The farmers haven’t started the spring drillings yet and the local pigeons aren’t using my woods to roost, so I’ve had plenty of time to read Ben Macintyre’s new book, Colditz.
The Saxony castle, dating back to the 11th century, sits atop a small hill and, like many castles, was built to dominate a river; in its case the Zwickauer Mulde, a tributary of the River Elbe. It’s fame — or perhaps notoriety — is of course not based on its somewhat romantic aspect, but the role it played as Oflag IV-C, a German prisoner-of-war camp for Allied officers with a record of escape attempts. Yet despite its formidable walls and heightened levels of security, Macintyre records that 32 prisoners
