The Great Escape - The True Story

The True Story of the Great Escape from Stalag Luft III in 1944 (WW2)
Another history story from Chris Green (The History Chap).

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During WW2 over 170,000 British prisoners of war were captured by the Germans and Italians.
Many tried to escape but less than 1% made it home.

On the night of the 24/25 March 1944, 76 allied POWS escaped from Stalag Luft III in eastern Germany.
It was immortalised in the 1963 movie “The Great Escape” starring, amongst others Steve McQueen who tries to reach freedom in an epic motorcycle chase.

But who close to reality was the film?
This is the true story of….The Great Escape from Stalag Luft III


Chapters

0:00 The Great Escape
0:37 Stalag Luft 3 POW camp
2:36 Roger Bushell
3:39 Previous escape from Stalag Luft III
4:10 Tom, Dick & Harry
10:00 Stalag Luft III mass escape
11:35 Who escaped from Stalag Luft III
20:12 Stalag Luft III murders
22:14 Success & Reckoning
24:55 Great Escape Memorial
25:34 The History Chap


The prisoners of War (POW) at Stalag Luft III (Stalag Luft 3) were principally airmen from a variety of countries.
Contrary to the Great Escape movie, none of the escapees were American.
US POW’s were held in tow neighbouring compounds.

The Great Escape did, however, involve prisoners from over a dozen countries - only half were British. Other POW’s were from Canada, Australia, Norway, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Greece, France and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe).

The mastermind of the Great Escape from Stalag Luft III was a South African-born RAF officer, Roger Bushell.

3 tunnels were dug named Tom, Dick & Harry.
In the end only tunnel Harry was used for the escape.

The tunnel, 30 feet below the surface and stretching for 111 yards was dug using homemade implements (made from tins, cutlery etc) as well as shovels and crow bars obtained by bribing the guards.
It took 9 months of painstaking work to complete.

The mass escape took place on the night of the 24th / 25th March 1944.
Unfortunately it was only when they broke open the mouth of the tunnel that the POW’s found that they had miscalculated and they were 20 feet short of the nearby woods.

Originally, Roger Bushell had planned a breakout by 200 prisoners but in the end only 76 escaped before the alarm was raised.

3 prisoners managed to get all the way back to Great Britain.
The 73 others were captured and 50 were executed by the Gestapo in cold blood.
After the war the Gestapo officers responsible for the Stalag Luft III murders were hunted down and 13 were executed.

The Great Escape movie tries to capture the incredible mass escape form Stalag Luft 3.
Made with an eye to getting bums on seats in the USA, it gives Steve McQueen a central role, which is a deviation from the true story.
Nevertheless it captures the spirit and heroism of the men who did genuinely break out of Stalag Luft III during World War 2 (WW2).

#stalagluftiii #thegreatescape #ww2truestory
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My name is Chris Green ("The History Chap") and I am on a mission to share the amazing history of Britain so that we can appreciate where we have come from and why we are here.

History should not be stuffy or a long list of dates or kings & queens.
So rather than lectures or Youtube animations, I tell stories that bring the past to life.

My aim is to be chat as if I were having a coffee or meal with you. Jean in Maryland, USA recently wrote: "Chris, is the history teacher I wish I had at school!"

Just for the record, I do have a history degree and continue to have a passion for the subject I studied.

Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Chris Green Communication Ltd t/a The History Chap. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Chris Green Communication Ltd does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.

Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Chris Green Communication Ltd t/a The History Chap. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Chris Green Communication Ltd does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.