| 
	
		|  |  
	
		|  | 
 
Escaping Colditz| 
 |   A Dutchman and a dummy.
 
 |  12: December 1941
 
 For their manhole escapes (see #11), the Dutch had tricked
the guards into thinking they were all present at the prisoner count conducted
in the park before the return to the castle. Two weeks before Christmas, the
Germans discovered how. Suspicious that something was up during the count, the
officer in charge asked all prisoners standing to the right of him to step to
the right, and all those to the left of him to step to the left. One man
remained in the middle. Turns out it was a dummy, all dressed up and standing
in—along with another equally gussied-up mannequin—for two Dutch
officers, who were soon found hiding under a pile of leaves.
 
 Previous escape | 
Next escape | 
See the map
 
 
 
 
 
	
		| 
First escapeApril 12, 1941
 
 Straw mattressesMay 8, 1941
 
 Locked cellsMid-May 1941
 
 Canteen tunnelMay 1941
 
 German womanJune 1941
 
 Air-raid shelterJune 1941
 
 HacksawJune 1941
 
 Over the wallJuly 2, 1941
 
 Air shaftJuly 28, 1941
 
 | 
LavatoryJuly 31, 1941
 
 ManholeLate summer, 1941
 
 DummiesDecember 1941
 
 German officersDecember 1941
 
 Main gateJanuary 6, 1942
 
 Town dumpMarch 1942
 
 Wooden crateSeptember 7, 1942
 
 Mussolini's officeSeptember 9, 1942
 
 Headquarters buildingOctober 15, 1942
 
 | 
Willi the electricianDecember 1942
 
 "Maddest attempt"May 11, 1943
 
 Franz JosefSeptember 2, 1943
 
 Cellar houseJanuary 19, 1944
 
 Rubbish heapMay 2, 1944
 
 Greatest escaperSeptember 25, 1944
 
 GliderApril 1945
 
 |  Escaping Colditz | 
	The Jailor's Story | 
	Great Escapes | 
	The Colditz Glider
 Resources | 
	Transcript | 
	Site Map | 
	Nazi Prison Escape Home
 
 Editor's Picks | 
	Previous Sites | 
	Join Us/E-mail | 
	TV/Web Schedule
 About NOVA | 
	Teachers | 
	Site Map | 
	Shop | 
	Jobs | 
	Search | 
	To print
 PBS Online | 
	NOVA Online | 
	WGBH
 
 © | Updated January 2001
 |  | 
				
			 |