A Brief History
On March 24, 1944, the hard work of 600 American and British POW’s was ready to pay off, and 200 of them were ready to escape from Stalag Luft III!
Digging Deeper
Stalag Luft III operated as a prisoner of war camp run by the German Luftwaffe to hold allied aviators (officers) that had been shot down and captured. Having been opened in 1943, the camp held almost 11,000 allied airmen, mostly American with about a quarter of the total British and some 900 from other allied air forces.
Determined to escape, 600 of the inmates worked digging 3 separate tunnels 30 feet below the surface (named Tom, Dick and Harry), building air pumps out of whatever garbage or materials they could gather. The sand and dirt excavated to make the tunnels was disposed of by prisoners rigging sandbags hidden in their trousers that could be dumped and scattered as they walked about. Eventually, one of the tunnels was discovered by the guards and closed, and the method of disposing of excavated soil had to change. The solution was to refill one of the tunnels, leaving only one for the actual escape. The POW’s had used incredible ingenuity in preparing for escape, manufacturing civilian looking clothes and forging identity papers. It was decided 200 men could safely escape, and these were chosen by their ability to speak German and by how much time they had put in working on the tunnels. The remainder were chosen at random.
When the actual escape got underway on the evening of March 24, 1944 a few problems kept the number of escapees down to 76, with delays caused by a frozen entry point, an exit hole that had been miscalculated and was within sight of a guard tower, and even a tunnel collapse that had to be dug out! The 77th escaping prisoner was seen by the guards and immediately captured, ending any further escapes. The Americans had been transferred shortly before the escape, and only British officers escaped. Of those, 73 were recaptured and Hitler was livid when he found out, ordering executions for all captured POW’s, all guards on duty, the camp security officer and the architect who had designed the camp! Herman Goring among others argued against executing the prisoners, and “only” 50 of them were executed. Another fact about the reprisals was that workers in the camp were also executed because the prisoners had stolen work materials used in the escape.
This great escape became the basis for the 1963 movie, The Great Escape, starring Steve McQueen. This film would not be the only movie made about an escape from this camp, as the 1950 British movie, The Wooden Horse, had already been made (and was the 3d biggest movie made by British cinema that year). The escape referred to in The Wooden Horse had taken place in October of 1943, also by tunnel, and this time done by the incredible trick of constructing a wooden vaulting “horse” that the prisoners would carry outside during exercise time and practice their vaults, while 2 men concealed within would be digging the escape tunnel! Each day the entrance would be covered and the next day work would start again, under the noses of the guards! Over 3 months 3 British POW’s dug a 100 foot tunnel and eventual escaped successfully. Not on the scale of the other escape, but certainly quite cracked! Books about both escapes have been written.
Question for students (and subscribers): If you were a POW, would you just wait for the end of the war or try to escape? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Carroll, Tim. The Great Escape from Stalag Luft III: The Full Story of How 76 Allied Officers Carried Out World War II’s Most Remarkable Mass Escape. Gallery Books, 2010.
Durand, Arthur A. Stalag Luft III: The Secret Story. Louisiana State Univ Pr, 1988.
Lee, Jack, dir. The Wooden Horse [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import – United Kingdom ]. DVD.
Sturges, John, dir. The Great Escape [Blu-ray]. 20th Century Fox, 2013. Blu-ray.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="1583 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=1583">55 Comments
If I were to be captured in war, escaping sounds like the thing to do or try.However I don’t know if I would risk getting caught and executed because I tried to escape.
They were brave for trying to escape. I don’t know if I could do it, but it would definitely cross my mind because I would rather fight for my life than just try to wait it out.
I would of tried to escape but i would of been to scared to get caught. So I would of waited till the war was over.
I think that I would try and escape, but I also think I would get caught and die for it. I wouldn’t mind dying if I knew I tried.
The hope that these prisoners still possessed is amazing. If I were in that situation, it would be hard to find good and potential hope for the future.
I think this article shows great amounts of bravery. They tried and that’s all that matters.
If I was a POW, I would definitely try to escape! No one at that time knew when the war was going to end. That is why they were making all these escape plans. It was very courageous of the prisoners to try to escape even though they knew they would have to face worse consequences if they got caught. As I stated before, I would try to escape, but who knows if I would have actually done it because one would not really know unless one actually lives it.
It’s very courageous that the POW’s tried to escape. I think it was wrong to have workers of the prison executed.
I think one of most interesting points was how the 200 escapees were chosen. I wonder if this was a calm and organized thing, or if everyone was fighting for their opportunity. I think in a romanticized version we would expect that some of the POWs were giving up their spot willingly to someone they thought deserved it more. It’s amazing what people can accomplish with a common goal.
