Visit to Colditz

Great shots Marcel!

While the Dutch team is playing boring football against the Aussies, I thought I would continue our journey through the great castle (while writng tis, the Dutch just scored the 1-0, I should have started this earlier ).

Anyway, we were in the Tiergarten, so going up again (in the mean time the Aussies scored ).
Walking up to the castle, you can see the place where Sinclair tried his famous Franz Josef escape. He dressed up as the German Unterofficier and almost made 32 prisoners escape. Between the two big buildings you see a lower one. This is the old prisoners canteen. Behind the lamppost you can just see the hollow buttress where the Dutch tunnel started.


Here a closeup of the canteen from the outside. There used to be a window where the door is. The exit of the tunnel was about a meter in front of this door. 17 men tried to escape through this tunnel. The prisoners first bribed the guard on duty. But the guard went straight to the Kommandant. When Reid opened the tunnel, the Germans were waiting. Many prisoners were arrested and a lot of contrabande was taken by the Germans.


The canteen is no more. It's now an open passage from the prisoners courtyard to the outside. You can still see the contours where the tunnel started in the picture below. The other picture is taken from the courtyard towards the Polish quarters and the prisoners kitchen. There used to be a building in front as you can see, but it has gone now. On the left you see the opening where the canteen once was.



Well, the game is still 1-1 with a bleak performance of the Dutch team. So maybe I'll do another one in a few minutes.

Game is still boring, so I continue. (well, not so boring, 2 goals in 2 minutes again)

From the canteen, we enter the prisoners courtyard. The first impression is that it's rather small if you remember that there were more than 400 prisoners in this camp. In ww2 it was even smaller, there was another building in front of the kitchen as we saw in the previous post. Also on the terrace in front of the theatre, there was a shed where they killed lice.
Another thing I noticed was the slope of the ground. The slope runs from the British quarters to the entrance. I wonder how they ever played their stoolball here.

The first picture shows the entrance to the courtyard on the west side. I'm standing with my back to the British quarters. On the left is the canteen and the kitchen, on the right the chapel. The little building next to the gate contained some isolation cells.


Here you see the Theatre building, also containing the German casino and rooms for the superior British officers. The theatre is on the top floor. You can see the terrace where the shed used to stand.


View from the gate to the British quarters and prominente cells. To the right the Dutch quarters.


View towards the chapel. This is where the French tunnel runs. From the tower on the left to the basement, then under the chapel, underneath the British quarters and ending outside the castle. But more on that later. In the attic on top of this chapel, the famous glider was build. Unfortunately we were not able to go there as they are restoring it.


The Belltower where the French tunnel starts. On the right the attic where the glider was build.


Hmm now the Dutch are leading with 3-2, definitely not boring anymore. Sorry I quit for the day..

Football ? A waste of good grazing land!!
Great pics again Marcel - I'm really enjoying this !

Well, especially when England plays I guess

Thanks Terry. I enjoy it as well (better than the football anyway ). It's nice to order the info together with the pics. And if you guys enjoy it as well, even better.

Still got more (not necessarily in this order):
1. The passage from the German to the Prisoners courtyard
2. The French tunnel
3. The hollow buttress and Dutch tunnel
4. The theatre and Neave's escape
5. The prominente cells

Will have to do some sorting and resizing, so I will continue tomorrow.

Edit: forgot the 60 minites escape. Will do that one as well.

Okay, if you're not tired of the thread, I would like to continue with the passage from the German courtyard to the prisoners courtyard. First the gate, this is on the north-west side of the courtyard under the Saalhous, which contained the SBO quarters and some isolationcells.

The first picture is taken from the German courtyard and you can see the windows of the SBO. the gate leading to the passage can be seen below. You can also see the typical angled windows that can be seen in all the staircases Colditz.


In the gate, on the right side when facing north is a door. Here are two isolation cells. One of which was the scene of the escape of the Polish officer Just. He climbed out the window, but broke his foot when reaching the ground.
The first picture is the office where the guard could sit, guarding the isolation cells. The second is the interior of one of the cells. The crucifix was also there during WW2 and the prisoners also could use a bible.



On the other side is an opening that was barred. I believe this used to be the airraid shelter. Some prisoners tried to escape here (Mike Harvey was one of the I believe) because they thought the shelter had another exit. Unfortunately this was not the case and it meant the end of Harvey's role as a 'ghost'. I tried to take a picture through the bars with the flash to see what it looked like inside.


And now the passage itself. We're standing with our back to the German courtyard. Straight ahead we see the Guards house. Just around the corner on the right is the gate to the prisoners courtyard. The wall on the left is a single one and is one of the outer walls of the castle. It's facing west, towards the town. The passage was the place where the prisoners had to gather and be counted before walking to the park. This was usually quite a scene as the prisoners always tied to disrupt the counting.

