Colditz Castle is known as a top security captive of war camp utilised by the Fascists all thru World War II to house Associated captives of war who were thought to be "incorrigible". Nonetheless, the castle is around 800 years old so there's considerably more to its past than the six years when it was also known as Oflag IV-C.
Construction started in the middle of the 12th century on the majestic castle set on a hill overlooking Colditz in Saxony, Germany. Within a few years, homes appeared in the area of the castle and after virtually 250 years, it was sold by the Lords of Coldtiz.
A rather serious blaze in the early 1500s ended in heavy parts of the castle needed to be reconstructed not to mention the town hall, church and heavy parts of the city. Over the centuries, restoration and reconstructing building work saw the form of the castle transform and in the 19th century it was rebuilt once more and employed as a workhouse and later on a psychological facility until 1924.
In 1933, the Fascists took power and converted the castle to a prison for political pows. After the beginning of World War Ii in 1939, prisoners of war were detained here. It was used to hold risky captives of war who were deemed deadly and likely to try to escape. Though it's a maximum security pow camp, the nature of the inmates at Oflag IV-C (it's POW camp camp name), meant there were plenty of inventive escape efforts. There had been even one scheme where POWs meant to employ a glider even though it was never tried as the Allies recaptured the castle before the escape effort might be staged.
Colditz was a prison camp for officials and there were also several distinguished inmates including the British air ace, Douglas Bader, Patrick Reid who broadcast a number of publications on Colditz after the war, Airey Neave who was the first officer to escape from the POW camp and was also finally elected to the British Parliament, Sir David Stirling who set up the Special Air Service and Charles Upham from New Zealand who got awarded the Victoria Cross and bar. One of the more notable of all was Giles Romilly who was the nephew of Winston Churchill's spouse.
Lately, Colditz Castle has been reconstructed and is open to visitors to see this consequential building for themselves.
Construction started in the middle of the 12th century on the majestic castle set on a hill overlooking Colditz in Saxony, Germany. Within a few years, homes appeared in the area of the castle and after virtually 250 years, it was sold by the Lords of Coldtiz.
A rather serious blaze in the early 1500s ended in heavy parts of the castle needed to be reconstructed not to mention the town hall, church and heavy parts of the city. Over the centuries, restoration and reconstructing building work saw the form of the castle transform and in the 19th century it was rebuilt once more and employed as a workhouse and later on a psychological facility until 1924.
In 1933, the Fascists took power and converted the castle to a prison for political pows. After the beginning of World War Ii in 1939, prisoners of war were detained here. It was used to hold risky captives of war who were deemed deadly and likely to try to escape. Though it's a maximum security pow camp, the nature of the inmates at Oflag IV-C (it's POW camp camp name), meant there were plenty of inventive escape efforts. There had been even one scheme where POWs meant to employ a glider even though it was never tried as the Allies recaptured the castle before the escape effort might be staged.
Colditz was a prison camp for officials and there were also several distinguished inmates including the British air ace, Douglas Bader, Patrick Reid who broadcast a number of publications on Colditz after the war, Airey Neave who was the first officer to escape from the POW camp and was also finally elected to the British Parliament, Sir David Stirling who set up the Special Air Service and Charles Upham from New Zealand who got awarded the Victoria Cross and bar. One of the more notable of all was Giles Romilly who was the nephew of Winston Churchill's spouse.
Lately, Colditz Castle has been reconstructed and is open to visitors to see this consequential building for themselves.
About the Author:
The historic Colditz Castle has given lots of the most imaginative escape stories of the 2nd World War.
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