Prisoners of the Castle: An Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz, the Nazis’ Fortress Prison by Ben Macintyre
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Prisoners of the Castle is the true story of the prisoner of war camp in Colditz castle during World War 2. The story is probably familiar to most who have read about POWs who were held by the Germans during the war. Certainly I remember reading Pat Reid’s book Escape from Colditz many years ago. But this book is different; Mr Macintyre has tried (and succeeded in my opinion) to present a comprehensive history of Colditz during the war, including prisoners, guards and the civilians in the town of Colditz.

The narrative unfolds chronologically, beginning with the arrival of the first POWs at the castle and ending with the American ground forces taking control of the area in 1945. Naturally the escapes (including Pat Reid’s) are covered, but we learn a lot about what it was like to be a prisoner in Colditz: the food, the different nationalities, the social groups, etc.

To me it was very interesting to read the German side of the story, which was based on the diaries of one of the officers. Also it was interesting to learn how the prisoners were able to communicate with Allied forces via coded messages in their letters home. If you’re interested in this period of history, I strongly recommend this book