Saturday, April 15, 2006
20. Colditz Castle: Who Escaped!
How many mostly Western Allied POWs escaped from Colditz (Oflag IV C) during WWII? That depends on who compiled the postwar list, and apparently, what constituted a successful escape, and from where, as well as to where. The shortest list named just 16, while the longest list (mine) proposes a maximum of 46.
I have taken the liberty of subdividing each list up into groups, based on where they escaped from, as this was sometimes a reason for their inclusion or omission. All seven list makers, and their often varied results, follow.
1. Georg Martin Schädlich listed 16. He was a WWII Colditz unteroffizier guard and diarist. In 1992 his grandson, Thomas Schädlich, published Colditzer Schloßgeschichten: Die Geschichte des Oflag IV C in Colditz nach dem Tagebuch des Georg Martin Schädlich. The list appeared on page 83 of the German language edition, and on page 82 of the English language edition.
A. Escaped from behind the stone walls of Colditz castle itself [8]:
1. Neave
2. Luteijn
3. Fowler
4. van Doorninck
5. Reid
6. Wardle
7. Stephens
8. Littledale
B. Escaped from within the grounds of Colditz castle [4]:
9. Mairesse-Lebrun
10. Larive
11. Steinmetz
12. Giebel
C. Escaped from the town of Colditz [3]:
13. Durand-Hornus
14. de Frondeville
15. Prot
D. Escaped from hospital, prison, or cell, but while still on the Colditz roster [1]:
16. Paddon
2. Winston G. Ramsey listed 18. He was editor of After the Battle: Colditz (magazine issue number 63), which was published in 1989 by "Battle of Britain Prints International". The list appeared on page 18.
A. Escaped from behind the stone walls of Colditz castle itself [8]:
1. Neave
2. Luteijn
3. Fowler
4. van Doorninck
5. Reid
6. Wardle
7. Stephens
8. Littledale
B. Escaped from within the grounds of Colditz castle [7]:
9. Le Ray
10. Collin
11. Mairesse-Lebrun
12. Larive
13. Steinmetz
14. Giebel
15. Drijber
C. Escaped from within the town of Colditz [3]:
16. Durand-Hornus
17. de Frondeville
18. Prot
3. Reinhold Eggers described 20 (out of 31 total). He was the WWII Colditz Colditz Duty and Security Officer, and postwar author, who published Colditz: The German Story in 1961. Eggers stated on page 63 that 15 "made the home run", that 15 "got safely to freedom" on page 109 in 1942, and on pages 136-137 that Millar disappeared in 1944. Page numbers here are from the English language "London: Robert Hale, 1991" paperback edition.
A. Escaped from behind the stone walls of Colditz castle itself [9]:
1. Neave
2. Luteijn
3. Fowler
4. van Doorninck
5. Reid
6. Wardle
7. Stephens
8. Littledale
9. Millar
B. Escaped from within the grounds of Colditz castle [7]:
10. Le Ray
11. Collin
12. Mairesse-Lebrun
13. Larive
14. Steinmetz
15. Giebel
16. Drijber
C. Escaped from the town of Colditz [3]:
17. Durand-Hornus
18. de Frondeville
19. Prot
D. Escaped from a hospital, prison, or cell, but while still on the Colditz roster [1]:
20. Paddon
4. P.R. [Patrick Robert] Reid listed 31. He was a WWII POW at Colditz until his successful escape in October 1942. Postwar, he wrote The Colditz Story (1952), Men of Colditz (1953), and then combined his first two books into Escape from Colditz (date unknown). Later he wrote Colditz: The Full Story (1984), which is my principle source. For page numbers see #7 below.
