Exhibitions
Colditz Castle

The »Escape Museum« tells of ingenious escape attempts. The exhibition was originally a German Armed Forces collection. They kept all of the escape aids of allied officers of prisoners of war for their own training purposes. Above all, the exhibition is a collection of escape stories passed on by word of mouth. During the Second World War, prisoners undertook around 300 escape attempts from the castle. These ended at a range of different places in the German Reich or back inside the castle walls. This cat-and-mouse game is legendary in Great Britain and the Netherlands. Almost 15,000 visitors come from these countries to visit Colditz each year. Sound stations and historical film material make the tales and display exhibits into an impressive compilation.

An installation by artist Thomas Moecker commemorates the victims of the early »euthanasia« murders at the Colditz Health and Care Institution. 84 mattresses cast in concrete make the basement of the hall an impressive - and oppressive - memorial place. The artwork commemorates the 84 psychiatric patients who died here. It is representative of the suffering experienced by every patient in an institution in which the planned and systematic death for mentally disabled people is carried out. The concrete makes the objects of the installation look like fossils, which have saved all the experiences. The installation is accessible to visitors free of charge.