[303rd-Talk] WW II Escape Tunnell,Sagan,Germany

[Bob Van Pelt]

No discussion of Tom, Dick and Harry would be complete without mentioning the 50 murdered by the Germans upon recapture.
   
  Here is a very detailed account of the escape, tunnels, the 50 and what happened to the Germans who shot the 50 after the war.  I found this on-line about ten years ago and don't remember the name of the author.  It is a great read.  Bob
   
  The Great Escape : Stalag Luft III, Sagan : March 1944
   
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  Allied aircrew shot down during World War II were incarcerated after interrogation in Air Force Prisoner of War camps run by the Luftwaffe, called Stalag Luft, short for Stammlager Luft or Permanent Camps for Airmen. Stalag Luft III was situated in Sagan, 100 miles south-east of Berlin, now called Zagan, in Upper Silesia, Poland. It was opened in 1942 with the first prisoners arriving in April of that year, and was just one of a network of Air Force only PoW camps. The Germans treated captured Fleet Air Arm aircrew as Air Force and put them all together. There is no obvious reason for the occasional presence of a non-airman in the camps.
   
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  Conditions and Kommandants
   
  It must be made clear that the German Luftwaffe, who were responsible for Air Force prisoners of war, maintained a degree of professional respect for fellow flyers, and the general attitude of the camp security officers and guards should not be confused with the SS or Gestapo. The Luftwaffe treated the PoWs well, despite an erratic and inconsistent supply of food. Prisoners were handled quite fairly within the guidelines of the Geneva Convention, and the Kommandant, Oberst (Colonel) Freidrich-Wilhelm von Lindeiner-Wildau, was a professional and honourable soldier who won the respect of the senior prisoners.
   
  He was 61 when the camp opened in May 1942, a capable, educated man who spoke fluent English. Having joined the army in 1908, and after being wounded three times in WW1, winning two Iron Cross awards, he left in 1919 and worked in several civilian posts, meanwhile marrying a Dutch baroness, whilst trying to steer clear of Nazi politics. Eventually he joined the Luftwaffe (the least Nazified of the three German forces) in 1937 as one of Goering’s personal staff. Refused retirement, he found himself posted as Sagan Kommandant, with Major Gustav Simoleit as deputy. The first Kommandant, Colonel Stephani, had been quickly replaced when found to be unsuited to the task.
   
  Security was strict, but life was not intolerable, except for those for whom escape was a restless itch... this was reckoned to be just 25 percent of the camp population, and only 5% of those were considered to be dedicated escapers. The others would, however, work in support of any escape attempts. 
   
  After several major expansions, Luft II eventually grew to hold 10,000 PoWs; it had a size of 59 acres, with 5 miles of perimeter fencing.
   
  Food and Parcels
   
  Had it not been for food parcels sent in via the International Red Cross (who also made inspection visits), food would have been a serious problem in all PoW camps. Issued with little more than starvation rations, food parcels sent by relatives, despite being regularly stolen by the many hands through which they passed, were essential. It should be borne in mind that the guards themselves were not much better off than the prisoners, in terms of food. On average, one parcel per week per man was provided.
   
  The rule in most of the camps was that both "individual" (for a named person, sent and paid for by relatives and containing a mixture of goods) and "bulk" parcels (for general distribution, sent and paid for by the International Red Cross, and containing a supply of a single item) were pooled. Thus, replacement clothing, shaving and washing kit, coffee, tea, tinned meat, jam, sugar and essentials were distributed equally. Captured officers were paid an equivalent of their pay in "lagergeld" or internal camp currency, and could buy items such as musical instruments and what few everyday goods which were available. Captured NCO’s did not receive any such allowance, but the officers regularly pooled lagergeld from their own pay, and transferred these to the NCOs’ compound. It was strictly forbidden to be in possession of real German currency, a vital escape aid.
   
  An internal official method of collective bargaining and bartering called "Foodacco" was set up, allowing PoWs to market any surplus food or desirable item, for "points" which could be "spent" on other items, amongst themselves. Great trouble was taken in food preparation, with special occasions such as a birthday or Christmas requiring months of hoarding.
   
  The recommended intake for a normal healthy active man is 3,000 calories; German rations allowed between 1,500 and 1,900. It was a case of the issued official rations providing prolonged and unpleasant starvation and only the Red Cross food parcels saved the day.
   
  Clothing was often a problem, items of civilian nature being strictly forbidden and military uniform often being cobbled together from whatever was available, regardless of branch. Thus it was not unusual to see officers of any rank in RAF battledress top, Army trousers, and whatever footwear was to hand. Most men made every attempt to maintain a military bearing, ensuring that their rank and flying badges were correct no matter what they were attached to! Any officer who had hidden a genuine civilian item of clothing took great care to keep it safe.
   
  It was absolutely vital to carry aircrew badges and brevets in a secret place whilst escaping, in order to prove that an escapee was not a spy. The Geneva Convention dictated that a serviceman should always wear uniform, or be shot as a spy. Being able to produce evidence of being an escaped PoW was essential.
   
  The Escape Committee
   
  At Luft III arrived some of the finest escape artists in the Allied Air Forces. Squadron Leader (S/L) Roger J Bushell, CO of No 92 (Spitfire) Squadron had been shot down in May 1940, during the Battle of France. On a previous escape he had been hiding in Prague and was caught in the aftermath of the Heydrich assassination. The family hiding him were all executed by the Gestapo and Jack Zaphouk, his Czech co-escaper, was purged to Colditz Castle. Bushell developed a cold unyielding hatred for the enemy but failed, however, to distinguish between the Gestapo and the far better type represented by the Camp Kommandant.
   
