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Colditz
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Message 1.Â
Posted by bandick (U14360315) on Friday, 3rd December 2010
I’ve read the books by Arirey Neave… and Pat Ried’s of their respective escapes from Colditz.
I’ve seen the film The Colditz Story, and over the years gathered quite a bit of additional information and I also watched the 1970s Television series of Colditz now being screened again on Freeview’s Yesterday Channel 12…
it seems quite dated now, but still enjoyable.
However the series has finished now...
But I can’t find out what happened to the camp Kommandant portrayed by Bernard Hepton… who plays him as a decent sort of man, a professional German soldier of the old school… anyone know what became of him.
Regards bandick -
Message 2
Posted by Scriptofacto99 (U3268593) on Saturday, 4th December 2010
In all there were three kommandants at Colditz between October 1939 and April 1945. The camp kommandant as portrayed by Bernard Hepton in the tv series appears to have been a combination of all three. I remember watching the series in the 70's. There were a number of excellent actors who featured in the series. One who immediately springs to mind is Hans Meyer who played Hauptman Frans Ulmann. As I recall he was very popular with the ladies!
Bio of Hans Meyer:
The following website provides an excellent source of information on the historical characters involved:
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Message 3
Posted by Pete- Weatherman (U14670985) on Saturday, 4th December 2010
The last CO of Colditz was Oberst Prawitt. And all I have found todate is that he surrenderd to US troops with the Promise of justis from Lt. Col. Tod the Prisoners OC. Prawitt even Surender to Tod the day befor the US troops showed up, giveing him freedome of the Castle. As long as no sigh on it was shown out side the walls, as the SS were still in the town and would attack if it was known.
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Message 4
Posted by bandick (U14360315) on Saturday, 4th December 2010
reply to message 2 and 3...
Hi scriptofacto…
Having spent the last few weeks watching the re-run of the 70’s series it was the last kommandant played by Bernard Hepton I was particularly interested in.
It would have been nice if at the end of the series as the credits came up, a brief summary had appeared outlining their situation to date. mostly dead by now i expect.
I have to say though, having read about Colditz and the escapes from Colditz I wasn’t immediately aware there being three kommandants.
Interesting bio of Hans Meyor. looks like he should have been a nasty in a bond film...
I have seen the other web site before… sadly it doesn’t bring me any closer to the information I seek.
many thanks…
Pete… I watched the last episode yesterday, and yes, it’s just as you describe… the kommandant remarks ‘so the prisoners have broken their word’ when told about the flags being displayed… yet there was no action over it.
Many thanks bandick -
Message 5
Posted by raundsgirl (U2992430) on Tuesday, 7th December 2010
In the Radio Times article about this re-run the writer mentioned that one episode that everyone remembers is 'Tweedledum' in which one of the British prisoners pretended to be mad in order to be repatriated. Although warned of the dangers he went ahead, and in fact had a complete breakdown. Apparently lots of people cried, so I wasn't the only one!
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Message 6
Posted by Ian (U14326571) on Friday, 10th December 2010
After they started showing the series on Yesterday I spoke to my brother & asked if he was watching them. He wasn't. He said he could remember Bernard Hepton, David McCallum, Edward Hardwicke & a few others being in it but said the only episode he could remenber was Tweedledum, although he didn't remember the name of the episode he described it as though he'd just seen it rather than years ago.
I am really annoyed at Yesterday for scrapping the weekend repeats. The daily showings from 10 to 11:10 were too late for me as I have to be up early for work & while I might manage one or even two late nights no way could I stay up till after 11 & not feel the effect the following day. So when I saw they were repeating the episodes on a Saturday & Sunday morning I was well pleased. Then suddenly with no warning they stop the repeats. Why ? It's not as if they have been replaced by anything decent. Antiques Roadshow & Secrets of World War Two they have repeated time & time again ?
And on the subject of Yesterday could someone please explain why the Carry On films were being shown ? Carry on Up the Khyber & Carry on Losing Your Head may have a tenuous historical link but Carry on Emmanuelle ? And Last of the Summer Wine ? -
Message 7
Posted by bandick (U14360315) on Friday, 10th December 2010
Ian...
