Throughout history, prisoners of war have faced some of the harshest conditions imaginable. These men endured starvation, isolation, brutal treatment, and the constant knowledge that they could die any moment. Amid these trying circumstances, some individuals managed to remain resilient and hopeful. Their stories speak to physical strength, as well as a determination to cling to hope, refusing to break under the cruelty and deprivation. These survivors became symbols of emotional fortitude, inspiring humanity through their refusal to give up.
These notable figures who survived as POWs remind us of the human capacity to endure even in the darkest moments of war. Many of these survivors went on to share their experiences, advocating for veterans’ rights and humanitarian standards. Others turned to public life, using their tough experiences in leadership roles. Their stories are not just accounts of suffering, but reminders that strength of will can prevail when survival seems impossible.
To compile a list of notable figures who survived against all odds as POWs, 24/7 Tempo consulted a range of sources, including IMBD, History Hit, and the National WWII Museum. We then chose people from various practices, mediums, and wars and consulted sites like Biography and Britannica for specific biographical information.
Klaus Kinski
- Branch of service: Airforce
- Nation served: Germany
- War: World War II
Serving as something of a vengeful muse for famed director Werner Herzog, Kinksi is best known for his intense performances in movies like “Fitzcarraldo,” “Aguirre, the Wrath of God,” and “Nosferatu the Vampyre.” Kinksi was conscripted into the German Wehrmacht at age 17.
He was later shot in the arm and captured by the British Army on his second day of combat in the German-Occupied Netherlands. From there, he was transferred to a prisoner-of-war camp in Colchester, Essex. It was here that Kinski got his first taste of acting, performing in variety shows that aimed to raise the morale of the German prisoners.
Donald Pleasence
- Branch of service: Royal Air Force
- Nation served: United Kingdom
- War: World War II
Famed actor Donald Pleasance began his career as a stage performer in London’s West End and would become best known for his performances in the BBC’s adaptation of “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” “The Great Escape,” and the James Bond movie “You Only Live Twice.” Before that, he was an aircraft wireless operator in Bomber Command and flew nearly 60 raids against the Axis Powers before his plane was shot down in Agenville, France.
He was captured by German forces and imprisoned in the prisoner-of-war camp Stalag Luft I. There, he produced and acted in plays intended to keep up the spirits of fellow Allied prisoners of war. (For daring escapes, discover 25 of the most famous real-life prison breaks of all time.)
Desmond Llewelyn
- Branch of service: British Army
- Nation served: United Kingdom
- War: World War II
Unlike other actors on this list, the Welsh-born Desmond Llewelyn was already a thespian at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before his time as a prisoner. Throughout his career, he acted in a variety of stage and film productions. However, he is best known for his role as Q in seventeen of the James Bond films.
Before that, Llewelyn was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and in 1940 he was captured while his unit was fighting an entire German Panzer division in the French city of Lille. Llewelyn then spent the rest of the war in various German prisoner-of-war camps. First at Laufen, where he attempted and failed to escape by digging a tunnel, and later at Colditz Castle.
Ludwig Wittgenstein
- Branch of service: Army
- Nation served: Austria-Hungary
- War: World War I
Mercurial Ludwig Wittgenstein gained fame through his groundbreaking works of philosophy. Born into a wealthy noble family in Austria, Wittgenstein first taught at the University of Cambridge and from there released his two seminal works of philosophy, “Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus” and “Philosophical Investigations.” Before all this, however, Wittgenstein was a decorated soldier and prisoner of war.
Although he was wealthy and probably exempt from service, Wittgenstein volunteered for the Austro-Hungarian army and was posted to the front line of the Russian Front, earning numerous awards for his bravery under fire, including the Silver Medal of Valour. In 1918, he was captured by Italian forces and placed in various Italian prisoner-of-war camps for a year, which is where he first began his groundbreaking work, the “Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus.”
