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kindkitIt's back to the rewatch after a brief hiatus.
In this episode, Flight Lieutenant Phil Carrington, whom we've previously seen captured by the Gestapo and later arriving at Colditz in bad shape, is released from solitary to the British quarters. He's an American who volunteered to join the RAF, having previously been a war correspondent.
He badgers Pat Grant, insisting that he needs to escape right away, and when he's told to wait his turn, he alienates his fellow POWs with odd behavior (a lot of lurking and rudeness) and by announcing that he thinks Britain has already lost the war. He provokes a fight with Simon in order to be sent before the Kommandant and given time in solitary; he informs the Kommandant that he's working on a book about Germany. He wants time to work on it, and he's sure that the German government will have no objections to its being published in the US. Sure enough, when early chapters are reviewed by the Propaganda Ministry and the Gestapo, it's a pro-German argument that the US should refuse to assist Britain.
The other prisoners, led by Tim Downing, react with fury, and when an escape attempt by Dick and Simon goes wrong, Downing and Muir kidnap Carrington from his private quarters for an impromptu and highly unofficial court martial. Pat Grant argues that there's no real evidence Carrington informed, but the "trial" quickly gets out of hand and most of the men, with Simon taking the lead, beat Carrington before the guards arrive and take him away.
Carrington is brought before Gestapo officers who tell him they've discovered his code; the book was just a cover for Carrington to convey information to the US about Operation Barbarossa, the planned German invasion of Russia. The Gestapo torture Carrington, attempting to find out where he got the information, then throw him back into solitary. Dick Player is waiting there, Pat Grant having sent him a message about the real situation, and Dick tends to Carrington's injuries.
Timeline note: references to the Lend-Lease Act, Germany's invasion of Yugoslavia, and the British withdrawal from Greece indicate that this episode occurs during March-April 1941.
WARNING: As always, spoilers for future episodes are likely in the comments.
In this episode, Flight Lieutenant Phil Carrington, whom we've previously seen captured by the Gestapo and later arriving at Colditz in bad shape, is released from solitary to the British quarters. He's an American who volunteered to join the RAF, having previously been a war correspondent.
He badgers Pat Grant, insisting that he needs to escape right away, and when he's told to wait his turn, he alienates his fellow POWs with odd behavior (a lot of lurking and rudeness) and by announcing that he thinks Britain has already lost the war. He provokes a fight with Simon in order to be sent before the Kommandant and given time in solitary; he informs the Kommandant that he's working on a book about Germany. He wants time to work on it, and he's sure that the German government will have no objections to its being published in the US. Sure enough, when early chapters are reviewed by the Propaganda Ministry and the Gestapo, it's a pro-German argument that the US should refuse to assist Britain.
The other prisoners, led by Tim Downing, react with fury, and when an escape attempt by Dick and Simon goes wrong, Downing and Muir kidnap Carrington from his private quarters for an impromptu and highly unofficial court martial. Pat Grant argues that there's no real evidence Carrington informed, but the "trial" quickly gets out of hand and most of the men, with Simon taking the lead, beat Carrington before the guards arrive and take him away.
Carrington is brought before Gestapo officers who tell him they've discovered his code; the book was just a cover for Carrington to convey information to the US about Operation Barbarossa, the planned German invasion of Russia. The Gestapo torture Carrington, attempting to find out where he got the information, then throw him back into solitary. Dick Player is waiting there, Pat Grant having sent him a message about the real situation, and Dick tends to Carrington's injuries.
Timeline note: references to the Lend-Lease Act, Germany's invasion of Yugoslavia, and the British withdrawal from Greece indicate that this episode occurs during March-April 1941.
WARNING: As always, spoilers for future episodes are likely in the comments.
