The Executions Of The Great Escape From Stalag Luft III

During the Second World War, one of the most iconic and daring escape attempts from a prisoner of war camp occurred inside of Stalag Luft III. This camp was home to many allied airmen who had been captured by the Germans and they were guarded by the Luftwaffe. Inside of the camp there were daring escape plans drawn up by Roger Bushell to lead a huge 'Great Escape,' from the Stalag comprising of 200 men in a bid for freedom. They created 3 tunnels, codenamed Tom, Dick and Harry in an attempt to tunnel to freedom.
Two tunnels were discovered, however Harry was eventually completed after a huge effort was created to dig to freedom. Eventually the day came where the escape happened, and over 70 prisoners managed to escape and bid for freedom. However the tunnel came up short of the forest, and emerged near to a guard tower. The 77th escapee was captured and the tunnel was discovered and because of this the men who escaped were hunted down. Most were captured and only 3 managed to evade capture, but Hitler was furious at the escape attempt. He personally ordered that all those who escaped should be shot by a firing squad and executed, but Himmler managed to convince him to reduce the number to 50.
A list was drawn up for the 50 men to be executed, and they were then interrogated by the Gestapo before being driven in a car. The men believed they were being taken back to Stalag Luft III, but they were then dropped off at the side of a country road, and shot dead. The Murders of the Great Escape caused outrage back in Britain, with 20 Brits being shot and many others from the allied nations. The Great Escape today is now remembered with the film that was created about the events, but it remains one of the most amazing stories of the Second World War.
So join us today as we look at, 'The BRUTAL Executions Of The Great Escape.' Remember to support our channel, please make sure to subscribe.
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Music - I Am A Man Who Will Fight For Your Honour - Chris Zabriskie.

[@rickdunham4394]

My father was a prisoner at Stalag Luft 3. It must have been a terrible experience for them. My father was Ill all the rest of his life from his time in POW camp. Fortunately he was able to brew my brother and me with my mother who took care of Dad his whole life. She was a saint. Rest In Peace Dad. Hope to see you again on the other side.

[@richardkirk5098]

Your dad is a hero.

[@Getsitdone]

Brew? I can't believe I would see something funny from the story.

[@justhimo2728]

did he survive after the war 💔😔 so sorry my friend do good charity to his soul pay food to poor people and help animals that will make him very happy in his grave I'm so sorry God bless you.

[@daver8253]

I had the honour to meet a exRAF Mosquito pilot when I was in hospital , telling me he was shot down flying over the coast of Holland. He ended up in Stalag Luft III and was a tunnel digger on Harry and was no. 100 to escape that evening. He was able to speak to me because of that high number. I listened for hours to his stories , I even bought the book he wrote which tells you what life was like in the camp. This was in 1992, he was 82 at the time, he will long dead now but how lucky was I to be in a bed next to him.

[@richardmattingly7000]

British actor Peter Butterworth best remembered for the Carry On films was one of the men who aided in the vaulting horse escape and was often one of those jumping or carrying it back n forth by guards. They often intentionally knocked it over so that its guards could see underneath not to arouse suspicion and a man rode e inside to dig then back with sacks of soil that was removed. The tunnel was concealed by a trapdoor that was put back then covered each time and was out in the open. Butterworth was sent to Luft III because he had escaped from another camp but was captured 3 days later by a member of the Hitler Youth and quipped he'd never work with children again. Oddly when he auditioned for a film about the vaulting horse escape as one of the characters involved he didn't get the role since those doing the casting didn't think he quite looked heroic enough.

[@TheHawkeye1432]

I had an English man give me a copy of a book about the vault escape. I can't say exactly who wrote it but remember it was one of the 3 that did the escape. It is a presentation copy, one of only a couple, signed and dated by the author, very rare. I have it vaccum sealed in mint condition locked in my gun safe. When he gave it to me I checked it on a rare book site and found some reference to it showing worth over $1500 20 years ago. The man that gave it to me was just getting by and his apartment got overridden with bugs, the exterminator came in and cleaned it all out but took anything not solid like his bed and chair. He was my neighbor and told me about it when I got home. I knew how he was living and took off for a furniture store that day. They delivered a bed and new chair to him the next day, he didn't ask for help and I didn't tell him but I guess he figured it out and 2 weeks later he gave me the book and wouldn't say no to the gift

[@stevewhite6861]

My dad was an extra in the film 'The Wooden Horse' it was the film where they used the vaulting box called the wooden horse, he played an RAF officer and was one of the vaulters jumping over the box. At the time he was serving in Wuppertal with the Yorks & Lancs. a few months later he was fighting in Korea on the Imjin River and won the Military Medal as a sniper.

