Colditz - S02E12 - "Death Sentence"

[@bazthehandyman]

4 great actors in this series.....Kommandant....Mohne....Col Preston....Ullmann

[@MrAgtri6]

+bazthehandyman Tony Sure was great too, going ever so slightly bonkers over his kite. LOL

[@bazthehandyman]

+MrAgtri6 ...you are right...he was good too.

[@julianc6551]

It seems there were outcries about this show at England for showing Germans in a good light, but actual prisoners testimonial and consulting confirmed that the series is as real as possible. Kommandant of the Colditz was Wehrmacht Luftwaffe officer and completely went by the book. Geneva Convention's book. Army was at odds with SS and it shows through out the show.

[@adagietto2523]

I've never heard anything but praise in England for the portrayal of the German characters, and particularly the Kommandant!

[@malcolmrodwell5458]

Don't forget Simon Carter. David McCallum is an amazing actor. He was also in the great escape which is a superb movie

[@alanjames19711]

Bernard Heptons role as Kommandant is second to none. This episode shows the humanity that underlay the dutiful soldier with the man who is a father and husband. He was never a tyrant but also knew that genuine authority is earned through respect and impartiality.

[@voodoodolly]

I've done nothing but binge watch this series for the last 3 days! I became interested in Colditz when remembering classic films from childhood with my friend.... Escape from Colditz was one film I remembered.....

[@SOffenbach]

Read the book.

[@richardrichard5409]

Same here, saw it first time around too😎

[@lawrencezhang8286]

There's a board game on the same. You should give it a shot

[@generalpublic3744]

Bernard Hepton is a superb actor, but he was exceptional in this episode.

[@Raggy60]

I'd forgotten just how good this series is.

[@SydBarrettsGhost]

The most dramatic and would say best Colditz episode

[@ewantaylor4478]

No , at. least two more dramatic than this one !

[@peterbamforth6453]

Thank you very much for uploading all the episodes of this excelent drama.Superb acting throughout both season 1 and 2 .

[@m3llytan]

This is the only episode I uploaded (at the time I believe it was the only one missing from KZbin) but I'm glad to hear all the episodes are still on KZbin and that you could enjoy this great series. Cheers

[@trebleking1641]

From about 34:00 on, so incredibly moving and poignant. The grief over their son's death is palpable. Their pain could power the Sun.

[@doh1971]

Thank you for uploading this episode. What a briliant show.

[@canuck_gamer3359]

I think it's more than worth pointing out to anyone watching this program that the "Colditz Glider" could and did fly! A replica was built using Goldfinch's original sketches and detailed input in 1999. The glider (which was actually nicknamed "The Colditz Cock") and it flew "perfectly". Bill Goldfinch along with about a dozen veterans who worked on the glider were in attendance and witnessed the test flight, "looking on with great pride." Now that's what I call a happy ending! :)

[@janettemohan7739]

Trivia - but wonderful trivia. Sincere thanks for posting. 😀

[@neilreading3552]

A replica was also made in the uk for a tv show (C4?) and the glider towed by a car, lifted up like a bird, did a couple of laps around the site and sat it down good as gold. The remote controlled flight from Colditz castle was beautiful, “in the meadow and in one piece”.

[@leslierobertson5397]

Wonderful television. Well worth a revisit. Superbly acted by all.

[@m3llytan]

Agreed! I'm glad this video and other have been allowed to remain on KZbin for everyone to enjoy.

[@leslierobertson5397]

I'm surprised it was never remade. But you couldn't replicate such a marvellous cast ensemble

[@m3llytan]

@@leslierobertson5397 True, I'd be very happy to see it in the limelight again, but I'm sure it wouldn't quite be the same

[@rebekahbullivant4616]

My Nanna watched this when she was my age and now I am watching it 😄

[@Londonfogey]

I recall seeing a documentary a few years ago where the glider was recreated according to the original plans, and put on a test flight. It flew perfectly.

[@daveog6429]

Londonfogey Yes I saw this too

[@patreidcocolditzcastle632]

yes it did and landed well to.they said they could have flown even further then predicted

[@frostyfrost4094]

The Replicar was/is on display at the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum along with another aeroplane F/L Goldsmith was building at the time of his death.

[@canuck_gamer3359]

I just read an account of that program which aired on Channel 4 in the UK. It also noted that Goldfinch, among others witnessed the flight, "looking on with great pride."

