Tools made in German Prisons

June 27, 2009 2:21 PM

Escape and other tools made by inmates in German prisons, from the photographer Marc Steinmetz. My favorite is the functional battery-powered shotgun, although the hand-made toaster is a testament to the love of a decent breakfast. via.
posted by Rumple (21 comments total)

My favorite is the story of the Colditz Glider.

"Of all the prisoner of war escapes that almost were, the one involving the Colditz glider is certainly among the most ingenious. Built secretly in an attic of Colditz castle, the glider was an airworthy craft, as clearly demonstrated by the replica featured in the NOVA program 'Nazi Prison Escape.'"

posted by ericb at 2:33 PM on June 27 [1 favorite has favorites]

I thought the shotgun was a MMO spoof until I read the description. It works because it a huge barrel.
posted by Mblue at 2:49 PM on June 27

Yikes
posted by Item at 3:10 PM on June 27

I'm really impressed by some of the stuff, as it shows a certain resourcefulness and ingenuity on the part of the prisoners. I wonder if they came into prison with these skills, or only developed them later.
posted by Sova at 3:21 PM on June 27

Wait a minute, they made a toaster? Clearly they had outside help. ToastPrisons always remind me of the global division of labor.
posted by whatnotever at 3:27 PM on June 27 [2 favorites has favorites]

Fascinating.
posted by johnj at 3:34 PM on June 27

I wonder if a construction guide is available for the Shotgun...
posted by errspy at 3:46 PM on June 27

I love the rope ladder with the "rungs disguised as chess pieces." They're just wooden sticks with chess piece names written on them. You think they would make it in with a saw if they wrote "puppy" on it?
posted by Chan at 4:06 PM on June 27 [2 favorites has favorites]

"DUMB-BELL...when this item was found hidden in a staircase, working out was still prohibited."
Based on every prison movie I've seen, I thought all they did was workout.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 4:06 PM on June 27

You think they would make it in with a saw if they wrote "puppy" on it?

Well, they almost got away with the catapult "disguised as a daschhund".
posted by Rumple at 4:10 PM on June 27

What's up with toasters?

I mean are they coming back to replace bacon as a meme?
posted by longsleeves at 4:30 PM on June 27

I categorically deny that that is a toaster. Where are the molded plastic handles?
posted by DU at 4:32 PM on June 27

Weirdly enough, although I don't have a copy of the original to hand, the glider escape plan was parodied in the Shawshank Redemption.
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 4:39 PM on June 27

The toaster is a variant of the stinger, which is quiet common. Edged weapons often get hidden in very clever places.

His photographs of improvised tattoo guns came out well, better than mine did.
posted by Tube at 5:29 PM on June 27

These are crap compared to what inmates make in Chinese prisons
posted by mattoxic at 8:07 PM on June 27 [1 favorite has favorites]

Toasters have been ubiquitous to computers for a while.
posted by frecklefaerie at 8:48 PM on June 27

These are crap compared to what inmates make in Chinese prisons

That's not a prison. Those pictures were originally posted to metafilter, by the way, but here they've been scraped from their context and the word 'prison' was added to the title for some reason.
posted by delmoi at 10:40 PM on June 27

That's not a prison.

That's OK then.
posted by mattoxic at 10:50 PM on June 27

This crucifix dagger is fantastic.

Old-world, German craftsmanship at its finest.
posted by double block and bleed at 11:01 PM on June 27

Related: prisoner's inventions.
posted by madamjujujive at 9:59 AM on June 28

Weirdly enough, although I don't have a copy of the original to hand, the glider escape plan was parodied in the Shawshank Redemption.

The movie Escape of the Birdmen, 1971, was based on a WW II prison escape by glider. While not an all-star cast, figure in Chuck Connors, Tom Skerritt, Doug McLure, Richard Basehart, and, of course, Max Baer, Jr., it was pretty good movie.
posted by Man with Lantern at 11:26 AM on June 29