[@shenysys]

Peter also played Groome in series 2 of Catweazle - Groome was the gardener for the estate.

[@watchdogCZ]

RIP Pilot Officer Arnošt Valenta of the Czechoslovak No. 311 Bomber Squadron RAF. He is still remebered here in his homeland.

[@colinbeckles2811]

I have read about the hunt for the Gestapo Agents who murdered the escapees. It took a few years but they got them all.

[@davidgillies5342]

About four years ago. I visited the site of Stalag Luft111. A documentry film crew unit were there. Making a film about The Great Escape. At the museam it was very interesting to crawl through a replica of Harry!!!

[@rodgeyd6728]

RAF Woodhall Spa Museum has an excellent display dedicated to prisoners of War, a photograph of all the 50 airmen of The Great Escape murdered by the Nazis. A very moving photograph of brave young men, still fighting the war till the very end.

[@newton18311]

I use to go there when they serviced Tornado engines.

[@eamo106]

A good work by you, their story needs remembering.Thank you on behalf of the men, and families and any sons and daughters living today,

[@RogueCylon]

I had a relative that was one of the Fifty executed. May this never be forgotten.

[@daleburrell6273]

...AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED- IT WAS JUST PLAIN MURDER-(!)

[@RogueCylon]

@@daleburrell6273 certainly changed my family. I also had an uncle escape a Japanese POW camp and make it across allied lines. He was pretty much all skin and bones, my Dad said he was never the same.

[@gregoryeverson741]

@@daleburrell6273 its not murder, you broke the rules of war by escaping

[@daleburrell6273]

@@gregoryeverson741 AW, BULLSHIT!!! ESCAPE ISN'T A CRIME- IT'S A DUTY!!! COME BACK WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT- UNTIL THEN- SHUT YOUR LOUSY KEISTER!!!

[@catlover1986]

@@daleburrell6273 The fact of the matter, it is a war crime to escape a POW camp. When Germans escaped in Allied nations, they were often murdered by the allied nations. Every allied nation executed German POWs. In fact, Allied POWs in German camps, were more likely to survive than Germans in Allied camps.

[@marincapital2586]

Duty Honor Country. These men were true hero’s. The Germans allowed the Red Cross in but were ruthless

[@pamelatraves6524]

I saw the movie several times and I enjoyed it very well. The truth was much Sader.💝🌹🙏🤦‍♀️

[@Dancing_Alone_wRentals]

tHank you. You included more details in your video and sparked more interest in these important events.

[@davidcronan4072]

Many of these executed men have their graves in the British war cemetery in Poznan, Poland.

[@davidsexton6604]

David C. Thanks for that info friend.

[@esstee9595]

Steve McQueen did not perfom that jump over the barbed wire fence stunt. It was his friend and riding companion MC tuner/dealer, Bud Ekins. Was/is it not the duty of all POWs to try to escape? These guys did a great job but at a great price: heros.

[@lawrencelewis2592]

Ekins did the driving in Bullitt, too.

[@daniellinehan63]

Yes, Heroes all

[@Bhakti-rider]

@@lawrencelewis2592 Some of it...

[@alexbowman7582]

I read that some British POW’s spent a long time under the same German guards, often years, and became good friends. After the war some former POW’s would holiday in Germany with their guard friends and some guards would holiday in Britain with their former prisoners. The Germans apparently told them they had seismographs to pick up tunnelling.

[@geordischmidt]

It was true. POW camp duty was considered the "good times" for Luftwaffe personnel, especially as the war ground on and many planes were destroyed. German seismographs were in use but guards looking for POW's trying to disburse sand was far more effective.

[@Brian-om2hh]

My father - who died in 1985 - worked for a haulage company back in the early to mid 60's. And during that time he began working with a German ex POW whom had been held prisoner in Britain, and had stayed here after the war ended. He had married a local lady, and lived locally, which is how my father ended up working with him. It later transpired that Tony (the German guy) was a former SS man, and had his SS number on his arm! However, my dad said Tony turned out to be one of the most reliable and trustworthy people he'd ever worked with. Tony did not wish to return to Germany after the war, as he feared Russian agents might get him! Tony also died in the 80's....

[@ronstreet6706]

@@Brian-om2hh not all SS were rabid nazis. If he was Waffen SS, as opposed to the liebstandarten SS, chances are that he was just an ordinary soldier.

[@terryrose6208]

With the way things are going in the world, this scene could very well play out again very soon.

[@robd8577]

Unlikely that Germany will invade Poland anytime soon. Not sure what other events are happening in the world that are close to Prisoner of War camps that you are alluding to

[@terryrose6208]

@@robd8577 Covid camps are just the beginning.

[@daviddoran3673]

The generous, humanitarian and Democratic west has Guantanamo and Belmarsh for Julian Assange.....