I saw a quite few of them back in the 70’s, but I read Airey Neaves book, and thought it really good… unfortunately I read another escape book at the same time… I think it’s called ‘The Long Walk’, it gives an enthralling description of a Polish officer's imprisonment in the Soviet gulags and his eventual escape. I posted on here trying to separate the two, as I’d got them both completely muddled up. Both brilliant, but I re-read Airey Neaves book again earlier in the year. Even better the second time around. I’d like to get hold of the other book thou… some posters informed its authenticity has sparked some controversy now. They took a couple of years to make it home crossing the Gobi desert
Back to Colditz… ‘The Colditz Cock’ grabbed me… thou seeing it again, it didn’t quite have the same feel to it… but I used to go gliding… never solo, but it’s a wonderful feeling… and I used to build loads of them as a kid. Then along came radio control… fantastic. I spent far too much money on that, I’ve got some real nice ones… damned shame I can’t get out to fly em these days, I fitted one with a tiny video camera…
Best program I saw about Colditz was a channel 4 reconstruction of the glider… same drawings, same tools to construct it… they even had to stay within a marked area on the floor of the same dimentions. I think the only thing they had to upgrade was the dope used to cover the fabric… the original guys were there to watch its launch… very nostalgic, a small group of old boys stood around on an airfield, the command 'up slack' then whoosh an up it went.
Perfect… I’m not often moved to tears, but I was choking em back when it came into land… I got the video of it kicking around here somewhere in a box… has the same effect every time I watch it… must be getting soft in the heed.
Regards bandick. -
Message 8
Posted by LairigGhru (U14051689) on Saturday, 11th December 2010
What puzzled me a little was how the would-be fliers would have demolished the gable wall with sufficient suddenness not to be caught? Faced with a job like that, normal people would take at least an hour!
The name of the third Kommandant appears only to be known by his first name - Karl.
Anyone interested in this topic is bound to be also interested (in fact fascinated) to read of Harrison and Cartwrights exploits in WW1. Seek out a copy of 'Within Four Walls'. -
Message 9
Posted by bandick (U14360315) on Saturday, 11th December 2010
³¢²¹¾±°ù¾±²µ³Ò³ó°ù³Ü…
Yes, and once the wall was down they had to push the glider out and then attach the wings… it used to take me some time to attach the wing on my models.
Didn’t they plan to get around this problem by dismantling the wall beforehand and erecting a false one in its place… like a stage set. After all they did the same to conceal their workshop in the attic anyway.
In the recently screened Colditz story, although they gave the go ahead for the escape plan, I got the impression the escape committee thought it too fantastic, and it went ahead mainly to boost morale and give idle hands something to do.
Regards Bandick -
Message 10
Posted by stalti (U14278018) on Thursday, 16th December 2010
as a mere youth i used to love this series - based on fact - about those plucky chaps using their ingenuity to thwart the dastardly Hun
what a bunch of rascals they were !!!!
then i read AJP taylors history of WW2 and realised 2 million russian POWs had died in terrible conditions - and thought what a bunch of lucky b--------s they were
why the germans didnt take them all out and shoot them i will never know
bit like shooting Bambi maybe - but
st -
Message 11
Posted by LairigGhru (U14051689) on Friday, 17th December 2010
stalti,
Have you no regard for the Geneva Convention? I found the thrust and tone of your post very shocking. It was bad enough when the fifty were murdered after joining in the Great Escape. -
Message 12
Posted by stalti (U14278018) on Friday, 17th December 2010
hi KG
just reread my post and i do apologise
i meant HOW the germans didnt take them out and shoot them was unbelievable
meaning that a german army that killed 2 million russian pows put up with escape attempts from a bunch of upper class officer pows
50 more dead wouldnt make any difference
as you say - the great escape slaughters were bad enough
but we have to remember russian pows were sent back on flatbed railway trucks in sub zero temperatures and then starved and killed
wouldnt it be better to be in colditz - and wouldnt colditz be a stroll in the sun
st -
Message 13
Posted by Sambista (U4068266) on Friday, 17th December 2010
Ever read "The Road to Endor"? Story of how a couple of WWI officers conned / feigned madness to get released from Turkish POW camp?
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