The Bowmanville Break

By Shelley, Sidney
1968, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd., Toronto
The book is a fiction

Descripton: Loosely based on a rebellion and escape attempt orchestrated by Otto Kretschmer at the Bowmanville prison camp in Canada. Although it contains the standard disclaimer that any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely accidental, Kretschmer is immediately recognizable in the figure of Wilhelm Modersohn, aka Silent Willi, U-boat ace whose name is mentioned in company with those of Prien and Schepke. The novel recounts the elaborate escape strategies used by the prisoners and the tactics the prison camp officials employed to track the escapees to the U-boats that were to carry them back to Germany. This novel was the basis for the movie The McKenzie Break.