[@terryrose6208]

@@daviddoran3673 Would you rather live in China or maybe North Korea ? If I'm reading your comment wrong, then correct me. No society is perfect, but I sure don't want to live in a Communist or totalitarian society. Judging from some of the things going on in parts of Europe and Australia, America looks pretty good right now. It could and probably will get worse. I know, I know, America is not the totality of the West.

[@criffermaclennan]

Roger Bushell was actually big X not the escape itself. The rations were atrocious and the red cross parcels were an infrequent luxury, guy walters nook "the real great escape" gives a grim idea of what the food was like.

[@thomasfoss9963]

I always thought there was a stretch in the movie when Hendley had all that food and goodies..... They seemed awful well fed to dig 3 tunnels, garden, and March along during the film.....

[@lawrencelewis2592]

@@thomasfoss9963 And they were all middle-aged movie actors playing men in their early 20s for the most part. I've seen a photo of four Canadians in Stalag Luft 3, Wally Floody who was a mining engineer in Ontario and was one of them, he looked to be about 22 years old. He died in Toronto about ten years ago and his death made the newspapers.

[@geordischmidt]

Though his surname was not mentioned, he was basically portrayed by Richard Attenborough and was called "Roger" by his closest confidantes. Attenborough later acknowledged this but said just about all the characters in the movie were amalgams, due to the sheer number of men (600) who helped build the tunnel and to the fact that producers did not have permission to use the actual POW's (film rights being more complicated than book rights).

[@criffermaclennan]

@@geordischmidt a lot of the film story was based on Paul Brickhills book,and he was prone to embellishments himself

[@lawrencelewis2592]

@@geordischmidt Wasn't his last name Bartlett in the film?

[@loisreese2692]

@TheUntoldPast I feel like I constantly repeat myself in the comments and sound like a bloody fangirl, but you truly put out some of the best historical/educational content on @KZbin. I'm absolutely giddy when I see a notification of a new video from you. It's no wonder your videos are recommended aside Mark Felton. I'm learning more from you at 53 y.o. than in high school history class, and I love it. Cheers!

[@astolatpere11]

This escape did exactly what the organizers hoped - spread panic and resulted in a massive effort by the nazis to find them. Well done!

[@wesleymcglone6937]

It didn't, it was mostly park rangers that looked for them. And most of them was caught.

[@astolatpere11]

@@wesleymcglone6937 that's innacurate.

[@wesleymcglone6937]

@@astolatpere11 Not really, done more harm than good. Literally no German soldiers were take out of action to find them. The tightening of security inside Germany to look for these men caused a lot of other allied spies and escapees to be caught.

[@davidsexton6604]

Yer Wesley depress us why don't you . But your probably right.

[@wesleymcglone6937]

@@davidsexton6604 I only learned myself a few weeks ago from a podcast. I watched the Great escape years ago and thought that's exactly how it happened.

[@jaybee9269]

They Germans also used seismometers to detect tunneling…”The American Aces Speak” saying they even put a sign in one tunnel: “Roses are red, violets are blue Your tunnel is finished and so are you.”

[@Man_fay_the_Bru]

What are you talking about…American aces…there was literally no americans

[@mckessa17]

@@Man_fay_the_Bru All Brits and Canucks

[@roguedalek900]

@@Man_fay_the_Bru there were US airman there that was able to help dig. By sheer chance They got moved out and into an adjacent compound just before the break out. Paul Brickhill who wrote the book that inspired the movie speaks about this. Paul was on the tunnel crew . He said that's one reason the tunnel fell short of the tree lie . They did a rush job to get it done before the US airman got moved to the new enclosure but they couldn't get it done in time .

[@daleburrell6273]

@@roguedalek900 ...that's news to ME-!

[@MrJal67]

Just outside of the west gate to Ramstein AB is a memorial to two escapees, Squadron Leader Roger Bushell and Sous-Lieutenant Bernard Scheidhauer, who were executed in the woods nearby. It is just off the field were the airshow crach occured in the late '80s.

[@captainjohn7833]

Outstanding Airmen every one ! 🚬👓...

[@anthonybanchero3072]

The movie exaggerated the American contribution, but I believe the survivors felt it was worth it to get their story told. I liked the movie, and I like this story, because I like all history.

[@Man_fay_the_Bru]

As in there were no Americans involved?

[@anthonybanchero3072]

@@Man_fay_the_Bru The Germans moved them before the escape.

[@flyingphobiahelp]

Yeah but in Hollywood America won the war single handed 😂😂😂

[@Themanyfacesofego]

@@anthonybanchero3072 Sadly they moved the Americans out...but one American DID escape on the night, Major John Bigelow Dodge. He had taken on British Nationality, after his mother's marriage into the Churchill family.

