Voices of Colditz: The YMCA Notebook from Oflag Ivc

Rarely does a piece of history emerge to tell a significant tale after nearly 70 years in a bedroom drawer. Recovered and brought back to Britain in 1945, a battered log book from a Canadian Red Cross parcel now reveals its long-held secrets though over a hundred hand-written stories. In 1942, two Canadian Army officers in Colditz Prison in Germany passed a blank hard-cover log book among their fellow officers, so that as many as possible could write their own accounts, to be printed after the war ended. Each fascinating page reveals vivid tales of hair-raising escapes, air, land and sea battles, bombing raids, ship sinkings, incarceration, deprivation and even amusing tales of everyday prison life. High-ranking officers from allied countries, and men from the ranks, all imprisoned in Colditz because of their prominent status or high risk of escape, have contributed to these pages. Although much of the content was printed in 1945 in Europe, the original text has only recently been rediscovered, retyped and reproduced. It now includes previously unseen accounts and illustrations. This historical text reveals the stories of courageous officers and men of Oflag IVC, finally bringing important tales into the light of day from within the walls of Colditz.

Peter Clay has a background in advertising, design, copy writing, direct mail, and writing. He has written three previous books and lives in Canada.