But, like all myths, it is partial. It doesn’t tell the whole story. Very early on in the project I thought, ‘There is an entirely separate set of stories that have never been told.’” Reid served in the British embassy at Ankara, Turkey, as First Secretary (Commercial) from 1946 until 1949, then as Chief Administrator for the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation in Paris, France, until 1952. [2] The idea, a brilliant idea if it works, is to try to tell this story in a series of episodes, taking a different vantage point for each episode,” he explained.

Larive, E.H. (1950) (in Dutch). Vannacht varen de Hollanders [The Man Who Came in From Colditz]. Amsterdam: Elsevier. In PBS's NOVA documentary series, " Escape From Nazi Alcatraz" (Season 41, Episode 12), is about a planned escape by a group of British officers from Colditz Castle.Colditz in the Digital Historic Index of Places in Saxony ( Digitales Historisches Ortsverzeichnis von Sachsen) Pat Grant is captured at Dunkirk and sent along with many other British Officers to Oflag VIIC, Laufen. Together with his colleagues, both a rooftop escape and a tunnelling escape are attempted. The latter works, and Pat escapes dressed as a townswoman. After several days on the run, Pat is caught and sent to Laufen once more. Oberst Reichtleig, The Kommandant of Oflag VIIC, disgusted with Pat, sends him to the Sonderlager, Oflag IVC, Colditz. One particularly elaborate disguise was foiled due to a dropped watch. On 25 June 1941 , a young German woman walking along the path leading up to the German courtyard was spotted by some British prisoners. A chorus of whistles and catcalls followed, but the woman did not react, and when Squadron Leader Brian Paddon noticed that she had dropped her watch he did the gentlemanly thing and passed the watch to the nearest guard to give to the lady.

Reinhold Eggers, Colditz: The German Story Translated and edited by Howard Gee. London: Robert Hale, 1961. Une Vie De Camp (1943) — This is an exhibition of the watercolours of Pierre Lelong showing daily life at Oflag IVc. These watercolours seem "sanitized" and may have been censored by the German guards. It was boring, they were hungry a lot of the time, and it was dangerous. Anyone trying to escape after 1943 really was putting their life on the line." The castle was liberated by US forces on April 16, 1945, before the Russians swept in and Saxony became part of East Germany.

Indian RAMC Captain Birendra Nath Mazumdar M.D. was the only Indian in Colditz. He went on a hunger strike to have himself transferred into an Indian-only camp. His wish was granted three weeks later and he escaped from that camp to France and reached Switzerland in 1944 with the aid of the French Resistance. [8]