Out of Colditz, David Lascelles, Yorkshire
Out of Colditz, David Lascelles, Yorkshire
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
Club: $13.49

Out of Colditz
My Father the POW and the Nazi Who Controlled His Fate

Author: David Lascelles, Yorkshire

Narrator: Mark Meadows

Unabridged: 9 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/12/2027


Synopsis

The astonishing true story of the high-profile hostages in Colditz Castle and the Nazi general who spared their lives, from David Lascelles, the son of one of the prisoners, George, Earl of Harewood

The nephew of the King. The son of the Viceroy of India. Churchill's nephew. Held captive at the notorious Colditz prisoner of war camp, they were the Prominente: scions of the British establishment, and pawns in the hands of Nazi leaders.

As a German defeat loomed, the SS head of the POW camps Gottlob Berger made a pivotal decision: he would disobey direct orders and spare their lives. "Please remember what I have done for you when the war ends," he asked. This Nazi overseer, who would later be convicted of war crimes, held their future in his hands.

Eighty years later, David Lascelles—who would never have been born if his father had been executed—retraces the Prominentes' extraordinary journey and wonders who Gottlob Berger was and what motivated his fateful decision: compassion? Remorse? Or self-interest?

About David Lascelles, Yorkshire

DAVID LASCELLES is a BAFTA-winning film and TV producer. He is the 8th Earl of Harewood and is a trustee of Harewood House Trust, which looks after Harewood House and its gardens for the public benefit. Harewood has been at the forefront of the movement in the UK to be more open about addressing its colonial past and its involvement with the transatlantic slave trade. He is Honorary President of Leeds United FC, a patron of the Leeds West Indian Centre and a founding member of Heirs of Slavery. Out of Colditz is his second book.


Reviews

There are currently no user reviews for this audiobook.

Quotes

"A gripping, unsettling journey into the strange moral fog of the war’s last days—and the shadows we inherit long after." —Iain MacGregor, author of The Lighthouse of Stalingrad

“A gripping true story of courage, treachery, intrigue, divided loyalties, and vengeance.” —Damien Lewis, bestselling author of Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

“A fascinating story about the fate of the VIP prisoners of Colditz that is grounded in remarkable family and military history detective work.” —Robert Verkaik, author of The Traitor of Colditz

“A moving quest from a unique perspective, at once intimate and panoramic.” —Jane Caplan, author of Nazi Germany

“Utterly enthralling. Not just a little-known wartime story, but a fascinating reflection on the war’s legacy.” —Alwyn Turner, author of A Shellshocked Nation

"The remarkable story of how high-profile political hostages, including the author’s father, were spared from certain death by senior Nazi official.... Lascelles’s account reads like a thriller... Riveting… a perfect pairing for the film The Great Escape or Ben MacIntyre’s Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle." —Library Journal

"A gripping inquiry into why a top Nazi disobeyed Hitler and ushered British aristocrats to freedom.....as engrossing as a film treatment, with moments of high tension and occasional spots of comic relief—you can’t help but think of great war movies by John Sturges, David Lean, or Powell and Pressburger." —Kirkus Reviews