Out of Colditz

David Lascelles

ISBN 10: 1805226738 / ISBN 13: 9781805226734

Published by Profile Books Ltd, GB, 2026

About this Item

'A truly revelatory story of courage, treachery, intrigue, divided loyalties and vengeance' Damien Lewis, author of SAS Great Escapes 'A gripping, unsettling journey into the strange moral fog of the war's last days - and the shadows we inherit long after' Iain MacGregor, author of The Lighthouse of StalingradThe grandson of a King. The son of the Viceroy of India. Churchill's nephew. Held captive at the notorious Colditz prisoner of war camp, they were the Prominente: scions of the British establishment, and pawns in the hands of Nazi leaders.As a German defeat loomed, the SS head of the POW camps Gottlob Berger made a pivotal decision: he would disobey direct orders and spare their lives. 'Please remember what I have done for you when the war ends,' he asked. This Nazi overseer, who would later be convicted of war crimes, held their future in his hands.Eighty years later, David Lascelles - the son of George, Earl of Harewood, who would never have been born if his father had been executed - traces the Prominentes' extraordinary journey and wonders who Gottlob Berger was and what motivated his fateful decision: compassion? Remorse? Or self-interest?

Seller Inventory # LU-9781805226734

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Out of Colditz
• Publisher: Profile Books Ltd, GB
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1805226738
• ISBN 13: 9781805226734
• Binding: Hardback
• Edition: Main.
• Condition: New
• Weight: 520 grams

About this title

Synopsis

'A truly revelatory story of courage, treachery, intrigue, divided loyalties and vengeance' Damien Lewis, author of SAS Great Escapes

'A gripping, unsettling journey into the strange moral fog of the war's last days - and the shadows we inherit long after' Iain MacGregor, author of The Lighthouse of Stalingrad

The grandson of a King. The son of the Viceroy of India. Churchill's nephew. Held captive at the notorious Colditz prisoner of war camp, they were the Prominente: scions of the British establishment, and pawns in the hands of Nazi leaders.

As a German defeat loomed, the SS head of the POW camps Gottlob Berger made a pivotal decision: he would disobey direct orders and spare their lives. 'Please remember what I have done for you when the war ends,' he asked. This Nazi overseer, who would later be convicted of war crimes, held their future in his hands.

Eighty years later, David Lascelles - the son of George, Earl of Harewood, who would never have been born if his father had been executed - traces the Prominentes' extraordinary journey and wonders who Gottlob Berger was and what motivated his fateful decision: compassion? Remorse? Or self-interest?

About the Author

David Lascelles is a BAFTA-winning film and TV producer. He is the 8th Earl of Harewood and a trustee of Harewood House Trust, an educational charity. Under his guidance, Harewood has been at the forefront of the movement to be more open about addressing its colonial past and its involvement with the transatlantic slave trade. He is a Founder Member of the campaign group Heirs of Slavery. Out of Colditz is his second book.