Colditz: The Definitive History: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes

Breathtaking and mesmerizing, Colditz is a gripping tale of perseverance, heroism, and adventure. Filled with the thrilling never-before-told personal stories of the prisoners of war held within the walls of this medieval fortress turned German high-security prison camp, Colditz offers endlessly intriguing stories of consummate survivors who proved the human spirit to be indomitable.

In more than fifty original interviews, the English, French, Dutch, and Polish officers and their guards describe their experiences in the notorious castle. They reveal their boredom and frustrations, as well as the challenges inherent in making maps out of jelly or constructing tunnels with mere cutlery knives. The stories are by turns comic and tragic, as much of their labor and invention ended in failure. But what emerges is a story of breathtaking ingenuity and an intriguing portrait of the fascinating game of wits between captives and captors, who were bound together by mutual respect and extraordinary tolerance.

Henry Chancellor was born in London in 1968. He grew up in East Anglia and went to Trinity College, Cambridge. Colditz grew out of his remarkable British television series, Escape from Colditz,was twelve years in the making and has won sweeping critical praise and has been shown all over the world. His other documentaries for television include The Great Belzoni, Pirates, and Millennium. He lives in Suffolk with his wife and two sons.