P. R. Reid (1910–1990)

Colditz, un castillo-fortaleza convertido en prisión inexpugnable nazi durante la II G.M., albergó a oficiales de las fuerzas aliadas capturados. Todos tenían antecedentes de haber intentado fugarse de otros campos nazis. La historia de unos hombres dotados de un valor y un ingenio increíbles, capaces de demostrar que no existe prisión alguna que logre oponerse a la imaginación, a la audacia y a la resolución humanas. Cerca de trescientas tentativas de fuga se llevaron a cabo durante los cuatro años y medio de existencia del campo, ¡pero solo 30 fueron evasiones definitivas!… (mais)

Gripping, but also immensely uplifting by virtue of the wonderful tone and spirit the writer and his fellow prisoners of war display. Just as much as the details of the escape attempts from this high-security forbidding castle in the heart of World War 2 Germany, the delightful spirit of the escapers is the story here, a combination of cheery, nonchalant, resourceful phlegmatism, and it infuses every page of this memoir. The details, and the personalities, are fascinating too, and of course cover real and remarkable events not inventions, but it's the perky, joky, playful manner with which these young men operated that draws the reader's admiration, and I think made the book such a success. Reading this now, nearly half a century on, one understands clearly how Major Reid's style and story inspired a whole Colditz genre, in 1970s Britain at least: a hugely popular TV show, board game, and much playground banter, as I recall.… (mais)