In 1942, the French made an ambitious tunnel which is now famous as the French tunnel. It kept the German busy for months. They knew a tunnel was being made but could not discover it. The strange thing about the tunnel is that it doesn't start at groundlever, but 7 stories higher in the Belltower. The French had to do this because their quarters nowhere reached groundlevel. The tower contained 'tubes from top to floor, where the weights for the clocks used to hang. This provided the French with a perfect transportation system or hoisting the debris to the attic where it could be stored. Here a picture of the tower from outside:


One of the french worked outside on the roof. He had to carry the bags with debris from the tower to the attic, seen here.


From the tower, they ended up in a horizontal ventilation shaft. This was perfect as the hole cannot be seen from any angle. Hard to see, but tHis is the ventilation shaft from the inside. The hole must still be up there, somewhere halfway the shaft.


They ended up in a wine-cellar. THis was still used by the Germans, so they had to be careful. After in French style first 'scoring' a couple of bottles they started to dig towards the chapel. They expected a crypt there which would cut the work considerably. The plan was to dig under the full width of the castle from this western part to the eastern part and then escape through the Tiergarten. Here you can see the entrance of the second part of the tunnel. The entrance was concealed by a cover, made of the original stones that were taken away here. THe Germans had great problems locating this when they discovered the tunnel. At the end, the tunnel goes up in a shaft of about 2 metres, to end up under the wooden floor of the chapel. Unfortunately there was no crypt, so they had to go all the way. Sorry for the bad quality of the photo, it was very dark there.


Inside the chapel looking down in the shaft.


The chapel had a wooden floor, lying on the stone floor. The wood was very old and hard. The French had to saw through the old beams, using only a dinnerknive. Quite a feat. Here you can see one of the beams sawn through.


Unfortunately the exit out of the chapel was covered, so I could not see it. From here the tunnel drops 9 meters. Then continues under the BRitish quarters until outside of the castle. They were very close. Only had to dig a couple of meters in loose soil. A few years ago, while restoring the pavement on the terrace there, workmen discovered the end of the tunnel. Here a picture, although I realise it's hard to recognise. This is where the tunnel breaks through the outer wall. And.. there are still frogs in the French tunnel.... (green ones this time ) The tunnel is over 40 meters long. It took 8 months to make. Can't believe how close they were. I can imagine how frustrated they were when the Germans discovered it just in time.


The chapel is in the process of being restored. Actually we should not have entered, but our friendly guide opened the door for us. Here a few interior shots:




This was also the place where the 'ghosts' Jack Best and Mike Harvey hid. Their 'home' was under the stairs of the counsel. It was very cramped as you can see. For more room, they extended the room downwards. THey also started a tunnel there. The first picture is the room under the stairs:

The extension of the hidingplace under the floor...

Excellent Marcel, really excellent !
I don't think such a comprehensive photo-coverage of Colditz castle has ever been done before - have you though about putting the whole lot together, with an introduction and expanded text, in booklet form?
I'm sure it would be warmly welcomed, albeit perhaps to a relatively limited market but, done correctly, perhaps in collaboration with the castle 'authorities' and maybe in multi-language form, it could also be marketed by the castle, both directly to tourists, and by mail-order/on-line shopping to historians, students and the 'general interest' market etc.
You've aroused my interest so much, that I'm going to stretch out and re-read my copy of 'The Colditz Story' which, coincidentally, I found on the bottom of my bedside table only a couple of weeks ago!

Thanks for your kind words Terry.
No, didn't think of that. Sounds interesting. I'm hesitating a bit, because, while many photo's are good enough to be published, others are not so good. I think I would need better pictures of the French tunnel for instance. Also I'm missing parts, like the glider's attic and inside the quarters. So I don't know. But I'll think about it.

Any way, I hope to continue this tomorrow.

A good excuse for a second visit !
Looking forward to the next batch of pics - and I must say I've seen worse, much worse, in some publications.

Good shots Marcel!

Awesome pics, and I really appreciate you taking the time to explain them. Well done sir!

Thanks guys. Don't worry, still have a lot of material. First a little intermezzo. There are several plaquettes in the castle which I wanted to show you. I would like you to remember that it were not only Allied soldiers and the POW camp that was here, but much more happened, even related to WW2.

For the ones who don't read German, I'll translate.

To honour them, to remind us..

This castle served as a "protective custody camp" in the years 1933-34. For many sincere antifascists, the ordeal in the concentration camps started here.

They fought, so we can live

Click to expand...

In the autumn of 1945, Colditz castle served as a collection camp for Sachsischer nobelmen and landowners, who were expelled from there possessions after the landreform.
From here they were deported to the island of Ruegen, where they lived in inhumane conditions.
Owing to the lack of guards, most of the unowned could return to the Sachsische fatherland in the following months or escape to the western part of Germany. They they never saw their family posessions back , which had often been in the family for hundreds of years.

Click to expand...

