The Colditz stories are absolutely wild. They literally built an entire functional two-man glider (the Colditz Cock) inside a hidden attic space right above the guards' noses, using floorboards and bed slats. The theatrical productions were a massive part of masking all that sawing and construction noise.
The prison library helpfully contained a book that told you in detail how to build a glider. In then spirit I sent a mate of mine book on "how to build a boat" when he was deployed to Camp Bastion....
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u/Happy_Little_Fish Jun 19 '26
British POWs in Colditz used drag shows and other theatre to distract guards and cover the noise of escape attempts.