A. Escaped from behind the stone walls of Colditz castle itself [10]:
1. Neave
2. Luteijn
3. Fowler
4. van Doorninck
5. Reid
6. Wardle
7. Stephens
8. Littledale
9. Millar
10. Elliott
B. Escaped from within the grounds of Colditz castle [7]:
11. Le Ray
12. Collin
13. Mairesse-Lebrun
14. Larive
15. Steinmetz
16. Giebel
17. Drijber
C. Escaped from the town of Colditz [4]:
18. Tatischeff
19. Durand-Hornus
20. de Fronteville
21. Prot
D. Escaped from a hospital, prison, or cell, but while still on the Colditz roster [8]:
22. Kroner
23. Boucheron
24. Odry
25. Navelet
26. Remy
27. Paddon
28. Rouillez
29. Darthenay
E. Escaped as Colditz 'alumni' after transfer to another POW camp [2]:
30. Hammond
31. Lister
5. Unknown author(s) listed 31. This list is from the 'Colditz' article in wikipedia.com as it appears now in April 2006.
A. Escaped from behind the stone walls of Colditz castle itself [9]:
1. Neave
2. Luteijn
3. Fowler
4. van Doorninck
5. Reid
6. Wardle
7. Stephens
8. Littledale
9. Millar
B. Escaped from within the grounds of Colditz castle [7]:
10. Le Ray
12. Collin
13. Mairesse-Lebrun
14. Steinmetz
15. Larive
16. Giebel
17. Drijber
C. Escaped from the town of Colditz [3]:
18. Durand-Hornus
19. de Frondeville
20. Prot
D. Escaped from a hospital, prison, or cell, but while still on the Colditz roster [7]:
21. Boucheron
22. Odry
23. Navelet
24. Remy
25. Paddon
26. Bouillez
27. Darthenay
E. Escaped as Colditz 'alunmi' after transfer to another POW camp [4]:
28. van Lijnden
29. Hammond
30. Lister
31. Mazumdar
6. Henry Chancellor counted 32, but listed 37. Based mostly on interviews, Chancellor's book, Colditz: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes was published in 2001. His "List of Escape Attempts" appeared on pages 393-404 of his "New York: William Morrow, 2001" edition. I have put an asterick [*] next to the names of the five Chancellor listed as escaping, but he didn't count as a "Home Run".
A. Escaped from behind the stone walls of Colditz castle itself [13]:
1. Neave
2. Luteyn
3. Fowler
4. van Doorninck
5. Reid
6. Wardle
7. Stephens
8. Littledale
9. Millar *
10. Elliott
11. Flinn [Flynn]
12. Barnett
13. Wynn
B. Escaped from within the grounds of Colditz castle [7]:
14. Le Ray
15. Collin
16. Mairesse-Lebrun
17. Larive
18. Steinmetz
19. Giebel
20. Drijber
C. Escaped from the town of Colditz [4]:
21. Tatistcheff
22. Durand-Hornus
23. de Frondeville
24. Prot
D. Escaped from a hospital, prison, or cell, but while still on the Colditz roster [8]:
25. Kroner
26. Boucheron
27. Odry
28. Navelet
29. Remy
30. Paddon
31. Bouillez
32. Darthenay
E. Escaped as Colditz 'alumni' after transfer to another POW camp [5]:
33. Hammond *
34. Lister *
35. Mazumdar *
36. Ferguson *
37. van Lynden
7. I listed 46. I drew up a list of everyone who successfully escaped based especially on Reid's Colditz: The Full Story [C], but also on Reid's Escape from Colditz [E] for three more successful escapers not credited in Reid's Colditz: The Full Story, and three more yet in Chancellor's Colditz: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes [Ch].
Page numbers here for Colditz: The Full Story are from the "New York: St. Martin's Press, 1984" edition. Page numbers here for Escape from Colditz are from the "Philadelphia and New York: J.B. Lippincott, [No date]" edition. Page numbers here for Chancellor's Colditz are from "New York: William Morrow, 2001" edition.