This was an extremely interesting article. The determination to escape, leading the prisoners to their eventually success, is absolutely mind blowing. I cannot imagine the hard work the prisoners went through to dig the tunnels.
the motivation and strength this soldiers had is amazing, if I were a POW I would not be brave enough to try to escape
It’s amazing where determination can get you. These POWs were so determined to get out of there and they almost made it.
I defiantly want to watch one of these movie after reading this article.
I have not had the chance to see this movies, but I would not turn down an offer. These soldiers took quite a risk to escape.
After reading this I want to find these films. Movies about POWs are always very exciting and interesting.
I think I might add one of these movies to my summer list of movies to watch.
I very much want to watch these films now
such a interesting article i could agree in watching one of these films
These movies would be very interesting to watch!
I think it’s amazing that these escapes were actually pulled off, let alone, made into a movie called The Great Escape!
Interesting article. I’m conditions in the camp were horrible and the men knew they needed to escape. I think I would rather die trying to escape than just sitting at the camp waiting to die.
I have never heard of these attempted escapes or movies that were based on them. I would love to watch them sometime!
Even though the tunnel collapsed and several people were executed, I like to hear that there were still a large number of people who did escape.
It was a good plan made by the POWs to build tunnels and I also never knew before where the phrase “Tom, Dick, and Harry” came from. It is sad that it did not work out as planned and actually caused more deaths because it enraged Hitler.
If I had more time, I would love to start watching more movies and documentaries about history. These two motion films would be of high interest to me!
I think these movies are beneficial. They at least bring some awareness to situations that may have been overlooked as history continued.
I cannot imagine the courage that it took to start and continue to make these tunnels. The potential punishments that these POWs could face was reason enough not to participate.
I never realized that these war camps existed and had so many people living in them. 11,000 people is a huge number to live in a camp at one time. I would never want to live with so many people.
I cannot imagine what they must have suffered. I could not imagine being help captive and being mistreated. I would be terrified to rebel but I cannot imagine the courage it took to build a 100 foot tunnel to escape.
I think I would try to escape but not under Hitler’s watch. He was a brutal man and someone who had the ego to go with it!
Both movies are now on my bucket list. Building those tunnels must have taken a lot of hard work and time!
This integrity shows that there is such a way out of anything. no matter how many obstacles in a your way people can get out
The bravery that it would take to escape while Hitler was watching is something that I do not have. I feel that the saying, “if there’s a will, there’s a way” really applies to this situation. I would love to see both of these movies and I enjoy that they are both based on a true story.
There is no guarantee in life. As a POW your release was not guaranteed. Escape may have seemed to be the only option to regain freedom.
The article makes me to think about the movie of the Shawshank redemption. The American and British prisoners of war were brave and smart. They got freedom by their intelligence.
This must be a long time to work, but it was the only way for them to escape.
It would be hard to be a POW because not being sure that you will make it out. Trying to escape would probably have seemed to be the better option.
I would have wanted to escape but there is no way I would have tried under Hitlers watch.
I’d rather try to escape and be shot to death rather than waiting to see what Hitler would have planned for me.
I can’t agrree with you more. I too would take my chances
I think that in the time of crisis, I would try to escape but not under Hitler’s reign, the repercussions would have been death if you would have been caught.
In that situation, the people that were captured had no idea if the Allies were going to win the war. For all they knew, they could’ve stayed POW’s for the rest of their life. I would’ve wanted to escape too, even if it was more likely I would get recaptured and executed.
I definitely would have tried to escape. I would have assumed that I would die either way.
What bravery these men showed.
I think if I was there I would have tried to escape vs dying under Hitler’s reign.
These men must have been genuineness
If you put your mind and strength to anything, and you truly believe that it is hard to be stopped! This is a prime example of that.
In this situation I believe I would have tried to escape. Escaping and death would be better than ending up in a concentration camp if Germany were to have won the war.
I do not think I could ever build the confidence to try and escape under Hitler’s watch.
Reading about the men who disposed of the materials in their trousers made me think of Andy Dufresne in “The Shawshank Redemption,” which is one of my all-time favorites! Andy escaped from prison by digging his own tunnel through the walls of the prison and got away with it by carrying small bits of the wall out into the exercise yard in his trousers each day. Very interesting story!
You can really get a sense for what man came come up with when he is faced with certain situations like these.
“The Great Escape” is a great movie. Well worth seeing. I think it is amazing what these men were able to do under their captors noses.
If I was a prisoner I would say your chances are better to try and escape than to stick around for them to scoop you up for a mass execution.
This is not the first time i have heard of Tom, Dick, and Harry but it has been the first in a historical manner. Their escape route was pretty wild though i will give them that. I would watch a major motion film over this
This story reminds me of the Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King.