  Although the first SBO (Senior British Officer) was Group Captain Harry "Wings" Day (57 Sqdn, shot down 13-Oct-39, Blenheim I, L1138), he was succeeded by the arrival in June 1942 of a more senior officer, G/C Herbert M Massey, a rugged veteran WW1 pilot, and in October 1942 Wings Day was sent to Offizierlager (Oflag, or Officer Camp) XXIB. Bushell masterminded the Luft III Escape Organization, together with an executive committee of Flying Officer (F/O) Wally Floody (J5481), Peter 'Hornblower' Fanshawe RN and Flight Lieutenant (F/L) George Harsh (102 Sqdn, shot down 5/6-Oct-42, Halifax II W7824).
   
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  Bushell collected the most skilled forgers, tailors, tunnel engineers and surveillance experts and announced his intention to put 250 men outside the wire. This would cause a tremendous problem and cause the enemy to divert men and resources to round up the escapers. His idea was not so much to return escapers to the UK but mainly to cause a giant internal problem for the German administration. He went about this task with a typical determinedness, despite having been officially warned that his next escape and recapture would result in him being shot.
   
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  Key Personnel
   
  Tunnel engineering was in the expert hands of Floody, a Canadian Spitfire pilot and prewar mining engineer. The original 'Tunnel King', he masterminded the construction of all three tunnels, aided by F/Lt R. G. "Crump" Ker-Ramsey (Fighter Interception Unit, shot down on a night patrol 13/14-Sep-40, Blenheim IVF Z5721), Henry "Johnny" Marshall, Fanshawe, and a host of others. The dapper Rhodesian Johnny Travis and his team of manufacturers made escape kit such as compasses from fragments of broken Bakelite gramophone records, melted and shaped and incorporating a tiny needle made from slivers of magnetised razor blades. Stamped on the underside was 'Made in Stalag Luft 3 - Patent Pending'.
   
  F/L Des Plunkett (218 Sqdn, shot down 20/21-6-42, Stirling I, W7530 HA:Q) and his team assumed responsibility for map making. Real ID papers and passes were obtained by bribery or theft from the guards and copied by F/L 'Tim' Walenn and his forgers. These two departments were known as "Dean and Dawson" after a well-known firm of travel agents. Service uniforms were carefully recut by Tommy Guest and his men, who also produced workmens' clothes and other 'civilian' attire. These were often hidden in spaces created by ace carpenter Pilot Officer (P/O) "Digger" Macintosh (12 Sqdn, shot down 12-May-40, Battle I, L5439 PH:N).
   
  A surprising number of guards proved co-operative in supplying railway timetables, maps, and the bewildering number of official papers required for escapers. One tiny mistake in forgery, or one missing document would immediately betray the holder, a problem complicated by the fact that the official stamps and appearance of the various papers were changed regularly by the Germans. It was necessary to obtain details of the lie of the land directly outside the camp, and especially ascertain the location of the nearest railway station. Bribery by cigarettes or chocolate usually worked. In one case, a less than intelligent guard provided key information for which he was paid in chocolate. The prisoner asked him to sign a receipt, explaining that it was necessary to account for the chocolate. The guard obliged, and was soon blackmailed into bringing in a camera and film, Bushell being quite ruthless in exploiting such opportunities.
   
  Forged papers included Dienstausweise (permission to be on Wehrmacht property), Urlaubscheine (military leave pass), Ruckkehrscheine (for foreign workers returning home), Kennkarte (general identity card), Sichtvermark (visa), Ausweise and Vorlaufweise (pass and temporary pass). Many of these required weeks of work to reproduce.
   
  Guards, Goons and Ferrets
   
  Germans were universally known as "Goons", a nickname which puzzled them. (When asked, a captured officer said that it stood for "German officer or Non-Com".) The tall sentry watch platforms which mounted searchlights and machine-guns were therefore "Goon Towers", and annoying the guards was "Goon Baiting". Whilst the guards were not the cream of the Luftwaffe, they unhesitatingly shot first and asked questions afterwards if any prisoner was rash enough to stray over the knee-high warning wire and then fail to surrender if challenged. Some were undoubtedly trigger-happy and records at Kew hold correspondence from the SBO to the Kommandant reporting cases of unnecessary use of firearms.
   
  The German guards specialising in escape detection were known as 'Ferrets' and could enter the compound at any time and search any hut without warning. Equipped with metal probes, they searched for the bright yellow sand indicating that a tunnel was in progress, or an English-speaking ferret would lie concealed under a hut listening for careless talk. Their most active, unpredictable and generally dangerous member, Gefreiter (Corporal) Greise, was known as 'Rubberneck'.
   
  There is evidence to suggest that when a tunnel was detected by the guards or ferrets, it was allowed to continue without intervention until it appeared to be near completion. Then, the ferrets would pounce, driving heavy trucks around the compound to collapse the tunnels and galleries.
   
  Internal security was put into the capable hands of F/L George R Harsh (102 Sqdn, shot down 5/6-Oct-42, Halifax II W7824) an American serving with the RCAF. A rota of officers logged every guard or ferret entering the compound using what was called the "Duty Pilot" system, and Germans were tailed everywhere until they were logged out. An elaborate system of inconspicuous signals was put in place, warning those PoWs engaged on nefarious activities, and giving them time to either mask their activities with innocent-looking hobbies or completely conceal their illicit work. Unable to effectively combat the "Duty Pilot" system, the Germans allowed it to continue, and on one occasion used the log to bring charges against two of their own men who had slunk off duty some hours before they should have done.
   
