Camp 186

This book tells the story of one of the most amazing PoW Camps of the second World War. Camp 186 held 6,000 mostly 'other ranks' - ordinary Germans who had been forced into an abnormal situation. Home to extreme Nazis and to strong pacifists they formed a volatile mixture. Largely using original articles and letters by the prisoners, it tells some of their stories, from capture to arriving at night in a desolate field. Living in bell tents and despite the bitterly cold winter and quagmire that formed, they created a hospital and theatres with a programme of which any professional company would be proud. Despite the hatred and murders, they broke down the barriers of religion and even became home to a Catholic Seminary. The camp boasts what is probably the largest number of successful escapees in one attempt, but also the story of a prisoner who escaped but came back a year later - a case described by the Head of the British PoW Investigation Department as 'the most improbable story'.