Stalag Luft III
During World War II the U.S. Air Force flew 1 693 565 sorties against Nazi Germany. In this context it means one flight per aeroplane. 32 263 machines were used in sorties which destroyed 29 916 German aeroplanes. They lost more than 55% of their own operational aircraft. 94 565 Americans were victims of the air warfare. 30 099 died, 13 660 were injured the other 51 106 were prisoners, missing people, internees. Many of the ones who survived did not know what happened to them. Their planes exploded in the midst of their formation and like a miracle the one or other of the crew did survive. Others were flung unconsciously out of their machines and woke up on the ground.- the parachute had opened itself. And there were men who were cut from the wreck of their B 17, seriously wounded One is common to them All oft them were usually welcomed by the Germans with the same words: "For you the war is over".
At least the Germans thought this. However, for the Allied crews only the operational area and the type of operation changed. If it was all about the bombing of important war targets till now, now their operational order read survive and escape. Most prisoners, certainly the crews of American aircraft, met again in a camp nearby the Silesian city of Sagan : Stalag Luft III.
"Stammlager Luft" (permanent-camp air) was an installation of the Luftwaffe and Stalag Luft III was set up in Sagan about 160 km southeast of Berlin in April 1942. All air force staff was summarized here, no matter whether gunner or pilot, in the majority members of the U.S. Air Force but also pilots of the Royal Air Force. The Luftwaffe met its prisoners with respect and the treatment was proper if one refrains from the quality of the meal once. The first commanding officer (since the opening in May 1942) Colonel Friedrich-Wilhelm von Lineiner-Wildau, was also paid attention by his prisoners. He spoke English fluently and had at long last the task of keeping watch over 10 000 prisoners who lived on a 24 hectares area, surrounded by an eight km barbed-wire fence.
Similar like in Colditz, there was an escape committee also in Sagan. Manned oddly enough exclusively with British officers. These were Squadron Leader Roger J. Bushell, Flying Officer Wally Floody, Peter „Hornblower, " Fanshawe and Flight Lieutenant George Harsh. The real heads of the operation were also British. Wally Floody already mentioned above, was the real king of tunnels. He planned and converted the three tunnels "Tom", "Dick" and "Harry". A whole string of other POWs, such as Henry „Johnny“ Marshall and Flight Lieutenant "Crump" Ker-Ramsey as well as Peter Fanshaw, assisted him. The Rhodesian Johnny Travis was a genius in inventing compass made of gramophone plate remains and splinters, magnetized razor-blade Passports, identity cards, service cards, leave cards or visas were made under the management of chief forger Tim Walenn and his team. Des Plunkett manufactured maps, Tommy Guest uniforms and other garments. Many outbreak objects like train schedules were from bribed guard duties.
Of course it was obvious for the Germans that there was a good chance for escapes and had established special search parties. The prisoners called their guards "Goons" (German Officer or Non Com). The watch-towers were therefore called "Goon Boxes" and plaguing of the German "Goon Baiting". The German tunnel experts were called ferrets. The most stubborn of them, Lance Corporal Greise carried the nickname "Rubberneck". They checked the ground with long iron bars and examined the colour of the earth. If it was yellow, it was certain that a tunnel was dug somewhere because the top- soil was really different from the sandy tunnel earth.
The number of tunnels established at Stalag Luft III was unbelievable. "Tom" was no. 98 of all discovered flight tunnels! It was almost ready when it was detected in the summer of 1943. The others, "Dick" and "Harry", were completed. The material which was used for the making originated from barracks and from supply bases of the camp. Among other things 1,699 blankets, 478 spoons, 30 shovels and 4,000 bed boards were processed. From that manufactured frameworks and rails for the just as wooden trolleys that were used to transport sand, were manufactured..
In turn this sand was distributed by "penguins" who carried it in bags under the trouser and scattered it on the area. The almost 300 m long cable for the electrical tunnel illumination was stolen under the eyes of the workers who did not notice the loss. After the escape these people were shot by the Gestapo.
When "Dick" and "Harry" were almost ready, the two flight groups were determined or drawn for lots. The one was the group of the "serial offenders", men who had broken out before and/or spoke German very well as well as those which had committed themselves particularly at the making of the tunnels. The other group had to draw lots for its participation. These men were called "hard-arsers". They were only equipped with second-rate fakes, spoke none or hardly any German could only walk by night. No fun at minus temperature at the time of the escape on March 24. The chance to escape from German bailiffs in short was wretchedly little among this group
D-night was from March 24 to 25. The escapees assembled in barrack no. 104 and by 22.30 the first rolled face down on the trolley to the end of the tunnel. There one noticed that the tunnel was too short and came to light at the tree row. The outbreak was delayed enormously as the tour of the guard on duty had to be timed that one could not be seen by him.
