Medieval walls 12-feet-thick and 100 feet tall. Double-fenced barbed wire, battlements of solid rock 75 feet thick, and around-the-clock armed sentries. The Nazis were confident Colditz Castle in Germany was a formidable prison for Allied officers. The captive Allies, however, disagreed. If it meant freedom and an opportunity to re-join the battle against Hitler, no risk was too great to discourage their escape attempts.

Over half a century after their imprisonment, veteran Allied P.O.W.s (as well as some of their German guards) return to Colditz to reveal the daring schemes and ingenious devices that helped over 300 prisoners attempt breakouts.

Hear the amazing story of an officer who, after a harrowing escape, traveled across Germany on foot with the help of unwitting SS troopers. See how the British covertly smuggled maps to prisoners inside specially made record albums. Discover secret rooms and caches of tools still hidden within Colditz. And dramatic re-enactments reveal how officers secretly constructed a full-scale glider using handmade tools such as saws made from bedsprings, and scavenged materials such as floorboards and bedsheets in preparation for a death-defying escape from atop the prison roof. Then watch as a plane is crafted over half a century later from the original drawings and attempts its maiden flight with many of the original Colditz veterans in attendance.