  The Tunnels : 'Tom', 'Dick' and 'Harry'
   
  The tunnel entrances were masterpieces of deception. All barrack huts were elevated from the ground but each had stoves set on a brick and concrete plinth. 'Tom' (the 98th tunnel to be discovered at Luft III) in Hut 105 and 'Harry' in Hut 104 both exited through the centre of these pierced foundations. The entrance to 'Dick' is still there - concealed in a drain on the floor of the shower room in Hut 122, and when closed and sealed was under several feet of water. The Germans never found it.
   
  Sudden pounces by the ferrets were a constant nightmare and precision practice was required by the distraction and camouflage teams. In one close shave, F/L Pat Langford (16 OTU, shot down 28/29-7-42, Wellington IC, R1450), replaced and fully camouflaged Harry's trapdoor in twenty seconds, leaving no sign of a tunnel entrance. German security was headed by Hauptmann (Captain) Broili and Oberfeldwebel (Warrant Officer) Glemnitz. The latter, usually referred to as "that bastard, Gemnitz" was feared and respected as a dedicated discovered of escape plots.
   
  Sand dispersal was effected by 'Penguins', prisoners filling long thin bags which were slipped inside their trousers and walking about the compound, losing the sand from the bottom of the bags. One penguin was careless and the ferrets spotted him trailing sand; they then knew a tunnel was in progress, but they did not pounce, wanting to find out where it originated.
   
  Tunnelling was dangerous - both below ground and above it. The sand was treacherous, and would come crashing down with only the ghost of a warning. Many diggers had only time to protect their heads with their arms as the roof suddenly caved in, and hope that their No.2 could dig them out. No-one was killed, but several were forced to take days off after almost being suffocated. A fall left a large dome above the working face, and after clearing up, the damaged roof was shored and the sand packed back above it. The diggers found that sand dug out occupied thirty percent as much space again as it did normally, placing extra burdens on the disposal teams.
   
  4,000 bed boards were removed to form the shoring, and prisoners became used to sleeping on the barest of supports - often a string semi-hammock, with only two or three real bed boards. The tunnel size was therefore dictated by the width of the boards, almost exactly two feet square, allowing a little for the alignment or the wood at each corner of the square. "Cookie" Long suffered concussion when a bed board fell the full height of the entrance shaft - 30 feet - and hit him square on the head. Another prisoner received a similar direct hit from a German-issue metal water-carrier, being used to bring sand up from the working to the surface.
   
  The teams dug out large chambers at the foot of the entrance shafts for the air pump and storage, and took it in turns to operate the manual pump. As the tunnel progressed, empty dried-milk were tins laid under the floor, and caulked with tape or waxed string, provided very effective ventilation, with the flue being camouflaged into the genuine stove's chimney. A wooden railway carried small trucks for sand removal along the bed of the tunnel, the trolleys being pulled from haulage points at intervals along the length. Red Noble spotted an 800 foot coil of electrical flex unattended by German workmen and 'liberated' it; the tunnel was then wired for electric light. The workmen didn't report the theft and were later executed by the Gestapo when the tunnel was discovered. (Joe "Red" Noble stayed with the RCAF after WW2 and ended up as a Group Captain. He lived on Lake Huron, Canada, and died some years ago.)
   
  The Germans were aware that something major was going on but all attempts to discover tunnels failed. As a desperate move, 19 top suspects, including 6 key men, were transferred with no warning to the nearby Stalag VIIIC at Belaria, only weeks before the escape was scheduled to take place. Bushell's part in the Escape Committee was well camouflaged and the Germans left him behind. Deputies took over from the missing prisoners, and work went on.
   
  Even when the Luftwaffe removed all the increasing number of American airmen to their own, separate compound, work on the tunnels did not stop. (Communication between the separate compounds was forbidden, but the British placed a semaphore expert well inside one hut which faced the US airmens' compound. He was concealed from the guards, but visible on the other side of the wire. The US airmen soon spotted him, and communications were quickly resumed.)
   
  'Dick' was abandoned when the area in which it was to have surfaced was suddenly cleared of trees and a new compound built there. However, the abortive short tunnel proved an ideal place for concealing the growing amount of false clothing and general contraband, as well as providing a workshop for the manufacturers. Later, when sand disposal fell well behind the digging, much of the surplus sand was shovelled down 'Dick'.
   
  Eventually, even this proved insufficient and the X Committee faced major disposal problems. Eventually it dawned on them that there was a huge closed-off area under the seats of the Theatre. Some time before, the Germans had allowed this to be built, using tools and equipment supplied on parole. Such equipment was never used for other purposes, and the parole system was regarded as inviolate. But did this also include the results of the paroled equipment, i.e. the Theatre itself? The tools had been properly returned, after all....
   
  Internal "legal advice" was taken, and the SBO's decision was that the popular and very successful Theatre itself did not fall within the parole system. Seat 13 was therefore hinged and camouflaged, and the vast space beneath used for sand disposal. (Many excellent shows were put on in the Theatre, which had an enviable standard. Post-war British Theatre and Television "names" such as Talbot Rothwell, Roy Dotrice, George Cole, and Peter Butterworth appear in the Luft III programmes.)
   