[@dennisjarvis5853]

@@flyingphobiahelp Hollywood always had Americans as the most heroic, successful, wonderful, indispensably brave, handsome etc etc for the box-office, and is why to this day, I have no interest or respect for "The Entertainment Industry", no matter where it is produced.

[@vincentkosik403]

The movie was fantastic and still holds up well to this day! Steve McQueen was by far the cool guy The whole cast was perfect. Saw a number of years ago a program on it on TV that showed excavations of the area and tunnels. What was found was remarkable...like a die for a German Stamp and other neat things the men used to make their escape. Truly inspirational and this film placed it in a more realistic light, thxs

[@kellykeefe3610]

There was a story that Steve McQueen, did the "fuel check" (where he shook the tank from side to side) of his bike on his own. It's thought this was not part of the script. He was a dare devil bike rider, and one of the coolest actors ever!

[@vincentkosik403]

@@kellykeefe3610 👍😎 King of Cool

[@lablackzed]

The SAS sorted the Gestapo out .

[@Man_fay_the_Bru]

@@Kamina1703 you obviously don’t know wtf you’re talking about mate…read what they did at the end of the war when they found them.

[@dongillis1500]

Who dares Wins

[@PaulineYao-dx1co]

It is a great movie. I really don't care which part is fiction. I just like it.

[@jamiepreston1490]

RIP, You'll never be forgotten.

[@billballbuster7186]

Hollywood always have to add the American hero, the fact was that no Americans escaped during WW2 and the Steve McQueen portral was a total fiction.

[@TrolleyDodger.]

That’s because they wanted the movie to sell in America.

[@geordischmidt]

You're right in that no Americans escaped, but Americans did help with the tunnel. The character of Henley, as played by James Garner, was one of a number of American volunteers with the RAF prior to Dec. 7, 1941. Unlike Ben Affleck's character in "Pearl Harbor," the real American volunteers either were civilian pilots or resigned their commissions to go fight for Britain. Until America's entry into the war, the volunteers were listed as British. After the Great Escape, all of the American volunteers were identified and sent to the South compound that had been built Sept. 1943 for USAAF personnel. So, yes, there were no American escapees but the characters of Hilts and Henley were created from amalgams of real American personnel who had helped directly or indirectly in the escape plan. As they had not arrived at the camp until Oct. 1943 and had not been in the war all that long, none of the Americans were considered for the lots drawn to be in the tunnel.

[@reader3769]

The Steve McQueen character was based off of three Americans that were in the camp up to 4 to 6 weeks before the escape. One of whom was Jerry Sage. His contributions were in the book “the great escape”

[@tazman572]

The Americans always make it look like they did everything, just like in the film Argo about the Iran hostages back in 1979. Ken Taylor the Canadian embassador was the one who got the passports and was responsible for getting the six American diplomats to safety, but the movie doesn't show it that way. Even the postscript depicted it incorrectly and was changed.

[@RVFlyer]

Not true. Bob Hoover famously escaped a POW camp and stole and airplane to fly back to allied lines. I think you meant to say no Americans escaped from the Great Escape.

[@cristobalvalladares973]

Once again great job. I wish though that more time was spent on the punishment of the Nazi guards. How did those animals greet their end?

[@daleburrell6273]

There is at least one KZbin video about how the perpetrators got what was coming to them-!

[@geordischmidt]

Many of the executioners were themselves executed. A colonel named Nebe was the biggest catch but he had received his orders from Heinrich Himmler directly, bypassing Heinrich "Gestapo" Mueller.

[@maconescotland8996]

The Luftwaffe guards at Stalag Luft 3 were not involved in the murders - that was Gestapo/SS personnel after the POWs were recaptured. After the war 14 of these were hanged after a war crimes trial following their being indentified by a special RAF investigation tream.

[@lorraineroberts3035]

Merry Christmas untold history love your videos keep up the good work that you do Merry Christmas

[@MomentsInTrading]

I just rewatched The Great Escape a couple of months ago too. Great movie. This video was interesting. I.knew some of it, but I learned a few things too.

[@papapabs175]

There is a excellent book by Allen Andrews, Exemplary Justice. It is a depressingly good account of the murder of those officers.

[@tanvirahmed539]

I never knew about this. Thanks for sharing.

[@hangemhigh7069]

I see that movie one time,never forget it. Hope The Great Escape could be found again?

[@bjorganmorten]

Annoying and boring comments. The same tone/phonetically end of each sentence. Is it so hard to find a better voiceover?

[@MrEsMysteriesMagicks]

Two points about the movie. The episode with the motorcycle never occurred. Also, Steve McQueen did not make the jump in the movie. A stuntman did.