A. Escaped from behind the stone walls of Colditz castle itself [13]:
1. Neave [C, 111-115, 327]
2. Luteijn [C, 111-115, 331]
3. Fowler [C, 162-165, 327]
4. van Doorninck [C, 162-165, 331]
5. Reid [C, 171-175, 327]
6. Wardle [C, 171-175, 327]
7. Stephens [C, 171-175, 327]
8. Littledale [C, 171-175, 327]
9. Millar [C, 219-220, 327]
10. Barnett [E, 277]
11. Elliott [C, 231-235, 327]
12. Flinn [Flynn] [Ch, 403]
13. Wynn [Ch, 403]
B. Escaped from within the grounds of Colditz castle [7]:
14. Le Ray [C, 46-49, 331]
15. Collin [C, 57, 331]
16. Mairesse-Lebrun [C, 63-64, 332]
17. Larive [C, 77-80, 331]
18. Steinmetz [C, 77-80, 331]
19. Giebel [C, 89-92, 331]
20. Drijber [C, 89-92, 331]
C. Escaped from the town of Colditz [4]:
21. Tatischeff [C, 68, 332]
22. Durand-Hornus [C, 105-106, 332]
23. de Frondeville [C, 105-106, 332]
24. Prot [C, 105-106, 332]
D. Escaped from a hospital, prison, or cell, but while still on the Colditz roster [8]:
25. Kroner [C, 83, 330]
26. Boucheron [C, 332]
27. Odry [C, 100, 332]
28. Navelet [C, 100, 332]
29. Remy [C, 144-146, 332]
30. Paddon [C, 147-148, 327]
31. Bouillez [C, 144, 332]
32. Darthenay [C, 203, 332]
E. Escaped as Colditz 'alumni' after transfer to another POW camp [14]:
33. Hammond [C, 175-176, 327]
34. Lister [C, 175-176, 327]
35. Perrin [C, 252-253]
36. Pszczolkowski [C, 213]
37. Ziminski [C, 213-214]
38. Douw van der Krap [C, 222]
39. Kruimink [C, 222]
40. Besson-Guyard [C, 50]
41. Warisse [C, 50]
42. van Lijnden [E, 450]
43. Fraser [E, 452]
44. Mazumdar [C, 184]
45. Romilly [C, 279-285]
46. Ferguson [Ch, 401]
This article is still "Under Construction", and there will be more to come.
I have taken the liberty of subdividing each list up into groups, based on where they escaped from, as this was sometimes a reason for their inclusion or omission. All seven list makers, and their often varied results, follow.
1. Georg Martin Schädlich listed 16. He was a WWII Colditz unteroffizier guard and diarist. In 1992 his grandson, Thomas Schädlich, published Colditzer Schloßgeschichten: Die Geschichte des Oflag IV C in Colditz nach dem Tagebuch des Georg Martin Schädlich. The list appeared on page 83 of the German language edition, and on page 82 of the English language edition.
A. Escaped from behind the stone walls of Colditz castle itself [8]:
1. Neave
2. Luteijn
3. Fowler
4. van Doorninck
5. Reid
6. Wardle
7. Stephens
8. Littledale
B. Escaped from within the grounds of Colditz castle [4]:
9. Mairesse-Lebrun
10. Larive
11. Steinmetz
12. Giebel
C. Escaped from the town of Colditz [3]:
13. Durand-Hornus
14. de Frondeville
15. Prot
D. Escaped from hospital, prison, or cell, but while still on the Colditz roster [1]:
16. Paddon
2. Winston G. Ramsey listed 18. He was editor of After the Battle: Colditz (magazine issue number 63), which was published in 1989 by "Battle of Britain Prints International". The list appeared on page 18.
A. Escaped from behind the stone walls of Colditz castle itself [8]:
1. Neave
2. Luteijn
3. Fowler
4. van Doorninck
5. Reid
6. Wardle
7. Stephens
8. Littledale
B. Escaped from within the grounds of Colditz castle [7]:
9. Le Ray
10. Collin
11. Mairesse-Lebrun
12. Larive
13. Steinmetz
14. Giebel
15. Drijber
C. Escaped from within the town of Colditz [3]:
16. Durand-Hornus
17. de Frondeville
18. Prot
3. Reinhold Eggers described 20 (out of 31 total). He was the WWII Colditz Colditz Duty and Security Officer, and postwar author, who published Colditz: The German Story in 1961. Eggers stated on page 63 that 15 "made the home run", that 15 "got safely to freedom" on page 109 in 1942, and on pages 136-137 that Millar disappeared in 1944. Page numbers here are from the English language "London: Robert Hale, 1991" paperback edition.