Marcello Mastroianni
- Branch of service: Army
- Nation served: Italy
- War: World War II
Marcello Mastroianni was an actor through the 1930s and 40s, but his breakthrough performance came in “Big Deal on Madonna Street.” After that, he would earn his name with roles in classic films like “La Dolce Vita” and Fellini’s groundbreaking “8 1/2.” For his work, Mastroianni would earn two BAFTA awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
Prior to this, he was a humble draftsman. While working one day, he was seized by German troops and taken to a labor/prisoner-of-war camp in Northern Italy. The camp was loosely guarded, however, and Mastroianni managed to escape to Venice, where he kept a low profile till the end of the war.
Ferdinand Porsche
- Branch of service:
- Nation served: Germany
- War: World War II
An automotive engineer and founder of Porsche AG, Porsche is best known for creating the Volkswagen Beetle and the Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK. He is also known for his creation of the first electric gasoline hybrid vehicle.
But he was also a member of the Nazi Party and an important contributor to the German war effort. Due to this, Porsche ran afoul of Allied forces at the end of the war and was arrested by the French government as a war criminal. He would spend time in Baden-Baden before being transferred to Paris and then Lyon.
Denholm Elliott
- Branch of service: Royal Air Force
- Nation served: United Kingdom
- War: World War II
Denholm Elliot was a famous English actor who first rose to prominence in a variety of stage performances, but his breakout would come with 1966’s “Alfie.” After that, Elliot would go on to star in classic films like “Trading Places,” “A Bridge Too Far,” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” For his acting success, Elliot won three BAFTA Awards.
During the war, on a raid on U-boat pens in Flensburg, Germany, Elliot’s plane was hit by flak and ditched in the North Sea. Though he and four of his crewmen survived, they were quickly captured by German forces, and he was imprisoned in Stalag VIII-B till the end of the war. During his confinement, he took part in amateur stage performances. This was so successful that he toured various POW camps doing a rendition of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.”
Jean-Paul Sartre
- Branch of service: Army
- Nation served: France
- War: World War II
Another of the prisoners of war who later became celebrities was the famed dramatist, writer, and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Considered one of the eminent existentialist philosophers of the 20th century, Sartre is best known for his novel “Nausea,” as well as the groundbreaking works of philosophy “Being and Nothingness” and “Existentialism is Humanism.” Though he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964, Sartre famously declined the honor.
Sartre was drafted into the French army, where he served as a meteorologist, but in 1940 he was captured by German troops in Padoux, France, where he was then imprisoned in various POW camps, including Stalag XII-D. It was there that he first read the philosophical work of Martin Heidegger, which would greatly inspire his work. Sources differ on his freedom, however. Some say he was released due to poor health in 1941, while others say he escaped during a doctor’s visit.
Kurt Vonnegut
- Branch of service: U.S. Army
- Nation served: United States
- War: World War II
Humorist Kurt Vonnegut, who is best known for his genre-bending, reflective novels like “Player Piano,” “Welcome to the Monkey House,” and most notably, “Slaughterhouse-Five,” was an intelligence scout sent to the front lines.
Amidst the Battle of the Bulge, Vonnegut and fifty other soldiers were captured and transferred to a camp near Dresden, Germany, working in a slaughterhouse-turned-factory making malt syrup. Though he nearly survived the Allied bombing of Dresden, his experiences would later inform his most important novel, “Slaughterhouse-Five.”
Heinz Bennent
- Branch of service: German army
- Nation served: Germany
- War: World War II
Another prisoner-of-war turned celebrity was actor Heinz Bennent. Born and raised in Stolberg, Germany, Bennent’s acting career spanned nearly five decades. He is best known for his roles in films like “The Net,” “The Last Metro,” “Possession,” and “Tears of Stone.”
Before his acting career, he was a conscript in the Luftwaffe division, and during the war he was captured by Allied forces, spending a considerable time in POW camps before moving to the German city of Göttingen and beginning his film career. (To read more about well-known armed forces members, check out 30 famous athletes who served in the military.)
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