Colditz (1972 TV series) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Colditz
Colditz's title card
Created by	Brian Degas Gerard Glaister
Starring	Jack Hedley Robert Wagner David McCallum Bernard Hepton Edward Hardwicke Anthony Valentine
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	28
Production
Running time	1 Hour
Release
Original network	BBC1
Original release	19 October 1972 (1972-10-19) – 1 April 1974 (1974-04-01)

Colditz is a British TV show made by the BBC and Universal Studios. It was shown between 1972 and 1974.

The series is about Allied soldiers who were captured during World War II. They were held as prisoners of war (POWs) in Colditz Castle, which was known as Oflag IV-C. This castle was thought to be impossible to escape from. The show follows their many attempts to break free. It also explores the friendships and rivalries between the different nationalities and their German captors.

Colditz was created by Brian Degas and Gerard Glaister. Major Pat Reid, who was a real British Escape Officer at Colditz, helped make sure the show was accurate. Part of the filming happened at Stirling Castle.

Meet the Characters of Colditz

This section introduces some of the main characters from the show. They are divided by their nationality.

British Officers

• Lieutenant Colonel John Preston (Jack Hedley) – Colonel Preston is the top British officer. He is calm, smart, and respected by his men. He tries to follow the rules and often gets along well with the German Kommandant. He cares deeply about his wife and remembers his time fighting in World War I.
• Captain Pat Grant (Edward Hardwicke) – Captain Grant is the first British escape officer. He is usually calm and helps keep the peace between the more excited officers and Colonel Preston. His character is based on the real-life Pat Reid, who advised the show.
• Flight Lieutenant Simon Carter (David McCallum) – Carter is a young pilot who loves to annoy the German guards. He is very eager to escape and return to his wife, Cathy. He often ends up in solitary confinement. In the second season, he becomes more responsible when he takes over as escape officer. His character is based on a real Colditz prisoner, Dominic Bruce.
• Captain Tim Downing (Richard Heffer) – Captain Downing often points out the problems with escape plans. While he seems pessimistic, his ideas are often very smart. He wants to be the escape officer and sometimes disagrees with Colonel Preston. He usually helps others escape rather than trying himself.
• Captain George Brent (Paul Chapman) – Captain Brent is often nervous but can have brilliant ideas. He is known for messing up escapes, sometimes his own and sometimes others'. He struggles with sleep and worries a lot. However, he has also shown great bravery. He is a talented artist and sometimes uses his skills to help escape plans.
• Lieutenant Dick Player (Christopher Neame) – Player is a quiet but determined officer from the Royal Navy. Because he speaks perfect German and lived in Germany, the Germans first thought he might be a spy. He is a clever escaper and takes part in some of the show's most daring escape attempts.
• Lieutenant Jordan (Padre) (Donald McDonald) – The Padre is a mild-mannered officer who is also a chaplain. His job sometimes conflicts with his duty to the war effort, so Colonel Preston usually keeps him out of escape plans.
• Doc (Geoffrey Palmer) – The Doc is the camp doctor. He gets frustrated by the lack of medicines available to treat the prisoners.
• Lieutenant Page (Ian McCulloch) – Lieutenant Page is a new British officer who seems to have a secret. He is actually a British secret agent on a dangerous mission. He hopes to hide from the Gestapo (German secret police) in Colditz.
• Squadron Leader Tony Shaw (Jeremy Kemp) – Shaw is a highly decorated pilot. He becomes obsessed with building a glider to escape from the castle. This idea is based on the real-life Colditz Cock glider built by prisoners.
• Major Trumpington (Willie Rushton) – A Scottish commando captured during a raid. The German SD (security service) plans to execute commandos. Despite efforts to save him, Major Trumpington and his companions are taken away and shot while trying to escape. This event is based on a real incident.
• Flight Lieutenant Jack Collins (Ray Barrett) – Collins is a new prisoner who causes trouble by starting a card game. He cheats to win money from a German sergeant, then tries to bribe him for an identity disc to escape. His plan fails, and he is moved out of Colditz.
• Lieutenant McDonald (Prentis Hancock) – McDonald is a Scottish commando who learns his wife is pregnant by another man. He becomes determined to escape and is shot while trying to climb the castle wire. His character has some similarities to the real-life Michael Sinclair, who was the only person killed while escaping from Colditz.
• Cathy Carter (Joanna David) – Simon Carter's wife. She plays an important role from outside the camp. She stays in touch with her husband through letters and gets involved in a plan to connect escaping prisoners with the European underground. This is similar to how real POW wives helped their husbands.