  A breakdown of the materials used in constructing the three tunnels went as follows, and illustrates the magnitude and logistical problems of the project. This list does not include materials used for false papers and fake civilian clothing, nor the man-hours necessary to actually build the tunnels, or the problems associated with spiriting away the items used in the tunnel construction:-
   
   
   
   
   
   
  4,000 bed boards; 1,370 beading battens; 1,699 blankets; 161 pillow cases; 635 palliasses; 34 chairs; 52 20-man tables; 90 double tier bunks; 1,219 knives; 478 spoons; 30 shovels; 1,000 feet of electric wire; 600 feet of rope; 192 bed covers; 3,424 towels; 1,212 bed bolsters; 10 single tables; 76 benches; 246 water cans; 582 forks; 69 lamps.
   
   
   
   
   
   
  As Tom neared completion in summer 1943, a ferret discovered the entrance and the Germans destroyed it all. Concentration switched to 'Harry' which in March 1944 reached the length of 336 feet (some sources say 360 feet, but this may have included the vertical shafts), 28 feet down. Would-be escapers were divided into two groups:-
   
   
   
   
   
  Those German-speakers and experienced escapers who stood a good chance of making a "home run" to England, and those who had made the greatest contribution to the construction of the tunnel. These men were given priority with forged papers, "civilian" clothes, and a higher place in the exit order. They were expected to travel by train, masquerading as foreign workers. Germany at the time was flooded with genuine foreign workers, who often spoke no German and whose papers were frequently out of order. 
   
  The "hard-arsers" who filled the rest of the tunnel places were planning to lie up by day and foot-slog by night, over hundreds of miles of enemy territory. Equipped with only the most rudimentary false papers and identities, much praise is due to this group of men, who knew that their chances - especially in winter - were thin. Most of them had baked iron rations known as "fudge" which was poured into small, pocket-sized tins, and intended as survival food. The rest of the prisoners drew lots, and 220 men prepared to go on the night of March 24/25th, 1944. Snow still lay on the ground and the night time temperature was below freezing.
   
   
   
   
   
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  The Escapers Get Away
   
  As night fell, those allocated a place on the tunnel moved to Hut 104. Prisoners, nerves at cracking-point, were terrified to see a German soldier enter the hut. It was F/O Pawel Tobolski, (301 Sqdn, shot down over Bremen, 25/26-Jun-42, Wellington IV, Z1479 GR:A) dressed for his escape as a German soldier, travelling in company with W/C Day. (I was very pleased to receive emails from and subsequently meet F/O Tobolski's son, Paul, who had seen this page.) On opening the far end at 2215, F/L Johnny Bull discovered that the tunnel mouth was well short of the tree line and within 30 yards of the nearest watch tower. But guards were watchful towards the compound and did not shine their searchlights outside. The first escaper went onto the trolley railway at 2230.
   
  Prowling sentries circled outside the wire, passing at intervals between the tree line and the camp compound. Snow lay on the ground and it was impossible for the escapers not to leave a trail as they hastily crawled out of the exit and into the cover of the trees. This greatly slowed the passage of escapers, a situation worsened by an air raid which made the Germans switch off the power, forcing the use of fat lamps inside the tunnel.
   
  It was soon apparent in Hut 104 that things were going badly wrong, but little news filtered back from the far end of the tunnel. A request for a long length of rope was fulfilled, but the passage of men stalled. Although the briefing had called for each man to ride the tiny railway trolley, being pulled by the previous man, once the tunnel had swallowed the first couple of dozen, no more were being called. The dispatcher, waiting at the tunnel entrance, had no more idea what was wrong than did the long queue of impatient and highly-strung men.
   
  The necessity to wait until the circuiting sentries were not close to the tunnel exit, and the need to exercise great discretion in sending the next man out, considerably slowed the throughput. Instead of one man every minute, the escape was reduced to a dozen per hour. Word was sent back that those men with escape numbers higher than 100 had no chance of escaping. Since exiting Hut 104 during the curfew to return to their own huts would entail being shot at by the guards, they lay down where they could to await daylight. By dawn, only 76 men had made their escape into the darkness beyond the trees.
   
  At 04:55, by which time 87 escapers had left Hut 104, F/L Shand at the mouth of the tunnel was awaiting the signal to go. In the woods was F/L Langlois (12 Sqdn, shot down 5-Aug-41, Wellington II, W5421 PH:G) who could see that a patrolling sentry had deviated from his beat and would tread within a few feet of the tunnel. He tugged at the signal rope, meaning "stay put." Shand, thinking this was the opposite signal, emerged from the tunnel right under the feet of the guard, who until then had passed by. For some seconds he did not see the tracks in the snow and body-heat steam drifting upwards from the tunnel mouth. Finally noticing the signs, he raised his rifle, fired a wild shot at Langlois (which missed) and blew his whistle. S/L Laurence Revell-Carter and F/L Ogilvie, waiting in the woods, ran for it and so did Shand. The next man in the tunnel, S/L McBride, was apprehended at rifle point, and S/L Len Trent (a holder of the VC and DSO), lying face down just inside
 the tree line, stood up and surrendered.
   
  Ken "Shag" Rees (150 Sqdn, shot down 23/24-Oct-42, Wellington III BK309, JN:N) and S/L Clive Saxelby (103 Sqdn, shot down 7/8 Sep-42, Halifax W1219 PM:S) were in the tunnel close to the foot of the final ladder, awaiting their turns to exit. On hearing the shots, Sax hared at top speed back the way he had come, closely followed by Rees, who believing a ferret might jump down the escape end and shoot along the tunnel, tried to kick out the shoring, with little success. Ken said "As I was haring up the tunnel, all I could see was Sax's bum blocking the way and I expected a bayonet or a bullet up my arse at any moment!" 
   