[@fumblerooskie]

Anybody who has seen the movie could have told you that without even knowing the true story. That was totally obvious Hollywood B.S. through and through and it basically ruined the movie.

[@dalemore9645]

You didn’t mention the 5 Australians who were murdered.

[@1chish]

It was in the list in the subtitles.

[@brothermaynard3200]

@@1chish Still an oversight, though.

[@brothermaynard3200]

And it was an Australian POW, Paul Brickhill, who wrote the book,

[@rodsmith5421]

Yes my relative was one of them. So please get it right if telling a story Also Steve McQueen didnot jump the motor bike.

[@kanyegang2810]

I'm about to watch the movie on this

[@jensenwilliam5434]

Thank you!!

[@ezragonzalez8936]

Touching Fact .. The surviving Nazi Guards after the war erected a memorial for the killed escapees they were friends a point that is not brought up of course they knew about the plan escape but looked the other way as much as they could thinking if captured they would just be brought back they never thought they would be executed! even Hermann Goring pleaded with Hitler not to execute the captured soldiers .. Cheers from Salt Lake City

[@fumblerooskie]

Pretty sure not all guards were Nazis.

[@thomasfoss9963]

He's right, there were friendships made between the POWs and guards.... How many? IDK..... Remember, All Nazis were German, but not all Germans were Nazis!!!!

[@nomenestomen3452]

2:00 Everyone: looking at the men of Stalag Luft III Me: looking at the ladder in the background **whistles the Great Escape theme**

[@onesmoothstone5680]

The American TV show "Hogan's Heroes" was also loosely (very!) based upon these events.

[@thomasfoss9963]

Hogan's Heroes was based more on the events of Stalag 17, Not Stalag Luft III..... They were sued by the filmakers of Stalag 17, but they lost the suit.......

[@garyk1334]

R.I.P Gentlemen , murdered by dogs but not forgotten . Thankyou 🎉

[@florescentadolescent8534]

Now if incarcerated in germany no time is added on to your sentence if you try to escape, they see it as perfectly natural and simple human nature.

[@RobertRobinson-dy3rj]

Hogans Heroes 😮

[@pangorban1]

What was the point of it all? Three men escaped, dozens captured and executed. Those that remained in the camp would have received brutal reprisals. Before the escape, they were treated well by POW and Reich camp standards. It all seems a pointless exercise in misguided heroism.

[@daffyd5867]

Bylcream boys....public school boy game...unlike ground troops, they considered it all a game with rules...no consequences..

[@1chish]

@@daffyd5867 Yep. Those 'Brylcreem Boys' that became 'the Few' who saved the country in 1940 and then suffered 46% fatalities in bombers over Germany for the rest of the war. That is some 'game' given the stark 'consequences'. Oh and btw many thousands were Sergeants not Officers and never saw a public school. But hey why let facts get in the way of some class war rant. 😡

[@daffyd5867]

@@1chish class rant? My comment referred to the escapees...their type of war was hazardous but lacked the personal nature of that of a soldier who understood killing a person more closely...I don't doubt the contribution of the bylcream boys, just their attitude to escapes....so stop ranting.

[@1chish]

@@daffyd5867 So why write: "public school boy game" If you were not making some upper class comment? Its why I pointed out very many aircrew were actually Sergeants. As for aircrew "lacked the personal nature of that of a soldier who understood killing a person more closely" I know what you mean but you really think these guys didn't understand what they were doing and the death they were reining down? Let alone how very personal Ack Ack and fighters were when red hot shrapnel tore their aircraft apart? And how much more personal does it get diving out and hoping your parachute works? You say you you don't doubt their contribution but you portray them like a bunch of yahoo Henrys. 'Brylcreem Boys' and 'Public Schoolboys' sort of frames your comment.

[@daffyd5867]

@@1chish whilst you are ranting, I will add that it's historically debatable that the Few saved England in 1940. There are other factors to be considered.

[@Mbabbb399]

the us code requires you to attempt escape if possible... but i would likely order 5:1 ratio of disposal of officers that i have in captivity as well maybe at some point the other side will realize it's a losing game...

[@robert48044]

It is a good movie

[@TheJAMTUB]

Such a great story... Please get someone else to read as you are so monotonous... You kill the story.

[@johnwayne3085]

And that is how you uphold the code of conduct

[@bccrayfish]

March 24th not 25th. You didn't mention that Dick was later found. The story of that was on PBS.

[@56postoffice]

I first watched the film in the early 80s and didn't know it was based on fact. That is what I found out years later. I think there was a Channel 4 documentary about a task to go after those responsible for the murder of *"The Fifty"* after WWII.

