NOVA Online | Nazi Prison Escape

The path to the park offered many opportunities for escape.

Escaping Colditz
6: June 1941

Not long after Bouley's "womanly" escape attempt (see #5), two prisoners went missing after the daily stroll in the park. The Colditz security apparatus swung into action: Local police headquarters, railway stations, and foresters were notified, and guards searched the surrounding landscape on bicycle and foot. But while examining the park walk with a fine-toothed comb, one German suddenly remembered an air-raid shelter situated in an old house along the park path. The Germans found the door unlocked—and inside were Captain Harry Elliot and Captain Janek Lados (see #7). The Germans determined (rightly) that this must have been the way Le Ray (see #1) and at least one other French officer had escaped.

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