Our Chances Were Zero

During World War II the British imprisoned many German and Italian prisoners of war and civilian internees in India. The less co-operative prisoners were kept under harsh conditions in camps in the Himalayan foothills.

The author was a German civilian working in India at the outbreak of war and was promptly interned by the British. In 1942 Magener and another prisoner, Heins von Have, finally managed to escape. Getting out of the camp was only the prelude to the difficult task of making their way across the entire Indian sub-continent in an attempt to reach friendly territory.

Disguising themselves as British officers, the two Germans made an epic journey across India and through British forces on the Burma frontier in an attempt to link up with advancing Japanese forces. Ironically, the Japanese unit they finally located did not believe their story and they came close to being executed as spies.

His grippingly told personal narrative of a German's escape from Allied custody is unique in the annals of prisoner-of-war escape and evasion.