The Colditz Story

By: P.R. Reid

Narrated by: Tim Woodward

Colditz - the dreaded POW camp was supposed to be impregnable. It was the German fortress from which there was no escape. It had been escape-proof in the 1914-18 war and was to be again in the Second World War, according to the Germans... This is the true story that has passed into legend: the story of the incredible courage and daredevil ingenuity of those who refused to admit defeat - those who burrowed, leapt and ran their way to freedom. It is the story of the finest escapers of World War Two, culminating in the author’s own dramatic escape in 1942.

©2001 P.R. Reid (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

One of the best in the genre

Author has a great sense of humor. The stories from Colditz are funny despite those killed and injured. This is serious and I appreciate the levity he brings to the story. The narrator is perfect, His reading and accent so add to the flavor of the story. Loved the Gestapo being outwhitted by the prisoners. Puts the lie to the myths about German efficiency.

Great book!

Great book great story and amazing narration I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good book!

But, audible app doesn’t work well at all on Apple Watch! And don’t work very well on phone!

absolutly brilliant

Incredible, it was like i was there in the castle itself. a real adrenaline rush with the escapes and also very informative on so many other escape strategies. A true game of cat and mouse. I loved it

Enthralling and exciting

Would you listen to The Colditz Story again? Why?

Yes, I would definitely listen to it again.

I read the book when I was a teenager and was just as enthralled as I was listening to the audio version.

This is a story about the human spirit under pressure and what is possible in a seemingly impossible situation.

There are lessons here for those of us who have never experienced war or oppression. No matter how hard we may think our lives are it is nothing compared to others around the world imprisoned or detained against their will.

Yet even under the worst of circumstances incredible feats can be achieved.

Reading the true stories of escapes from Colditz - the most impregnable and escape proof prisoner of war camp in World War II, Germany - is both nail biting and mind blowing.

The Colditz Story covers many seemingly impossible achievements - lock picking "unlockable" doors, building tunnels, hidden trapdoors, forging documents, making german uniforms from scraps around the POW camp and more.

The story is full of humour, surprise, tension and astonishment along with some sad sections when things don't go well.

When I hear about prisoners esaping from prison on the news I always think about this book. When someone has nothing to do but think about escaping 24 hours a day it is incredible what crazy, hair-brained and absolutely genius methods are dreamed up.

Overall it's an amazing story that in many ways reads like fiction and yet is 100% true.

I highly recommend it.

Good old memory for the book I read 30 years ago

We can never imagine what life was like as a prisoner of war. But this book comes close to giving you a picture of the bravery...