Paul Priem was a German Officer in the Wehrmacht during World War II and a noted member of the German staff at Colditz Castle

Colditz Castle

Colditz Castle is a Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden, and Chemnitz in the state of Saxony in Germany. Used as a workhouse for the indigent and a mental institution for over 100 years, it gained international fame as a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II for...

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During the Greater Poland Uprising of 1918–1919 he fought against the Polish insurrection as a second-lieutenant in the Freikorps

Freikorps

Freikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...

. For his bravery he was awarded the Knights Cross Of The Iron Cross. During the 1930s he was a school headmaster in Leipzig and was called up for active service in 1939.

He was subsequently given the post as security officer Colditz Castle and was known to the prisoners as being one of the more jovial of the Germans; Pat Reid described him as "the only German with a sense of humour". Due to his heavy drinking he was called up before a medical board and found to be unfit for active service. He returned to his post as a Headteacher but died as a result of his drinking in August 1943.