Immortalized in film and literature, the 15th century castle of Colditz is remembered not for tales of medieval chivalry or withstanding withering sieges but for its darker past, when it was converted by the Nazis into a prisoner-of-war camp called Oflag IV-C.

A natural choice for a prison, Colditz had been used successfully during the First World War and had gained a reputation for being impossible to escape from. But this reputation was dramatically shattered by the ingenuity of the prisoners interned there.

This book examines the history of Colditz, the methods used to keep prisoners inside her formidable walls, and the techniques by which her prisoners attempted to escape.