[@dovidell]

Just finished watching " Great Escapes" on History Channel with Morgan Freeman - the episode being about " the great Escape " - the part about the executions is/was " deliberately" ambiguous ( no mention of mass executions , but mention of an SS " soldier" informing his wife he'd be late for dinner " ) The Episode adds that the Great Escape was aimed at demoralising Hitler , and that ultimately , the way the 50 escapees were dealt with ( shot. executed) caused/ infers that , a rift in Hitler's high command, was ( presumably) one of the reasons for the July ( 1944 ) plot to kill Hitler

[@justhimo2728]

omg so sad 💔😔 horrific horrible times

[@thomasmiller5587]

I have read in history books that these men did this escape with that many escapee's to help divert the Germans for the allied landings and that after the armistice the allies worked very hard to find the murderers of the 50

[@von-Adler]

See photo image. Having escaped and been captured, one of the British would NOT be wearing a military peaked cap.

[@imtheonevanhalen1557]

McQueen wasn't allowed to do the jump scenes by the studio......one of his MX buddies did them. He wanted to though.

[@bobayotte2940]

If they would have been in Stalag 13, there would have been no escaping.

[@KingBobaFett434]

Maybe what they should have done is try to take over the camp.

[@mrabrasive51]

Steve McQueen didn't perform the the fence jump.

[@fumblerooskie]

The fence jump was bullsh¡t Hollywood.

[@CSAFD]

commandant: u have other plans? Hiltz: havent seen berlin yet from the ground or the air and i plan on doing both before the war is over. Hiltz: job didnt work out huh? commandant: you were lucky hiltz.. Hiltz: dont think....how many? commandant: 50, it looks after all u will see berlin before i do.

[@campermandan]

Originally they had planned to cast Rick Dalton in the role of Hilts but later opted for McQueen. I heard it on the Q.T.

[@whymelord5695]

Strange how Australia has built "detention centers" that oddly resemble those from then.

[@simonrooney7942]

A shameful act by Australia.

[@allangibson2408]

And the Australian detention centres are far more comfortable than the tent camps in Europe and converted warehouses used in the United States… The accommodation used in Australia is EXACTLY the same as the accommodation used on remote mine sites for the workers (because the camps were converted).

[@simonrooney7942]

@@allangibson2408 remind me again. Is this how we help people in distress?

[@happyclampopper]

@Allan Gibson So that's supposed to justify and just make the act of putting people who haven't committed a crime in a camp OK?

[@allangibson2408]

@@happyclampopper They have committed a crime. Entering a country without a valid visa is a crime. Entering a country without a valid passport is a crime. The question is did they have a legal excuse - ie are they refugees under the terms of the refugee conventions or are they just illegal immigrants. The difference is the reason for their travelling - which can be hard to determine if you cannot confirm their identity because they don’t have valid travel documents.

[@Michael_Veritas]

Leaving camp and removing your military uniform made a prisoner’s execution completely legal.

[@gorkyd7912]

Because shooting civilians is legal?

[@ernestgreen6821]

I didn’t know they had that many amenities! I am sure it must have sucked but to have time to go to a library, play basketball and soccer not to mention food rations to at least support the other activities doesn’t seem so bad! I wouldn’t risk my life to escape! Seems like a descent way to endure a horrible war!

[@brothermaynard3200]

On the subject of the movie, I believe Donald Pleasance was a POW himself.

[@paulstroud2647]

Yes he was. Apparently he made some suggestions to the film's director John Sturges and was told to keep out of it. One of the other cast members told the director about Pleasance's experience as a POW and he was hastily recruited as an advisor!

[@edgaraquino2324]

1st...these camps were not country clubs...2nd, it was the duty of all military personnel to escape & divert vital enemy resources in order to look for escapees..3rd, if escapees ran & were shot is one thing...to murder them was something else..4th, would you want be locked up like a criminal when you could be free? btw, escapees would return to service, but not to combat...the info they had about how they escaped could be used by the Germans to stop further attempts & to eliminate resistance groups....

[@angloaust1575]

Wrong time to escape Snow everywhere Escapees confined to roads Only three made it two norwegians And a dutchman!

[@bobsbarnworkshop]

Stalag Luft III was in Poland

[@seanjoseph8637]

There is a more accurate 40's/50's British movie about this, Black & White, but I can't remember it's name.

[@markjosephbudgieridgard]

I,ll never understand why POWs wanted to escape why not just sit out the remainder of the war in relative comfort and safety if you escape and make it home you'll not get any credit your just shoved back into active service and in harms way.... Really odd.... RIP guys 🙏

[@kevinramsey417]

Duty.

[@brothermaynard3200]

These camps were not pleasant. They could be cold and miserable places. But, above all, they were motivated by a sense of duty.