American Officers

• Flight Lieutenant Phil Carrington (Robert Wagner) – Carrington is an American officer who joined the British forces early in the war. He knows a lot about Germany. He is a bit of a rebel, which sometimes gets him into trouble with both the Germans and the British. He later becomes a Major in the US Army Air Corps and returns to Colditz.
• Lieutenant Jim Phipps (Garrick Hagon) – Phipps is an American POW who becomes important because the Germans think he is the son of a US Ambassador. This is based on a real prisoner, John Winant Jr.
• Lieutenant Colonel Max Dodd (Dan O'Herlihy) – Colonel Dodd is an older, tough American officer. He becomes the senior American officer in Colditz. He doesn't like being a prisoner and often argues with the Kommandant. He is willing to take big risks to help his men escape.
• Lieutenant Colonel Harrity (Ed Bishop) – Commander of the American troops who free the castle in the final episode.

French Officers

• Capitaine André Vaillant (Gerard Paquis) – Vaillant is a French officer who is charming and a bit of a flirt. He is always looking for ways to escape.
• Gerda (Sarah Craze) – Gerda is a young German organist who falls for Capitaine Vaillant. She helps him escape because she feels for him, especially since her own brother is a POW in the Soviet Union.

German Officers and Staff

Oflag IV-C (Colditz Castle)

• Kommandant (Bernard Hepton) – The Kommandant, known as "Karl," is an honorable German Colonel. He believes in treating enemy officers with respect and tries to follow the Geneva Convention rules. He often has trouble with orders from the SS (a powerful Nazi organization) but tries to protect his camp from their control. He has a son in the German air force and worries about him.
• Hauptmann Franz Ulmann (Hans Meyer) – Ulmann is the Security Officer at Colditz. He is very serious about preventing escapes and is careful and smart. He helps the Kommandant keep the SS from taking over the camp. He is largely based on the real-life Reinhold Eggers, who wrote a book about the German side of Colditz.
• Major Horst Mohn (Anthony Valentine) – Major Mohn joins the camp in the second season. He is a decorated German paratrooper and a member of the Nazi Party. He often clashes with the Kommandant because he thinks the prisoners are treated too kindly. He is very intelligent and sometimes catches prisoners trying to escape. He is a sinister character compared to the Kommandant and Ulmann.
• Oberleutnant Anton Lehr (Grahame Mallard) – Lehr is the first Security Officer. He is easygoing and cheerful but still does his job well. He is later sent to the front lines to fight.
• Oberstabsarzt Dr. Starb (Kenneth Griffith) – Dr. Starb is a strict doctor who briefly works at the camp. He gets annoyed by the relaxed behavior of the British prisoners and tries to enforce strict military rules, like saluting. He is a small, short-tempered man.
• Unterfeldwebel Ernst Krueger (Leonard Fenton) – Krueger is the canteen sergeant who loves playing cards. He gets into trouble when he plays cards with a British prisoner, loses a lot of money, and then tries to help the prisoner escape to pay off his debts. He is caught and faces severe punishment.

Gestapo (German Secret Police)

• Brauner (Peter Barkworth) – A chief Gestapo officer. He is very intimidating with his precise and cold manner.
• Sturmbannführer (Nigel Stock) and Hauptsturmführer (Terrence Hardiman) – This Gestapo team tries to figure out Player's true identity. They act like "good cop, bad cop" but are both sly and cruel in private.

SS (Nazi Paramilitary Organization)

• Obergruppenführer Berger (David King) – Berger is a real-life SS commander who took control of the Colditz area later in the war. In the show, he is portrayed as a loud but unyielding person whom everyone fears, even Major Mohn.
• Hauptsturmführer Schankel (John Pennington) – Schankel is an SS officer who always agrees with his superior.

True Stories Behind the Show

Many parts of the Colditz TV series are based on real events that happened at the actual Colditz Castle during World War II. However, some parts were changed for the show to make it more dramatic. For example, the Kommandant's son, Colonel Preston's wife, and the character Major Mohn are fictional.

While the characters in the show are not exact copies of real people, most of them are loosely based on one or more actual prisoners or guards. The most obvious examples are Pat Grant, who is based on Pat Reid, and Hauptmann Ulmann, who is based on Reinhold Eggers.

The show did not mention Douglas Bader, a famous real-life RAF pilot who lost both legs before the war. He ended up in Colditz after trying to escape from other camps and stayed there until the castle was freed.