The Great Escape with Ray Hughes

The Great Escape, as it came to be known, was a mass escape attempt from the prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III located near the Polish town of Zagan. The purpose-built camp was opened in April 1942, and the Germans considered it to be practically escape-proof.

The camp housed mainly British and American airmen whose planes had crashed on Axis territory. The Germans generally captured prisoners with the words ‘For you the war is over.’ However, it was the sworn duty of all captured military personnel to continue to fight the enemy by surviving, communicating information and escaping. The Germans believed that security at the new camp was so tight that it would be impossible for anyone to escape.
It was realized early on that for any escape attempt to succeed it had to be well planned and organized. The Prisoners at Sagan therefore established an escape committee. Although only 3 men managed to reach safety and 50 men were murdered, the escape caused havoc among the Germans.

Recorded on April 27th, 2021

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