[@novadhd]

it is easier in hindsight . they probaby didnt know how long the war would drag on. They were treated better though

[@seymourwrasse3321]

the men in this escape were using ideas from a escape that took place during WW1

[@manjacovus5342]

See: La Grande Illusion

[@johndunn6968]

try to find a book entitled "blood game" the story of the aftermath of the escape and the murder of the "50" and the investigation of the murderers..

[@nharding4738]

Who is the author

[@ophirdagan8227]

WHY “50” ? It was not really 50 😯?... TNX

[@papapabs175]

There is also a book by Allen Andrews, Exemplary Justice.

[@Otaku155]

GOON - German Officer or Non-Com

[@scifyry]

Why would Himmler talk him out of killing all of them?

[@fasthracing]

Very good book written by Eric Williams who escaped from here in the so called Trojan Horse.

[@manjacovus5342]

You mean The Wooden Horse, but I think it was a different POW camp.

[@johnathandaviddunster38]

Big business thanks the military for FANTASTIC profits......

[@neonskyline1]

Why were these men kept in a prison camp ? my Father and 40,000 others were captured at Dunkirk and march to Poland, he lived on a farm with 19 other guys, no prison camp, he even met my Polish mother while working in the fields, sorry to make a point that ALL the soldiers wern't all badly treated, but it's a fact, I've never seen anything made about them, just bigging up these guys and the ones at Colditz, but of course I'm sorry some of them were murdered

[@iantonkin1143]

Neon Skyline. The aircrew POWs were in camps generally staffed by the Luftwaffe and from 1940, all aircrew were Sergeants or higher. The Geneva Convention stipulated that NCOs of Sergeants and above, were not required to work. If your Dad was below the rank of Sergeant (and if captured at Dunkirk I presume he was in the Army) then he would have been required to work in accordance with the Geneva Convention. POWs were all deprived of their freedom but you really can't compare the camps. Some as you say worked on farms, some in mines, the Colditz prisoners were generally those who had escaped before ( some more than once) and the other camps (be they Army, Navy or Air Force) where 1000's would be confined to compounds surrounded by barbed wire and machine gun posts. Those like your Dad that had to work in the fields I imagine did not have the boredom of being cooped up in a compound and with 100s or 1000s of others and definitely did not have the opportunity to meet women like your Dad. There would have been quite a few aircrew POWs and those in camps from the other forces who would have jumped at the chance to do farm work in an open air environment away from compounds and under the constant surveillance of armed guards. Some prisoners on the farms did attempt to escape but by and large, those assigned to farm work whilst outside of the wire during the day but secured at night, actually felt they were doing something with their time plus the possibility of getting some fresh food was there. There really was little incentive to escape from a farm environment as opposed to being permanently in a crammed enclosed area with 100s if not 1000s and if they did attempt to escape but were recaptured, they would have been sent to a camp and no way returned to the farm. So I suppose that's why we read little of escape attempts from farms etc.

[@neonskyline1]

@@iantonkin1143 nice reply :)

[@virginiacook2724]

Some people in DC should face a firing squad!

[@weilandiv8310]

The mole tunnel digging method is not possible

[@spicytrash4981]

You're not possible.

[@edpolk1262]

Spoken like a "true mole" Who would probably take soil samples and an environmental impact study, before proceeding "The Big Dig"

[@donbrashsux]

Stalag 13 ..

[@ricpowers1475]

Cowards for not trying to escape or fight the two executioners. Two on two. Nobody else in the car. I'd rather die trying to flee than sitting there passively.

[@Johnny53kgb-nsa]

These men were anything but cowards. I'm sure if they would have had any way possible they would have escaped.

[@williamchamberlain2263]

Ok Snowflake, calm down before you break your nails

[@samueljesse2179]

You didn't mention that 5 of those escapees were Australian airmen

[@chrismarquez9659]

And people complain about everything now a days.

[@TheMerlin672]

Even with the knowledge that death would be certain if they were caught, or even suspected of organising a breakout, these men still went ahead. I do often wonder, observing the modern world as it is today, how many of those who gave everything so that we today would remain free of tyranny, might actually reverse that decision and say 'fuck you lot, you selfish scumbags'.

[@metaljack866]

Ridiculous thought ..You think soldiers today worry about what those selfish and mentally damaged ones think? , This country has many many Americans that respect them and their sacrifice for this country ..and that is today .. Why would those from almost 80 years ago feel any different?

[@TheMerlin672]

@@metaljack866 You missed the point. But that's understandable.

[@metaljack866]

@@TheMerlin672 fine if I did, I take back the harsh criticism, but the answer to your question I still think it would not be that many , if any at all . .Though .I'm thinking many surviving heroes wondered that thought in the 60s when the hippies came on scene .