  After a few minutes, all the men who had been waiting in the tunnel managed to return to Hut 104, where the shots were also heard. The escapers remaining, and those scrambling out of the tunnel entrance, burned their false papers and began to eat their carefully-saved rations, as the Germans would be sure to confiscate them. The ferrets could not find the entrance; their dog crawled into a pile of coats and fell asleep. Finally, the ferret Charlie Pilz crawled down from the far end. By this time the Germans were in Hut 104 and noises could be heard from underneath as Charlie shouted for help. Taking pity on him, the prisoners opened the trap and Charlie emerged, full of praise for the superb tunnel. 
   
  In the darkness, many of the escapers had not found the railway station entrance, which was unusually positioned in a dark recessed tunnel, right under the actual platforms. Consequently, many of them missed their trains and were very unhappily hanging round the platforms at first light, trying to ignore each other. Eventually they caught the first trains out of Sagan, or having given up the wait, footslogged it over the horizon. They were nearly all caught in the Sagan area.
   
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  The Reprisal
   
  The balloon went up in spectacular style. A 'Grossfahndung' (national alert) was ordered with troops, police, Gestapo and Landwacht (Home Guard) alerted. Hitler, incensed, ordered that all those recaptured were to be shot. Goering, Feldmarschall Keitel, Maj-Gen Graevenitz and Maj-Gen Westhoff tried to persuade Hitler to see sense. Eventually he calmed down and decreed that 'more than half are to be shot and cremated.' This directive was teleprinted to Gestapo headquarters under Himmler's order, and a list of 50 was composed by General Nebe and Dr Hans Merton.
   
  One by one the escapers were recaptured and on Himmler's orders, handed over to the Gestapo. This was not the normal practice; usually, recaptured PoWs were handed over to, and dealt with, by the civilian police. Singly, or in small groups, they were taken from civilian or military prisons, driven to remote locations, and shot whilst offered the chance to relieve themselves. The Gestapo groups submitted almost identical reports that 'the prisoners whilst relieving themselves, bolted for freedom and were shot whilst trying to escape.'' This infamous expression has now passed into history as an euphemism for cold blooded murder.
   
  Three escapers, Per Bergsland (aka Rocky Rockland), Jens Muller and Bram van der Stok, succeeded in reaching safety. Bergsland and Muller reached neutral Sweden, and van der Stock arrived in Gibraltar via Holland, Belgium, France and Spain. Out of the 73 others, 50 were murdered by the Gestapo, 17 were returned to Sagan, four sent to Sachsenhausen, and two to Colditz Castle. Word reached England of the atrocity; in mid July 1944 Anthony Eden, British Foreign Minister, made a speech in the House of Commons declaring that the perpetrators of the crime would be brought to justice.
   
  At the camp, von Lindeiner-Wildau, the Kommandant, had surrendered to his superiors and been arrested. (He escaped execution, and was sentenced to two years' fortress arrest, which he survived.) A new man, Oberst Braune, arrived. On April 6th 1944 he called G/C Massey to his office. Under different circumstances, von Lindeiner and Massey, both professional and honourable career officers, would have been friends. Normally such meetings were as cordial as the peculiar circumstances allowed, and were preceded with a formal handshake. This time and with a new man in command, there was none. With a clear reluctance, the new Kommandant announced via the interpreter, S/L 'Wank' Murray, (102 Sqdn, shot down 8/9-Sep-39, Whitley III K8950 DY:M) that he was ordered to inform the Senior British Officer that forty-one escaping officers had been "shot whilst trying to escape." Massey couldn't believe it. "How many were wounded?" he asked, staggered. "None, and I am not permitted to
 give you any further information, except that their bodies and effects will be returned to you," was the stilted reply.
   
  Prisoners and Luftwaffe alike were horrified. Hauptmann Pieber, the adjutant, afterwards said to Murray, "You must not think the Luftwaffe had anything to do with this ... we do not wish to be associated ... it is terrible." Later the list of names was posted and contained 47 names; an update a few days later added three more.
   
  Later the Luftwaffe quietly allowed the prisoners to build a local memorial. This was designed by S/L John Hartnell-Beavis (10 Sqdn, shot down 25/26-Jul-43, Halifax II, JD207 ZA:V), a former architect, and erected in the local cemetery. Urns containing ashes of the Fifty were originally buried there, but after the war were taken to the Old Garrison Cemetery at Poznan. Both still remain today, but there were very few traces of the camp left when some veterans and survivors visited it all 50 years later. One local man has a museum of camp exhibits. Paul Tobolski on visiting the memorial, corrected a small error on his father's initials, and liberated one of the tiles from Harry's entrance. He had never known his father.
   
  An examination of the local road showed a shallow depression running at right angles across it, where 'Harry' runs 30 feet beneath. Some subsidence since 1944 has caused the depression to occur.
   
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  The Fifty Victims
   
   
   
  J5233 F/L Henry J Birkland, Canadian, born 16-Aug-17, 72 Sqdn, (shot down 7-Nov-41, Spitfire Vb, W3367), recaptured near Sagan, last seen alive 31-Mar-44; murdered by Lux and Scharpwinkel; cremated at Liegnitz.
   