A. Escaped from behind the stone walls of Colditz castle itself [9]:
1. Neave
2. Luteijn
3. Fowler
4. van Doorninck
5. Reid
6. Wardle
7. Stephens
8. Littledale
9. Millar
B. Escaped from within the grounds of Colditz castle [7]:
10. Le Ray
11. Collin
12. Mairesse-Lebrun
13. Larive
14. Steinmetz
15. Giebel
16. Drijber
C. Escaped from the town of Colditz [3]:
17. Durand-Hornus
18. de Frondeville
19. Prot
D. Escaped from a hospital, prison, or cell, but while still on the Colditz roster [1]:
20. Paddon
4. P.R. [Patrick Robert] Reid listed 31. He was a WWII POW at Colditz until his successful escape in October 1942. Postwar, he wrote The Colditz Story (1952), Men of Colditz (1953), and then combined his first two books into Escape from Colditz (date unknown). Later he wrote Colditz: The Full Story (1984), which is my principle source. For page numbers see #7 below.
A. Escaped from behind the stone walls of Colditz castle itself [10]:
1. Neave
2. Luteijn
3. Fowler
4. van Doorninck
5. Reid
6. Wardle
7. Stephens
8. Littledale
9. Millar
10. Elliott
B. Escaped from within the grounds of Colditz castle [7]:
11. Le Ray
12. Collin
13. Mairesse-Lebrun
14. Larive
15. Steinmetz
16. Giebel
17. Drijber
C. Escaped from the town of Colditz [4]:
18. Tatischeff
19. Durand-Hornus
20. de Fronteville
21. Prot
D. Escaped from a hospital, prison, or cell, but while still on the Colditz roster [8]:
22. Kroner
23. Boucheron
24. Odry
25. Navelet
26. Remy
27. Paddon
28. Rouillez
29. Darthenay
E. Escaped as Colditz 'alumni' after transfer to another POW camp [2]:
30. Hammond
31. Lister
5. Unknown author(s) listed 31. This list is from the 'Colditz' article in wikipedia.com as it appears now in April 2006.
A. Escaped from behind the stone walls of Colditz castle itself [9]:
1. Neave
2. Luteijn
3. Fowler
4. van Doorninck
5. Reid
6. Wardle
7. Stephens
8. Littledale
9. Millar
B. Escaped from within the grounds of Colditz castle [7]:
10. Le Ray
12. Collin
13. Mairesse-Lebrun
14. Steinmetz
15. Larive
16. Giebel
17. Drijber
C. Escaped from the town of Colditz [3]:
18. Durand-Hornus
19. de Frondeville
20. Prot
D. Escaped from a hospital, prison, or cell, but while still on the Colditz roster [7]:
21. Boucheron
22. Odry
23. Navelet
24. Remy
25. Paddon
26. Bouillez
27. Darthenay
E. Escaped as Colditz 'alunmi' after transfer to another POW camp [4]:
28. van Lijnden
29. Hammond
30. Lister
31. Mazumdar
6. Henry Chancellor counted 32, but listed 37. Based mostly on interviews, Chancellor's book, Colditz: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes was published in 2001. His "List of Escape Attempts" appeared on pages 393-404 of his "New York: William Morrow, 2001" edition. I have put an asterick [*] next to the names of the five Chancellor listed as escaping, but he didn't count as a "Home Run".