[@TheMerlin672]

@@metaljack866 That was my take on it too. Remember, it was just a thought. If it were possible for the participants of WW2, for example, to look into the future and see the mess this world is in, do you think they would have given their lives for our freedom?

[@duncancurtis1758]

Former Gross Trampken is the site of three killings of two escaped prisoners each. The rest were executed near Luneberg Heath.

[@jameswright4420]

The executions of these prisoners was awful, but I’ve never understood how it was a war crime. Didn’t these prisoners lose all protections afforded them as POWs once they were out of uniform and were in civilian clothes? Weren’t they then eligible to be treated as spies?

[@stephenpage-murray7226]

They weren’t in ‘civilian clothes’. I guess you haven’t seen the movie…

[@fumblerooskie]

@@stephenpage-murray7226 LOL the movie. That's totally accurate GTFOH

[@stephenpage-murray7226]

@@fumblerooskie It gives a general idea. Also do some actual research

[@nathanhall2012]

No and the reason is any military personnel captured are obligated to attempt escape if possible. The Germans held this mindset as well as the allies. The Germans executed these men in retaliation which is a war crime.

[@gorkyd7912]

@@nathanhall2012 It's a war crime but it's almost not worth mentioning in light of the other millions of crimes perpetrated by the NatSocs during those years. I think the question is raised sometimes because we want to know if it's justified for the allies to commit war crimes against the NatSocs in return. But the war of morality against immorality cannot be won by rejecting morality.

[@madyogi6164]

Back then, it was German Reich territory, now it belongs back to Poland. For those interested, here is a Wiki link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalag_Luft_III

[@edwardcronin943]

Didn’t know they had palm trees in germany

[@d4rrylexmachina]

Were the escapees in uniform or civilian clothing (the video mentions civilian? I believe that a soldier captured wearing civilian clothing can be regarded as a spy and executed.

[@iancotteral717]

Why did you miss out the Australians executed? Can't you Poms read?

[@duncancallum]

Ian look at the beginning credits it mentions the Australians .

[@jla3772]

Don't believe a word of this.

[@acr9319]

Pay attention to what was said by Roger Bushell @ 4:06 and @ 4:22 - "everyone here in this room is living on borrowed time" - He should have been taken down for that lie! he put all those men's lives in danger of being killed - for what, so he can be praised for the great tunnel he created - fucking ego maniac! The men did what they could whilst they were free soldiers, now that they were captured, all they had to do is wait it out, they were already 'heroes' for serving. But no, Bushell had to make a great tunnel, he wanted his name in lights and in history books (on the backs and lives of those poor men) he sentenced all those men to death instead - for what? to get x number out. It doesn't matter how many would have escaped, the risk was too great but he didn't seem to care, he cared more about his tunnel. Furthermore, look back at the film again and see how the men looked well clothed, none looked malnourished etc - certainly not frowning and they had many things at their disposal in the camp, they even had a school and library! They were 'officers' they had most of the mod-cons (compared to the ordinary soldiers) to the point that there was no need to risk their lives trying to escape cos of "bad" conditions as whatever conditions they were, I would think were bearable. In my eyes he - Roger Bushell was responsible for the loss of those poor men, he swayed them into believing him that they were "living on borrowed time". He was responsible for at least 50 men not returning to their homes, their fathers and mothers, their wives and children, their loved ones - the ego maniac narcissist piece of shit!

[@miked5539]

Please don't refer to airmen as soldiers.

[@coxmosia1]

What happened to the 3 that escaped??

[@tazman572]

Only three men successfully fled to safety-two Norwegians who stowed away on a freighter to Sweden and a Dutchman who made it to Gibraltar by rail and foot.

[@Bhakti-rider]

@@tazman572 I was thinking he or she was wondering what happened to them ultimately...

[@jayrock1987]

MGS3 ZERO Mention the story to snake in the game, tho I may be wrong so don’t quote me on that !

[@robertcaley2671]

Not you again

[@Vic-mv8iz]

But it wasn't run by the SS the Luftwaffe did

[@the_once-and-future_king.]

The Luftwaffe were in charge of the camp, but the SS were tasked to find and kill the escapees.

[@fumblerooskie]

The Luftwaffe was deeply involved in Nazism and most of its evils. After all, its supreme commander was Hermann Göring.

[@weisylvialin3115]

It is so difficult to understand this guy”s English accent

[@thomsboys77]

You’re probably American

[@ayeme9246]

I can hardly understand what this man is saying lol

[@ROMANABSOLUT]

Yeah, I saw that great movie, but I would like to see one about this kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKnFfHt4oZJ7b80 In Stalag Luft III all POWs could survive the WWII, but the British rules asked their soldiers to make anything in their power to find a way out of the POW camps = suicidal rule.