  61053 F/L E Gordon Brettell DFC, British, born 19-Mar-15, 133 (Eagle) Sqdn (shot down 26-Sep-42, Spitfire IX), recaptured Scheidemuhl, murdered by Bruchardt 29-Mar-44, cremated at Danzig.
   
  43932 F/L Lester G Bull DFC, British, born 7-Nov-16, 109 Sqdn (shot down 5/6-Nov-41, Wellington IC, T2565) recaptured near Reichenburg, murdered 29-Mar-44 by unknown Gestapo, cremated at Brux.
   
  90120 S/L Roger J Bushell, British, born 30-Aug-10, 92 Sqdn (shot down 23-May-40, Spitfire I, N3194) recaptured at Saarbrucken, murdered 29-Mar-44 by Schulz, cremated at Saarbrucken.
   
  39024 F/L Michael J Casey, British, born 19-Feb-18, 57 Sqdn (shot down 16-Oct-39, Blenheim I, L1141), recaptured near Gorlitz, murdered 31-Mar-44 by Lux and Scharpwinkel, cremated at Gorlitz.
   
  400364 S/L James Catanach DFC, Australian, born 28-Nov-21, 455 Sqdn (crash landed in Norway, 6-Sep-42, Hampden I AE436 PL:J), recaptured at Flensburg, murdered 29-Mar-44 by Post, cremated at Kiel. The remains of this aircraft have recently arrived at the Air Museum at East Kirkby, Lincolnshire.
   
  413380 F/L Arnold G Christiansen, New Zealander, 26 Sqdn, born 8-Apr-21, PoW 20-Aug-42, recaptured at Flensburg, murdered 29-Mar-44 by Post, cremated at Kiel.
   
  122441 F/O Dennis H Cochran, British, born 13-Aug-21, 10 OTU, PoW 9-Nov-42, recaptured at Lorrach, murdered 31-Mar-44 by Priess and Herberg, cremated at Natzweiler.
   
  39305 S/L Ian K P Cross DFC, British, born 4-Apr-18, 103 Sqdn (shot down 12-Feb-42, Wellington IC, Z8714 PM:N), recaptured near Gorlitz, murdered 31-Mar-44 by Lux and Scharpwinkel, cremated at Gorlitz.
   
  378 Lt Halldor Espelid, Norwegian, born 6-Oct-20, 33 Sqdn, PoW 27-Aug-42, recaptured at Flensburg, murdered 29-Mar-44 by Post, cremated at Kiel.
   
  42745 F/L Brian H Evans, British, born 14-Feb-20, 49 Sqdn (shot down 6-Dec-40, Hampden I, P4404 EA:R), recaptured at Halbau; last seen alive 31-Mar-44, murdered by Lux and Scharpwinkel; cremated at Liegnitz.
   
  742 Lt Nils Fugelsang, Norwegian, 339 Sqdn, PoW 2-May-43, recaptured at Flensburg, murdered 29-Mar-44 by Post, cremated at Kiel.
   
  103275 Lt Johannes S Gouws, South African, born 13-Aug-19, 40 Sqdn SAAF, PoW 9-Apr-42, recaptured at Lindau, murdered 29-Mar-44 by Schneider, cremated at Munich.
   
  45148 F/L William J Grisman, British, born 30-Aug-14, 109 Sqdn, (believed shot down 5/6-Nov-41, Wellington IC, T2565) recaptured near Gorlitz, last seen alive 6-Apr-44; murdered by Lux, cremated at Breslau.
   
  60340 F/L Alastair D M Gunn, British, born 27-Sep-19, 1 PRU, PoW 5-Mar-42, recaptured near Gorlitz, last seen alive 6-Apr-44, murdered by unknown Gestapo, cremated at Breslau.
   
  403281 F/L Albert H Hake, Australian, born 30-Jun-16, 72 Sqdn, PoW 28-Dec-41, recaptured near Gorlitz, murdered 31-Mar-44 by Lux and Scharpwinkel, cremated at Gorlitz.
   
  50896 F/L Charles P Hall, British, born 25-Jul-18, 1 PRU, PoW 28-Dec-41, recaptured near Sagan, murdered 30-Mar-44 by Lux and Scharpwinkel, cremated at Liegnitz.
   
  42124 F/L Anthony R H Hayter, British, born 20-May-20, 148 Sqdn, PoW 24-Apr-42, recaptured near Mulhouse, murdered 6-Apr-44 by Schimmel, cremated at Natzweiler.
   
  44177 F/L Edgar S Humphreys, British, born 5-Dec-14, 107 Sqdn (shot down 19-Dec-40, Blenheim IV, T1860), recaptured near Sagan, last seen alive 31-Mar-44, murdered by Lux and Scharpwinkel, cremated at Liegnitz.
   
  J10177 F/L Gordon A Kidder, Canadian, born 9-Dec-14, 156 Sqdn (shot down 13/14-Oct-42, Wellington III, BJ775) recaptured near Zlin, murdered 29-Mar-44 by Zacharias and Knippelberg, with drivers Kiowsky and Schwartzer, cremated at Mahrisch Ostrau.
   
  402364 F/L Reginald V Kierath, Australian, born 20-Feb-15, 450 Sqdn, PoW 23-Apr-43, recaptured near Reichenburg, murdered 29-Mar-44 by unknown Gestapo, cremated at Brux.
   
  P0109 Maj Antoni Kiewnarski, Polish, born 26-Jan-1899, 305 Sqdn (shot down 28-Aug-42, Wellington X, Z1245), recaptured at Hirschberg, murdered there 31-Mar-44 by Lux, place of cremation unknown.
   