A. Escaped from behind the stone walls of Colditz castle itself [13]:
1. Neave
2. Luteyn
3. Fowler
4. van Doorninck
5. Reid
6. Wardle
7. Stephens
8. Littledale
9. Millar *
10. Elliott
11. Flinn [Flynn]
12. Barnett
13. Wynn
B. Escaped from within the grounds of Colditz castle [7]:
14. Le Ray
15. Collin
16. Mairesse-Lebrun
17. Larive
18. Steinmetz
19. Giebel
20. Drijber
C. Escaped from the town of Colditz [4]:
21. Tatistcheff
22. Durand-Hornus
23. de Frondeville
24. Prot
D. Escaped from a hospital, prison, or cell, but while still on the Colditz roster [8]:
25. Kroner
26. Boucheron
27. Odry
28. Navelet
29. Remy
30. Paddon
31. Bouillez
32. Darthenay
E. Escaped as Colditz 'alumni' after transfer to another POW camp [5]:
33. Hammond *
34. Lister *
35. Mazumdar *
36. Ferguson *
37. van Lynden
7. I listed 46. I drew up a list of everyone who successfully escaped based especially on Reid's Colditz: The Full Story [C], but also on Reid's Escape from Colditz [E] for three more successful escapers not credited in Reid's Colditz: The Full Story, and three more yet in Chancellor's Colditz: The Untold Story of World War II's Great Escapes [Ch].
Page numbers here for Colditz: The Full Story are from the "New York: St. Martin's Press, 1984" edition. Page numbers here for Escape from Colditz are from the "Philadelphia and New York: J.B. Lippincott, [No date]" edition. Page numbers here for Chancellor's Colditz are from "New York: William Morrow, 2001" edition.
A. Escaped from behind the stone walls of Colditz castle itself [13]:
1. Neave [C, 111-115, 327]
2. Luteijn [C, 111-115, 331]
3. Fowler [C, 162-165, 327]
4. van Doorninck [C, 162-165, 331]
5. Reid [C, 171-175, 327]
6. Wardle [C, 171-175, 327]
7. Stephens [C, 171-175, 327]
8. Littledale [C, 171-175, 327]
9. Millar [C, 219-220, 327]
10. Barnett [E, 277]
11. Elliott [C, 231-235, 327]
12. Flinn [Flynn] [Ch, 403]
13. Wynn [Ch, 403]
B. Escaped from within the grounds of Colditz castle [7]:
14. Le Ray [C, 46-49, 331]
15. Collin [C, 57, 331]
16. Mairesse-Lebrun [C, 63-64, 332]
17. Larive [C, 77-80, 331]
18. Steinmetz [C, 77-80, 331]
19. Giebel [C, 89-92, 331]
20. Drijber [C, 89-92, 331]
C. Escaped from the town of Colditz [4]:
21. Tatischeff [C, 68, 332]
22. Durand-Hornus [C, 105-106, 332]
23. de Frondeville [C, 105-106, 332]
24. Prot [C, 105-106, 332]
D. Escaped from a hospital, prison, or cell, but while still on the Colditz roster [8]:
25. Kroner [C, 83, 330]
26. Boucheron [C, 332]
27. Odry [C, 100, 332]
28. Navelet [C, 100, 332]
29. Remy [C, 144-146, 332]
30. Paddon [C, 147-148, 327]
31. Bouillez [C, 144, 332]
32. Darthenay [C, 203, 332]
E. Escaped as Colditz 'alumni' after transfer to another POW camp [14]:
33. Hammond [C, 175-176, 327]
34. Lister [C, 175-176, 327]
35. Perrin [C, 252-253]
36. Pszczolkowski [C, 213]
37. Ziminski [C, 213-214]
38. Douw van der Krap [C, 222]
39. Kruimink [C, 222]
40. Besson-Guyard [C, 50]
41. Warisse [C, 50]
42. van Lijnden [E, 450]
43. Fraser [E, 452]
44. Mazumdar [C, 184]
45. Romilly [C, 279-285]
46. Ferguson [Ch, 401]
This article is still "Under Construction", and there will be more to come.