[@leonoflynn]

a number of the same actors and team went onto make "Secret Army"- a great series as well

[@keithashley6298]

Great acting from Bernard Hepton.

[@patreidcocolditzcastle632]

colonel preston i feel is on par with bernard epton in the actors stakes..jack hedley is such a specimen of a fine actor

[@retrodosguy1101]

Such superb acting here and it a joy to watch. A shame there’s only 3 I think left of the original cast.

[@johnking5174]

We lost Bernard Hepton (Kommandant) in 2018, Hans Meyer (Ulmann) in 2020 and Jack Hedley (Colonel Preston) in 2021. We lost David McCallum (Carter) in 2023.

[@justininfrance]

Bernard Hepton brilliant here.

[@keithmilburn4866]

Ten past midnight, great novel with Colditz playing a small yet significant part

[@keithashley6298]

Brilliant acting from Bernard Hepton.

[@simonhattrell5321]

Bernard Hepton brilliant actor

[@robstack3712]

I’m not sure abt that, but this Commomdant is the BST Frgkg Nazi out there!!!! Too bad his boss was such a creep

[@Pa-tk1dx]

Imagine being part of three iconic 70s tv series. Tinker tailor soldier spy Colditz Secret Army. Bernard Hepton.

[@Britishrailer]

And Smiley's People.

[@AnnLiOz]

This series stands the test of time...I remember watching it first time round on tv...and read the books out of interest...Still have an old Escape from Colditz paper back on my shelf.... Superlative acting. Brilliantly written. I agree with the outstanding actors from this series. My personal favourites: The Kommandant and Ullman, Mohn and Carter. And of course Edward Hardwicke as ''P.R. Reid''...Loved his Colditz and the Latter Days book.... I'm a bit biased towards David McCallum though. ;) :)

[@SOffenbach]

I read the book. Watched the movie. I want to visit Colditz.

[@jannarkiewicz633]

As an American never saw the series. Very old soldiers the bane of many movies and tv shows.

[@susanbeaumont6063]

Really great. Thank you.

[@WonkaVator72]

No mention of Mohne after he skipped town? Not one word?

[@richardrichard5409]

Ended up wirking for BASF.

[@JosephBoxmeyer-u3d]

I recognize the Kommandant as an actor in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, the earlier television series.

[@johnking5174]

Bernard Hepton. He died in 2018 aged 92

[@Troutmajor]

I dint want this series to end

[@robertpaisley8643]

it's as good as the acting an the theme music. it's just brilliant!

[@mkrbrtsn1]

Yeah, same here, damn that liberation!

[@susanbeaumont6063]

Thank you.

[@robertbishop5357]

I remember a movie about this pow camp. They successfully flew that glider/plane out of the castle. As awesome as the great escape.

[@GeorginaFrei]

Yes, You are correct! The name of the movie which starred Chuck Connors as a senior allied officer and Richard Basehart as the German Colonel Commandant was The Escape of The Birdmen, an ABC Movie for Television, which is availbale on DVD!

[@GeorginaFrei]

I meant available not availbale, mistype!

[@bnipmnaa]

Excellent subtitles, for anyone that cares about that.

[@cameron120587]

Actually, Dresden had quite a number of war material factories and was a major transport hub between east and west Germany. The idea that it was a senseless attack was put out by German propaganda and later helped by the Soviets as a propaganda op against the West.

[@brain8484]

also it was mass murder

[@michaelwhittaker5432]

The destruction of the city of Dresden was a warning to the Russians - plain and simple this is how far we can reach and this is the destruction we can deliver simple as that - a warning

[@aujay]

@@brain8484 Mass Murder....And the 40,000 plus deaths during the Bombing of London was not...? One could say it was purely and simply War - Government Sanctioned Killing - which is what War is ! People who died (outside of the military) English, German or Japanese are all horrible and pointless.

[@paulgough48]

Just because it's revisionist doesn't mean it's actually correct.

[@ronniecoleman2342]

The man playing captain ullman could have played Otto Skorzeny. He has that look. Great actors.

[@johnking5174]

Hans Meyer. He died in 2020 aged 94

[@chrisoliver4122]

I’ve been and seen colddiz it is so interesting a must visit place

[@padgecrack4018]

5:45 My wife? You mean my husband sir! 😂 nice one for the upload MW 👍😎

[@persianprincess2603]

was the actor homosexual?

[@padgecrack4018]

My attempt of humour.

[@rosemarylusty8045]

One salient fact missed is that the silly Germans allowed Shaw to obtain at least one book on glider-making ,if not also others on aeronautics.