  39103 S/L Thomas G Kirby-Green, British, born 28-Feb-18, 40 Sqdn (shot down 16/17-Oct-41, Wellington IC, Z8862 BL:B), recaptured near Zlin, murdered 29-Mar-44 by Zacharias and Knippelberg, with drivers Kiowsky and Schwartzer, cremated at Mahrisch Ostrau. Described to me as "a tall, suave aristocrat."
   
  P0243 F/O Wlodzimierz Kolanowski, Polish, born 11-Aug-13, 301 Sqdn (shot down 8-Nov-42, Wellington IV, Z1277 GR:Z), recaptured near Sagan, shot at Liegnitz 31-Mar-44 by Lux and Scharpwinkel, cremated at Liegnitz.
   
  P0237 F/O Stanislaw Z Krol, Polish, born 22-Mar-16, 74 Sqdn (shot down 2-Jul-41, Spitfire Vb, W3263), recaptured at Oels, shot at Breslau 14-Apr-44 probably by Lux, cremated at Breslau.
   
  J1631 Patrick W Langford, Canadian, born 4-Nov-19, 16 OTU, (shot down 28/29-Jul-42, Wellington IC, R1450) recaptured near Gorlitz, last seen alive 31-Mar-44, murdered by Lux and Scharpwinkel; cremated at Liegnitz.
   
  46462 F/L Thomas B Leigh, Australian in RAF, born 11-Feb-19, 76 Sqdn (shot down 5/6-Aug-41, Halifax I, L9516), recaptured in Sagan area; last seen alive 12-Apr-44, murdered by Lux and Scharpwinkel; cremated at Breslau.
   
  89375 F/L James L R Long, British, born 21-Feb-15, 9 Sqdn (shot down 27-Mar-41, Wellington IA, R1335 WS:K), recaptured near Sagan, last seen alive 12-Apr-44, murdered by Lux; cremated at Breslau.
   
  95691 2/Lt Clement A N McGarr, South African, born 24-Nov-17, 2 Sqdn SAAF, PoW 6-Oct-41, recaptured near Sagan, last seen alive 6-Apr-44, murdered by Lux, cremated at Breslau.
   
  J5312 F/L George E McGill, Canadian, born 14-Apr-18, stated as 103 Sqdn, PoW 10-Jan-42, recaptured in Sagan area, last seen alive 31-Mar-44, murdered by Lux and Scharpwinkel; cremated at Liegnitz. It is odd that there is no mention of his aircraft's loss in the 103 Sqdn records; perhaps he was on loan to another unit.
   
  89580 F/L Romas Marcinkus, Lithuanian, born 22-Jul-10, 1 Sqdn, recaptured at Scheidemuhl, murdered 29-Mar-44 by Bruchardt, cremated at Danzig.
   
  103586 F/L Harold J Milford, British, born 16-Aug-14, 226 Sqdn, PoW 22-Sep-42, recaptured near Sagan, last seen alive 6-Apr-44, murdered by Lux; cremated at Breslau.
   
  P0913 F/O Jerzy Tomasc Mondschein, Polish, born 18-Mar-09, 304 Sqdn (shot down 8-Nov-41, Wellington IC, R1215), recaptured in Reichenburg area, murdered Brux 29-Mar-44 by unknown Gestapo, cremated at Brux.
   
  P0740 F/O Kazimierz Pawluk, Polish, born 1-Jul-06, 305 Sqdn (shot down 29-Mar-42, Wellington II, W5567 SM:M), recaptured at Hirschberg, shot there on 31-Mar-44 by Lux, place of cremation unknown.
   
  87693 F/L Henri A Picard Croix de Guerre, Belgian, born 17-Apr-16, 350 Sqdn, PoW 2-Sep-42, recaptured at Scheidemuhl, murdered 29-Mar-44 by Bruchardt, cremated at Danzig.
   
  402894 F/O John P P Pohe, New Zealander, born 10-Dec-21, 51 Sqdn (shot down 22/23-Sep-41, Halifax II, JN901) recaptured near Gorlitz, murdered 31-Mar-44 by Lux and Scharpwinkel, cremated at Gorlitz. Also known by his Maori name of Porokoru Patapu.
   
  30649 Sous-Lt Bernard W M Scheidhauer, French, born 28-Aug-21, 131 Sqdn, PoW 18-Nov-42, recaptured at Saarbrucken, murdered 29-Mar-44 by Spann, cremated at Saarbrucken.
   
  213 P/O Sotiris Skanzikas, Greek, born 6-Aug-21, 336 Sqdn, PoW 23-Jul-43, recaptured at Hirschberg, murdered 30-Mar-44 by Lux, place of cremation unknown.
   
  47341 Rupert J Stevens, South African, born 21-Feb-19, 12 Sqdn SAAF, PoW 14-Nov-41, recaptured at Rosenheim, murdered 29-Mar-44 by Schneider; cremated at Munich.
   
  130452 F/O Robert C Stewart, British, born 7-Jul-11, 77 Sqdn (shot down 26/27-Apr-43, Halifax II, DT796) recaptured near Sagan, last seen alive 31-Mar-44, murdered by Lux and Scharpwinkel; cremated at Liegnitz.
   
  107520 F/L John G Stower, British, born 15-Sep-16, 142 Sqdn (shot down 16/17-Nov-42, Wellington III, BK278, QT:C), recaptured near Reichenberg, murdered 31-Mar-44 by unknown Gestapo; place of cremation unknown.
   
