Escape From Germany by Neil Hanson
July, 1918. Surrounded by steel palisades and barbed-wire fences, Holzminden was the most heavily guarded POW camp in the world. Patrolled by ferocious dogs and armed guards with orders to shoot to kill, it was a brutal punishment camp, housing 700 prisoners of all nationalities. To escape would take boundless ingenuity and nerves of steel. Many tried. Prisoners used sardine-tin openers to pick locks, forged documents, sent messages using milk as an invisible ink, and created fake uniforms and elaborate disguises - one even impersonated the notorious camp commandant. Every attempt failed, leading only to ever-tighter defences. But on the night of 23 July 1918, twenty-nine undaunted Allied prisoners achieved the impossible. They had spent nine months using knives and spoons to move tonnes of earth, clay and stone, digging a tunnel over 150 feet long through the foundations of the barracks and under the walls and barbed-wire fences, to the farmland beyond. This is the fascinating story of how they did it - and of the many who had failed before them. Neil Hanson provides a rare insight into the minds of these prisoners of war, revealing their resourcefulness, courage and persistence - and inexhaustible good humour.
Neil Hanson is the author of several acclaimed works of narrative history: First Blitz, The Unknown Soldier, The Dreadful Judgement, The Custom of the Sea and The Confident Hope of a Miracle. He lives in Yorkshire with his family.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780385612043 |
| ISBN 10 | 0385612044 |
| Title | Escape From Germany |
| Author | Neil Hanson |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Transworld Publishers Ltd |
| Year published | 2011-06-09 |
| Number of pages | 336 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |