A Colditz Welcome

No one had managed to escape from Colditz during World War 1, when it also acted as a prison.
In gis book, Pat gives this daunting description of the challenge that lay ahead for anyone who dared try:

"The garrison manning the camp outnumbered the prisoners at all times. The castle was floodlit at night from every angle. Not withstanding the clear drops of a hundred feet or so on the outside from barred windows, there were sentries all round the camp with a palisade of barbed wire. Beyond the palisade were precipices of varying depths."

This picture below is of Colditz Castle.

Colditz Castle
pd-usgov-military

However, life in the prison was not as rough as you might expect. It was the "showpiece" German prison and abided by the terms of the Geneva Convention.

Therefore inmates had opportunities to learn foreign languages, play sport, read and plot their escapes!