[@george5590]

a classic well writen moveing , regarding both sides

[@keithmilburn4866]

Brilliant acting from the actors playing Germans

[@modernista6056]

Shame about the accents though. All the Germans speaking the queen's English like nobody does today 🤔😂

[@seegurke93]

anytime I watch it I hope they launch the glider... get disappointed every time :D

[@robertpaisley8643]

The glider was never flown.. It just remained ther.

[@MrBobthebird]

Such a great shame the Glider was never found, probably broke up for firewood in post-war Colditz.

[@Baskerville22]

At 9.20 - Paul Chapman as Captain George Brent. Better known, perhaps, as Stephen Johnson in the TV series, As Time Goes By By the stage of the War represented here, there were no "elite Waffen SS Divisions" worthy of the name left.

[@Mute_Nostril_Agony]

As with almost every drama and movie about WW2, the major error is that the actors should mostly be under 24

[@charlieindigo]

I've seen this series several times since the 70's and have to agree with some - but only some of the quality of the actors: Jack Hedley (Col Preston) Hans Meyer (Ullman), Tony Valentine (Mohne), and Bernard Hepton (Kommandant); all played their characters superbly. I was disappointed with David McCallum as FO Carter; for the most part of the series he played the part of a petulant schoolboy, and as far as the storyline went, his character behaved outrageously against his superior officers, something I never read in the book. While he was Escape Officer he "outranked" his seniors, which was his right. The trouble was he used that limited authority in every other dealing, for which he would have been severely reprimanded. In short, he showed unrestrained contempt to everyone who opposed him, and in particular to his most senior officer, the Squadron Leader. It never would have happened. Be that as it may, the series was exceptionally good with one overriding complaint: Why, why, why, do we always have to have Americans taking lead roles in British productions? As far as I can recall from Pat Reid's book, the Americans played little to no real part in the Colditz story, yet we had (for a 70's production) a top American star in the person of Robert Wagner (Carrington), and later, Dan O'Herlihy (Colonel Dodd). O'Herlihy couldn't have convinced me he was an actor, let alone an American Colonel, he was so pathetic! However, that's me being a critic. I can only guess that the cost of the series was pretty much covered by the Americans, who don't pay for British films unless they have American actors (OK, so McCallum is a Canadian), but the point was made. The curious thing is that another film or series on Colditz was made some time after this one, with the prime actor being John Mills. I happen to like Mills, but you can always guarantee that he over-acts most roles. Unfortunately, I seem to remember thinking that it wasn't very good!!!

[@trebleking1641]

David McCallum's a Scot, by the way...

[@reggriffiths5769]

@@trebleking1641 On the Parkinson Show many years ago, he claimed to be Canadian; in fact he spent most of his life in Canada. Canadian-American, what's the difference? They both have the Dollar, drive American cars, live in American-style houses, wear American clothes, write, spell and speak American Language, their food is American, and they think American; they even have the same American attitudes to everything and live on the word of the American Presidents. I have family who migrated to Alberta back in the 60's, and me being a true Brit was shocked when I visited them to find that America was their source for virtually everything, rather then their home nation. McCallum has only been following the same route, proving that "Money is King!" Yes, he's an American Canuck!

[@dalemcilwain]

What do you think of Ed Bishop (UFO) in to role of Lieutenant Colonel Harrity?

[@reggriffiths5769]

@@dalemcilwain It's now too many years ago to remember all the characters, and I've had a life to live since! The only thing of recent memory is the fact that Hans Meyer (Ullman) passed away some time around the end of 2021; but having said that, most of them are now all gone - after all, it's 50 years since the series was first aired!

[@dalemcilwain]

@@reggriffiths5769 So do I. Haven't seen this series until yesterday. I was barely a year old when Colditz premiered. It's a hidden treasure to me.

[@FelixRigg]

Wonderful.

[@Edward1312]

So they built a mock up gilder for the TV series as well, I wonder where it is now?

[@carlnapp4412]

"They wouldn't bomb it for nothing...", laughter!

[@stephenholmes1036]

Hans Meyer is superb

[@JosephBoxmeyer-u3d]

The glider was not made of toilet paper rolls.

[@ronmailloux8655]

tony shaws flight was top secrete the irony haha

[@christianpatriot7439]

What happened to Mohn? Wasn't he trapped inside the barbed wire at the end of the last episode?

