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Stalag Luft III (Description of Camp (Prisoner of War (POW) Camp, Also…
Stalag Luft III
Description of Camp
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Situated in the German province of Lower Silesia, near the town of Sagan about 100 miles south east of Berlin
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Retained its name as "Stalag" instead of the usual Oflag, since it was an officer-only run camp
Primarily used to contain captured airmen, but non-airmen were also captured and sent here
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Prisoners called themselves "kriegies", from the German word "Kriegsgefangener", meaning prisoner of war.
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The Great Escape Plan
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Prisoners of war dug three tunnels - codenamed "Tom", "Dick" and "Harry"
They built a modern Trojan Horse, which from the inside they dug a tunnel.
Airmen received Red Cross parcels, for the Germans could not provide enough food for the inmates
Red Cross parcels were a great opportunity to smuggle tools, information, compasses and so on
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The Great Escape Process
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The tunnel Harry ran short of the woods by 10 feet, leaving the escapees with the very high risk of being spotted
Tom was found by the guards, which was a major disadvantage for the escaping prisoners
Lots were drawn for the 200 places and maps, papers and disguises were completed
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Escapees' Recapture
After the alarm was raised and the hunt on the airmen seized, only 3 escapees were able to get away
The other 73 airmen were brought back to German custody, and 50 of them were executed under the orders of Hitler
Adolf Hitler, Herman Goring, Field Marshal Keitel, Major-General Graevenitz argued against the order, for it was against the Geneva convention