To remember the Polish POW's that were imprisoned in Sepcial camp OFLAG IV C Colditz in the years 1939-1940. Officers and soldiers of the Polish army, participants of the defencebattle in September 1939. Among them more than ten Generals and a group of higher officers of the "homeland army". With General Tadeuz Komorowski nicknamed "Bor" high command of the homeland army and colonel Antoni Crusciel, nicknamed "Monter", commander of the Warshaw uprising 1944.

Click to expand...

Okay, after that, I'll continue with a few pictures of the buttress on the east side of the castle. It is a special one. The Germans thought it was massive. The Dutch prisoners however discovered it was actually hollow. This presented great opportunities. First of all it give them a great secret storage. The dummies used at appel (Max and Morris) were stored here, together with a great number of other escape items. Second, they could start a tunnel here, undisturbed by the German guards. Eggers considered this to be the "most dangerous tunnel of them all", because the Germans were oblivious of the room and because it was very close to the Tiergarten, outside. The Dutch were already as far as the French tunnel, before they even started digging. The whole project however is most important because it set the standard for secret doors later. Most concealed entrances and covers made by prisoners of all nationalities were inspired by the door made by Van den Heuvel (Vandy). Unfortunately for the Dutch, Hauptman Eggers decided for himself to check if the Buttress was indeed hollow and so they were discovered.

Eastern part of the castle as seen from the Tiergarten. The butress is clearly visible on the right-hand building


A closeup. After the discovery, the Germans placed a small window (seen here on the left in the lower extension) and let the light burning inside the buttress all day.


Inside the buttress. I got a peek inside the buttress. Can't see much. Unfortunately we were not allowed to inspect the entrance higher in the building.
Looking down:


And up:

The Germans also placed highly valued prisoners in Colditz. These were mainly relatives of important Allied commanders and politicians, like the nephew of Chuchil (Gilles Romily) and a nephew of Marshall Haigh. They all had their own cell and were treated in a special way. They were woken a couple of times every night to see if they were still there. Also they were not allowed to go to the Tiergarten like the other prisoners. On the other hand they had more privacy, as they each had a cell of their own. Below a cell which I believe belonged to Romilly. Compared to the others he had a quite spacious room. Very considered of the Germans. The cells btw are located on the groundfloor, next to the buttress, below the Dutch quarters.



One of the prominente (don't remember who) was quite an artist. He used his skills forging German papaers and the like, but also made this beautiful painting on the wall of his cell.

great series of pics Marcel!

Thanks Wayne,
I still have the terrace/60 seconds escape and the theatre/ Neave's escape left. Both of which I extensively photographed, so I need to select some pictures for that.
If you guys have any questions, please ask. I'll try to answer them as far as my knowledge allows. If I made any mistakes, please point them out, so I can fix the errors.

Great shots again Marcel, thanks for posting and taking the time to describe the scenes.

In the south-west corner of the prisoners yard, there is a large building, called the Saalhaus. It contained senior British officers quarters (The SBO lived there, as well as Douglas Bader), the German officers casino and on the top floor the Theatre. From here several escapes attempts were made, most noteworthy that of Airey Neave and Dutch officer Tony Luteyn. Neave was the first British prisoner that made a homerun.
The first picture shows the Saalhaus from the prisoners courtyard. It;s located in the middle. On the far right is the Kellerhaus, where the parcels office used to be. There used to be a de-licing shed in front of the Saalhaus (now a terrace). On the left, high in the wall, you can see the windows of the Hexengang, a corridore often used by the Germans to observe the prisoners. At one time, even a light machine gun was installed there, but it was quickly removed. One shivers thinking of the consequences if it had ever been used.
The entrance to the Theatre was through the door and the staircase in the middle of the photo


The old German casino last refurbish was obviously in the '70ies


The theatre and it's ceiling. I thought it to be quite beautiful. The prisoners performed several plays here. I think you all have seen the pictures. Somewhere in this building, there used to be a lightwell. It's been used for several attempts. Unfortunately it is gone now. Neave and Luteyn escaped from underneath the podium.




For the escape, a hole had been made in the floor under the podium. They got into an unused corridor that lead over the gate to the guardshouse. I was in that corridor and the hole is still there:


Pat Reid had made a cover for the hole, so it could be used again. Unfortunately it was not to be as the Germans discovered the escape route a week later. The cover is still on display in the castle's museum which is located in the former guards house, where Neave and Luteyn passed during their escape.


View from outside. On the left the Saalhause. The below the closed windows are the windows of the corridor where the hole is and that was entered by Neave and Luteyn. I guess the closed windows are the backside of the podium. They then walked over the gate here on the right on the photo (you can just see one window of that part of the corridor. At the end there was a door leading to the staircase of the guardshouse. Dressed as German officers and with Luteyn fluend in German, they bluffed their way passed the Guard and walked into the passage, to the German courtyard and out the main gate (photos in my earlier posts).


Pff, dat was difficult to describe. If anything is not clear, please ask.

Clear enough Marcel, and thanks again!