[@opteko9567]

No, he fled, probably to Argentina or Bolivia to then work for the CIA. Or he was detained by a resistance fighter and shoot'd at once.

[@richardrichard5409]

@@opteko9567 or BASF, Daimler, BMW, Bosch, Siemens, police etc, they loved Nazi party members.

[@mikestevens8012]

it's fataly easy to get started in a war ...

[@beachcomber1able]

Who played Douglas Bader and the poor batman who had to carry him about and endure his bullying behaviour. 🤔

[@m3llytan]

@@beachcomber1able Indeed, it's funny you mention that! I recently read Ben Macintyre's "Prisoners of the Castle" and vividly remember the anecdotes about Bader and his poor, poor batman 😅. Incredible how the whole thing was scrubbed from the BBC show. I can't remember anything negative presented about Bader at all...It really stuck to the popular wartime narrative of him being an infallible hero. Not that he wasn't a hero and admirable in many areas, but his lack of empathy and relentlessly poor (sometimes comically bad 😆) treatment of his batman were pretty shocking to read about, after only knowing his character as presented in Colditz.

[@KristerAndersson-nc8zo]

So the prisoners have a radio?

[@johnking5174]

There were two radios in Colditz. One was discovered by the guards, the other was never found by the guards.

[@KristerAndersson-nc8zo]

@@johnking5174 How did they got it in, after all radios were rather big items during that time.

[@johnking5174]

@@KristerAndersson-nc8zo The French had smuggled in two radio sets, how they managed it is not reported, but they hid them in the attic space of the French quarters. In one search the Wehrmacht found one radio, however the other one was so well hidden it was not discovered until the castle went under renovation to turn it into a hotel and tourist attraction.

[@KristerAndersson-nc8zo]

@@johnking5174 What kind of radios are we talking about, the listening ones or the ones you could send with?

[@johnking5174]

@@KristerAndersson-nc8zo Radios that any household would have in Britain during the war, being able to listen to the BBC News. The French would listen into the BBC and their underground resistance radio network to get news of the allied advance. The British would be allowed to listen to the Nine O'Clock News from the BBC Home Service, and a member of the British army would write down the news, and read them to them in their quarters when the lights were out.

[@channelfogg6629]

Why the subtitles? It's not as if the actors speak bad English.

[@dcanmore]

for people whose second language is English, it helps a lot.

[@Biggles2498]

I never got any !

[@richardrichard5409]

Turn them off🤣

[@SpadgerMcTeagle1]

For deaf people

[@lililusa8107]

LAS SERIES PUEDEN PASARLAS PERFECTO CASTELLANO O ENLATINO ESPAÑOL

[@lililusa8107]

POR FAVOR PARA LOS QUE NO SABEN INGLÉS.

[@robstack3712]

OMG, WHAT G GREAT Show/Episode!,, I LOVE That Commondant!!! I’d serve under that Nazi any day!!!! But, that Hitler guy is like alway SO mad & angry, sometimes, he can be a Real Jerk

[@johnking5174]

The Kommandant was not a Nazi. He was a member of the Wehrmacht.

[@richardrichard5409]

@@johnking5174 you can be both and many were.....8 million plus, good for promotion etc. Some prefered to keep the fact to themselves.

[@bskrishnamurthy7258]

I would like to see that episode where two allied soldiers escaped from Colditz to neutral Switzerland. Pl let me know the name of the episode.

[@kashyap3120]

Check season 1 episode 15

[@bskrishnamurthy7258]

@@kashyap3120 Thanks Sir. I did see episode E1 15. I had read an episode in Reders Digest,"True stories of great escape."The escapees planned their esvape in two parts.First,they escaped and faked their deaths by throwing two dummies at a depth. Then they crossed the bridge connectig Colditz with the outside by disguising as natives. Then they travelled to the Swiss border. They ran and ran "till their lungs seemed to butst." By then they saw people walking under street lights. And asked a man . They were in Switzwer land.

[@pieter985]

35:00 and the nazis we re so confident before.

[@richardrichard5409]

The Germans you means?

[@harryurz]

Just in case anyone wonders if it would have flown.......... kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5S3lKyOgLyFr9U

[@rolandhawken6628]

I would like to complain about the lack of diversity in the British ranks ,and among the German soldiers

[@ArmyJames]

You can file a human rights complaint, although I’m not sure against whom.

[@andrewdavid9412]

Dresden was the manufacturing center for high quality optics used in war machines, as well as being the home for the Gestapo's most horrific torture chamber.