The 'Prominente' (prisoners connected to prominent families) held at Colditz are to be at last used in their capacity as hostages as the war nears a conclusion. To accommodate this requirement, and to ensure there is no more trouble with escaping prisoners, Obergruppenführer Gottlob Berger of the Waffen-SS is put in charge of all prisoners of war in the area. He pays an unannounced visit to the Kommandant to explain the situation, and orders that the Prominente be moved out of Colditz the next morning; if they are not ready, the SS will take the castle over and prisoners will start to be shot. The Kommandant, fearing bloodshed, asks Colonel Preston and Major Carrington do their best to quell the upset the planned removal will cause. The situation is further complicated when the Germans decide that Lt. Phipps, the son of an American ambassador, is to be classified as a Prominente prisoner and moved with the others. The bedridden Colonel Dodd agrees to the plan of two British officers to help Phipps evade removal by appearing to escape. However, the situation threatens to get out of hand.
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