The situation still got worse when an air alarm switched off the power supply and the tunnel had to be illuminated with tallow lamps. By 04.55 just 87 men had left the tunnel. They all had left behind their foot imprints in the freshly fallen snow. This was their doom at long last. A guard duty had left his regular way and approached the tunnel exit. He noticed the footprints, discovered Lieutenant McBride in the tunnel and aroused alarm. Len Trent, a holder of the Victoria Cross and DSO who only lay centimetres off the guard duty with the head in the snow, got up and gave up. The ones who had made it were looking for the railway station. Not all of them did find it immediately since it was located in a pedestrian tunnel which of course was pitch-dark. Some missed their trains through this and had to wait for the next one at day light . Always in fear of being caught up. Most used the first train which arrived but mostly for no reason since they should be taken hold of already soon.
The reaction of the regime was terrible. Hitler was upset with anger and demanded the shooting of everyone who could be captured again. Göring and Keitel tried to calm him and got him to reduce the shootings to the half. Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler was ordered to handle the execution. 50 names appeared on a list which was made out by the head of the Gestapo General Nebel and his assistant Dr. Hans Merton.
The large-scale manhunt in the entire Reich gathered the escapees one by one. As soon as they were in the hand of the Gestapo, they were shot. The commanding officer of the camp , Colonel von Lindeiner-Wildau, was arrested. With luck he escaped the execution and was condemned to a two-year imprisonment in a fortress which he survived. His adjutant, Captain Pieber was shaken so much about the events that he said to the prisoner translator Lieutenant Murray said: "You must not think that the Luftwaffe has something to do with that. We claim to have nothing to do with that. It is terrible" And: "Be very careful, you are in great danger. No further tricks".
Translator Murray and the highest ranking allied officer, Herbert M. Massey, were told by the new commanding officer Colonel Brown: "41 officers were shot on the flight". Massey enquired: How many injured persons?" Answer: "No-one. I am not authorized to give you further information. Except that we will return the bodies and their personal things back to you". His second-in-command, Major Gustav Simoleit, professor for history, geography and ethnology who spoke seven languages, amongst English, Russian, Polish and Czech disregarded the orders from Berlin and commanded an honourable burial ceremony of a Jewish RAF member. Later the Luftwaffe even did permit the prisoners to set up a Memorial in honour of the murdered escapees. After the war the urns of the 50 victims which were buried there were transferred to another grave on the old garrison cemetery in Poznan, Poland.
Of the original escapees three succeeded in a home run. Per Bergsland alias Rocky Rockland who anglicized his Norwegian name to avoid being harassed in the inevitable, Jens Muller and Bram " Bob“ van der Stok. Bergsland and Muller reached neutral Sweden, van der Stok made it via Holland, Belgium, France and Spain to Gibraltar. At the time Anthony Eden, the British Foreign Secretary had already heard about the enormities and threatened the persons responsible with consequences.
After the war special investigators hunted the Gestapo murderers. One after the other went into custody, among them Standartenführer (colonel) Seetzen of the Gestapo office in Breslau. Today named Wroclaw. After being identified by former colleagues he was taken into custody in 1945 and committed suicide with the help of a capsule of cyanide. Obersturmbannführer (lieutenant-colonel) Max Wielen, the Breslau Gestapo boss, was condemned to life imprisonment. He was released only a few years later. Gestapo director Dr. Wilhelm Scharpwinkel disguised himself at the end of the war in a Wroclaw hospital at the end of the war as an English Second Lieutenant. He was arrested and brought to Moscow by Russian soldiers. There he was declared dead in 1947. Before, the Russians pressed him for a statement the English government had asked for strongly. He and his helper Lux murdered at least 27 of the escapees, Lux died in the battle of Breslau (Wroclaw).
A whole number of further defendants received death or prison sentences. In turn others escaped the punishment by suicide. Camp commander Lindeiner-Wildau died in 1963 at the age of 63 years. In his memoirs he expressed his gratitude to Massey and other allied officers who were sorry for him also for the bombing of his Berlin flat.
The movie "The Great escape" was released in 1963. The script was written by the well-known author James Clavell ("Shogun", "King Rat") and directed by John Sturges who became famous with movies such as "Gunfight at the OK corral" or "The Magnificent 7". The answer to the question to what extent the movie agrees with the true happening can be experienced on the journey to Sagan.
