My guest blogger today is J. G. Burdette. I first followed J.G. about a year ago. When I found out that J.G. is from my home state of Indiana, we had even more of a bond. Her informative blog brings to light infrequently told stories that make the study of history so interesting. Whether you are from Indiana, or just a history buff, you will enjoy her writing. This article, and subsequent ones that I have chosen to share with all of you will prepare you for the upcoming CCSS conference in March, 2014.
The 2014 CCSS (California Council for the Social Studies) Conference theme, "CCSS Wants You: Digging in for the Challenge," will focus on the challenges of war. One of the biggest challenges was what to do with prisoners of war. I guess it's ok to shoot them if you are fighting, but if you don't kill them when you are fighting, then what? Let's take a look at what the Nazis did during World War II.
Colditz Castle, Oflag IVC, was supposed to be an inescapable fortress. The Nazi regime had designated it a prison for the exceptional Allied prisoners who proved themselves “high-security risks”. When the first British prisoners of war arrived on 7 November 1940 they joined French and Polish prisoners already housed in the castle. It was the beginning of a headache for the German guards.
Colditz was an 11th century castle that had grown over the years. It possessed an intricate system of passageways that riddled the fortress; locked gates and doors throughout the castle were nothing to prisoners for they proved to be quite learned at picking locks. The food was nothing to brag about and Red Cross packages were highly valued. When the times got hard, those packages would be even more appreciated. Life at Colditz was not pleasant. Walls surrounded the prisoners at every turn, space was limited and the number of roll calls would grow to four a day with surprise inspections at night. Yet the Geneva Convention protected the prisoners and for the most part the guards treated them well. All in all the two factions would get along. Sadly, captivity would drive a few of the Allied men mad.
French officers at Colditz (Courtesy Wikipedia)
From the Polish the British prisoners learned a great deal of the ins and outs of Colditz. But it would be the French who attempted the first escape. While it was not successful it marked the beginning of over 300 escape attempts that would take place over the next 4 years. The first successful escape attempt would take place a month after the first failed attempt. Frenchmen Lt. Alain Le Ray made Colditz’s first home run, boosting the morale and hopes of those left behind. It would seem the French had all the luck. In July Lt. Pierre Mairesse Lebrun escaped before the eyes of his captors when he vaulted over the wire. He fled as a hail of bullets followed. His escape would be the third home run. After his escape he was cheeky enough to request that the Germans send his belongings to him.
Of the different nationalities assembled in the camp, roll call was a very messy affair with the British. Goon baiting was a favorite past time for many of the British officers (as well as the French). A sloppy roll call was just one way of annoying their captors. A past senior officer had gone so far as to encourage the behavior among his subordinates (In one rowdy goon-baiting session the riot squad fired on the French quarters—not entirely the German’s fault, in this case. A Frenchman took a bullet. He recovered but lost the use of his left-hand fingers). The British too had attempted various escapes, none of which had been successful in the year 1941. On one occasion they were digging a tunnel when the German accidentally discovered it. They would not have a home run until early 1942.
Colditz (Courtesy Wikipedia)
At first the Dutch prisoners were well regarded by the Germans, because they were trouble-free. But all was not as it seemed. Four Dutch officers turned up missing. The Dutch escape had been made from a manhole in a the castle’s park over a span of two days. While the rest of the prisoners played a noisy game overhead a pair of Dutchmen (the second pair) would scramble into the claustrophobic manhole. For hours the two would stand in the partially water-filled hole until nightfall. In the meantime a fellow prisoner covered for them by cutting through the wire in a mock escape. He got the attention of the guards and then yelled to nonexistent escapees to “Run, discovered!”. The Germans thought that the two men really had gotten away when in reality they were still in the park. When night came the two men emerged and made their run. After a grueling journey they made it to the Swiss border and to freedom. The escape was repeated by two more Dutch prisoners before the manhole was discovered in the midst of a fourth escape. To explain the disappearances of the third round of manhole escapees two dummies, Max and Mortiz, were created by a Polish prisoner. The clay heads were dressed up in capes and boots and made regular appearances with the Dutch. The dummies, or at least one of them, would not be discovered until three months later when one was given an order by a German and the dummy failed to act on it.
By the end of 1941 the British had the most escape attempts followed closely by the French. However the French had made 10 homeruns while the British had none. They made up for that in 1942 when a Dutch and British prisoner broke out and made it to safety.
Liberation (Courtesy Wikipedia)
While the other nationalities were making their own escapes the French had decided to take up the task of tunneling. And it was a task. Through boulders, rocks and castle walls they dug. The tunneling noises could not always be hidden from the confounded Germans. They were well aware that somewhere beneath their feet there were tunneling activities, but they could never pinpoint the area where the noise was originating. Dirt taken from the tunnel was hidden in attics. There was so much of it that one day a guard noticed a strange sagging in a ceiling. Another time a ceiling collapsed, busting a water pipe in the process. The mixture of water and dirt cascaded down the castle stairs in a muddy mixture much to the delight of the British and annoyance of the Germans. The tunnel was nearly finished and 200 Frenchmen prepared for the breakout when their hopes were dashed. The tunnel was discovered by the Germans two days before the scheduled escape date.
Another tunneling attempt was made in the cold winter that followed. Major Patrick Reid cut through the bars of his window and dug through the snow on the roof, forming a small tunnel. A ferret discovered his work soon after and came in after Reid. Reid’s escape was promptly ended.
Colditz Cock, the glider (Courtesy Wikipedia)
By April 1945 the number of escapes had fallen drastically. It would seem escape truly was impossible. In five years there had been thirty-two home runs. Drastic times called for drastic measure. So the British built a glider. Suffice it to say, after the glider was constructed the Americans liberated Colditz (but not before the British had convinced the kommandant to surrender before the forces arrived). It was not a moment too soon. Officers had been forced to watch as many of their comrades lost their minds, unable to cope with the monotonous captivity. Now freedom had arrived at last. The prisoners bade farewell to Colditz.
You can follow J.G. Burdette at jgburdette.wordpress.com. She has agreed to be a guest blogger for this post, and I have chosen several articles about WWI and WWII to set the stage for the next CCSS Conference in March, 2014.
Would you like to be a guest blogger? Email me at tchistorygal@gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Make history - comment here.