Great Escape - Poland -Żagań

i think great story worth thread

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-70-years-tragically-failed-prison-break.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-forced-wear-high-vis-gear-health-safety.html



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalag_Luft_III

Interesting event. The second story is more typical of the Mail's nonsense (howling about the hi-vis vests), though I did get a chuckle out of the photoshop of Steve Macqueen wearing one. I'm surprised the story had no mention of the American element of the film being fictional (the studio wanted to put a big Hollywood name into it in order to sell it to the American market, which it believed would otherwise not be interested. I'm sure eveyr A2 reproducer onthe market today thanks them for that, too. ). Still, for it's flaws, it's still a great film, and captures much of the important truths of the actual events. I've long owdnered whether the elements involving the american troops were complete fiction, or whether those stories were inspired by events which took place in another camp. I've always wished somebody would do something about a group of PoWs who choose to keep their heads down and wait the war out in their camp, as no doubt many did, though I can completely see why it would be considered a less appealing narrative. Nice to see this sort of thing being commemorated. I've visited Auschwitz, but I've never seen this place. I'd like to. I found Asuchwitz very sensitively presented, for the most part, and the Polish emphasis on education-as-prevention very sincere. I'm sure they do this equally well.


BTW, did you ever see the British TV documentary about an earlier tunnel escape, during WW1? British soldiers again; it was called something like "The First Great Escape"?

Here's a link (though I don't think the video itself is still available, good info, though):

http://www.channel5.com/shows/the-first-great-escape

Also:

http://www.historyextra.com/feature/forgotten-first-great-escape-1918

Well worth seeing the documentary if you get a chance. It's one of those episodes of history that seems to have been largely forgotten. Similar tunnel plan; a smaller number escaped - 29 - but more (10) of them made it to safety. I presume this would have been common knowledge among the men at Stalag Luft III, and so acted as some form of inspiration.

What impressed me the most was the sheer ingenuity in constructing all the tunneling equipment. Found items, bed boards and milk tins, very impressive improvisation.

Hi Mr Edward
Thank you for the wonderful reply It's very nice that someone has it in mind and that they are interested
If you visit Poland let us know can we meet I live only 50 kilometers from Auschwitz
if you're in Poland and more specifically in Warsaw necessarily You visit it ;
http://www.warsawtour.pl/en/tourist...seum-muzeum-powstania-warszawskiego-1891.html
it a very big story

Otter said:

What impressed me the most was the sheer ingenuity in constructing all the tunneling equipment. Found items, bed boards and milk tins, very impressive improvisation.

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so is a real school of life
milk tins ( after Klim milk)

http://www.muzeum.eline2.serwery.pl/index.php?id=22&lng=eng

Edward said:

Interesting event. I'm surprised the story had no mention of the American element of the film being fictional

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Actually, there were Americans involved in digging of all three of the tunnels! Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, all the Americans were transferred to there own camp just before the escape, because there were getting to be way too many of them! Incidentally, right up to the time that the Germans marched the prisoners out of Stalag Luft III, they were digging George, a forth tunnel!

The tunnel was constructed with the expertise of certain Canadian soldiers, ex hard rock miners from Timmins Ontario.

Stearmen said:

Actually, there were Americans involved in digging of all three of the tunnels! Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, all the Americans were transferred to there own camp just before the escape, because there were getting to be way too many of them! Incidentally, right up to the time that the Germans marched the prisoners out of Stalag Luft III, they were digging George, a forth tunnel!

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Ah! Yes, I misremembered that, thanks for the correction. Interestingly, the Canadian contribution isn't mentioned at all in the film - perhaps a less signficant market!

Hilts was definitely one of the stand-out performances. I've always loved Donald Pleasance's performance too. I'd love to have heard his thoughts on the whole experience of the film, given that he had himself been a PoW for a year, the guts of twenty years before making the film.

Slightly OT, but does anyone remember a late 80's early 90's documentary where they built a replica of the Colditz glider ? It flew, but not hugely well, but at least it flew.

Otter said:

Slightly OT, but does anyone remember a late 80's early 90's documentary where they built a replica of the Colditz glider ? It flew, but not hugely well, but at least it flew.

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Does this sound like it? From Wikipedia:

A full-sized replica of the Colditz glider was commissioned by Channel 4 and was built by Southdown Aviation Ltd at Lasham Airfield. The glider was flown successfully by John Lee on its first attempt at RAF Odiham with Best, Goldfinch and about a dozen of the veterans who had worked on the original more than 55 years earlier proudly looking on. Jack Best died later that year. The replica is now housed at the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum at Flixton, Suffolk.

The programme was shown in 2000 by Channel 4 in the UK as part of a 3-part documentary series called "Escape from Colditz". The Channel 4 material was edited to 60 minutes and shown in the US in 2001 as "Nazi Prison Escape" on the NOVA television series.

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I don't think I saw that one, but I definitely saw this later one:

In March 2012, a radio-controlled, full-sized replica glider was built by Tony Hoskins' UK based glider maintenance/repair company South East Aircraft Services in the Chapel attic and was flown from Colditz for a Channel 4 documentary.[5] The documentary aired in North America on PBS under the title "Escape from Nazi Alcatraz" on 14 May 2014.[6] The glider built for this 2012 documentary now forms part of a new museum display in the Chapel Attic in Colditz castle, and opened to the public on the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Colditz in April 2015.

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The radio controlled model made it across the river. It landed pretty hard, however, they had to bring it up short in order not to hit residential properties built on what was an empty field at the tiem the original was built. They concluded that it would have been a success. Well worth seeing also if you get the chance.

Well done sir !

Otter said:

Slightly OT, but does anyone remember a late 80's early 90's documentary where they built a replica of the Colditz glider ? It flew, but not hugely well, but at least it flew.

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There were at least two documentaries were they flew full size maned replicas of the glider. BBC 4 made one, and had it towed to altitude, as you can see, it flew beautifully. The second was, America PBS Escape From NAZI Alcatraz. That one actually flew of the roof at Colditz! It did do a crash landing, but again, proved the concept.

Yip, that one about "Nazi Alcatraz" is the one I saw. Had a different name here - Escape From Colditz, I think. Not sure why they changed it for the US; isn't Colditz equally infamous over there?

Edward said:

Yip, that one about "Nazi Alcatraz" is the one I saw. Had a different name here - Escape From Colditz, I think. Not sure why they changed it for the US; isn't Colditz equally infamous over there?

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Sadly no! Most people are lucky to know December 7th. Mind you, they don't know the year.