz and really fills out the story.
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186 - Our Man in Tokyo
185 - Adrian Carton de Wiart
184 - My Road to Mandalay
183 - The Waffen-SS
182 - The British Parachute Regiment
181 - Britain's Coast at War
180 - US Navy Demolition Divers
179 - Bitter Peleliu
178 - Battles of Rzhev Salient
177 - Japan's Pacific War
175 - Dünkirchen, 1940
174 - The Pacific, August 1945
173 - The Maritime Struggle in the Mediterranean and Middle East
172 - The Battle of Stalingrad
171 - Tom, Dick and Harry
170 - The German Battle of the Bulge
169 - The U-Boat War
168 - Operation Foxley
167 - John Basilone
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