  123026 F/L Denys O Street, British, born 1-Apr-22, 207 Sqdn (shot down 29/30-Mar-43, Lancaster I, EM:O), recaptured near Sagan, last seen alive 6-Apr-44, murdered by Lux; cremated at Breslau.
   
  37658 F/L Cyril D Swain, British, born 15-Dec-11, 105 Sqdn (shot down 28-Nov-40, Blenheim IV, T1893), recaptured near Gorlitz, last seen alive 31-Mar-44, murdered by Lux and Scharpwinkel; cremated at Liegnitz.
   
  P0375 F/O Pawel Whilem Tobolski, Polish, born 21-Mar-06, 301 Sqdn (shot down 25/26-Jun-42, Wellington IV, GR:A), recaptured at Stettin, shot at Breslau 2-Apr-44 probably by Lux, cremated at Breslau.
   
  82532 F/L Ernst Valenta, Czech, born 25-Oct-12, 311 Sqdn (shot down 6-Feb-41, Wellington IC, L7842 KX:T), recaptured near Gorlitz, last seen alive 31-Mar-44, murdered by Lux and Scharpwinkel; cremated at Liegnitz.
   
  73022 F/L Gilbert W Walenn, British, born 24-Feb-16, 25 OTU, PoW 11-Sep-41, recaptured at Scheidemuhl, murdered 29-Mar-44 by Bruchardt, cremated at Danzig.
   
  J6144 F/L James C Wernham, Canadian, born 15-Jan-17, 405 Sqdn (shot down 8/9-Jun-42, Halifax II, W7708 LQ:H), recaptured at Hirschberg, murdered 31-Mar-44 by Lux, place of cremation unknown.
   
  J7234 F/L George W Wiley, Canadian, born 24-Jan-22, 112 Sqdn, PoW 12-Mar-43, recaptured near Gorlitz, murdered 31-Mar-44 by Lux and Scharpwinkel, cremated at Gorlitz.
   
  40652 S/L John E A Williams DFC, Australian, born 6-May-19, 450 Sqdn, PoW 31-Oct-42, recaptured near Reichenberg, murdered 29-Mar-44 by Lux, cremated at Brux.
   
  106173 F/L John F Williams, British, born 7-Jul-17, 107 Sqdn (shot down 27-Apr-42, Boston III), recaptured near Sagan, last seen alive 6-Apr-44, murdered by unknown Gestapo; cremated at Breslau.
   
   
   
   
   
  (Polish officers have their RAF ranks quoted)
   
  <Picture>
   
  The Survivors
   
   
   
  F/Lt Peter Bergsland (aka "Rocky Rockland") and Jens Muller (both Norwegian) reached England via Sweden, in March. Bergsland born 17-Jan-19, died 22-Jun-92. 
   
  F/Lt Bob van der Stok (Dutch, 914 Sqdn) reached England via Spain, in July. Born 13-Oct-15, died 1992.
   
  F/Lt Henry C "Johnny" Marshall 36103 gave evidence (by then, a Wing Commander) at the trial of the accused murderers (he has since died), F/Lt Paul Royle 42152 (53 Sqdn RAAF), F/Lt Alistair T McDonald 115320 (since died), F/Lt Bernard "Pop" Green 76904 (since died), Lt Douglas A Poynter (Fleet Air Arm, born 1921), Lt Alexander D Neely (825 Sqdn Fleet Air Arm, born November 1917), Lamond (Carter?), F/Lt Thomas R Nelson 70811 (37 Sqdn, born March 1915), F/Lt Richard S A Churchill 41255 (144 Sqdn, born 1918), F/Lt Albert Armstrong 109946 (268 Sqdn, since died), F/Lt R Anthony Bethell 120413 (268 Sqdn, born 9-Apr-22) , F/Lt Leslie C Brodrick 122363 (106 Sqdn, shot down Stuttgart, 14/15-Apr-43, Lancaster ED752 ZN:H, born May 1921), F/O William J Cameron J6487 (RCAF, since died), F/Lt Michael M Shand NZ/391368 (485 Sqdn RNZAF, born 18-March-15), F/L Alfred B Thompson 39585 (since died) and F/Lt Keith Ogilvie DFC 42872 (Canadian, 609 Sqdn, born March 1915) were returned to Sagan.
   
  F/Lt Desmond L Plunkett 78847 (Zimbabwean, 218 Sqdn, shot down Emden 20/21-Jun-42, Stirling I W7530, HA:Q, born February 1915) and F/Lt Ray van Wyneersch 30268 (174 Sqdn Free French Air Force, born September 1920) were taken to Sachsenhausen and later returned to Sagan.
   
  F/Lt Ivor B Tonder 83232 (Czech, 312 Sqdn, born April 1913) and F/Lt Bedrich Dvorak 82542 (since died) were sent to Colditz, arriving on 9-Jan-45.
   
  Maj Johnnie Dodge DSO DSC MC (born 1896, since died), W/C Harry A "Wings" Day DSO OBE 5175 (since died), F/Lt Sydney H Dowse MC 86685 (PRU, born 1919) and F/Lt Bertram A James MC 42232 (9 Sqdn, shot down Duisburg 5/6-Jun-40, Wellington IA P9232 WS:M, born April 1915) were sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp and later escaped, to be recaptured. Dodge, related to Winston Churchill, was released into Switzerland by the Germans in an unsuccessful attempt to sue for peace.
   
   
   
   
   
  <Picture>
   
  The Murderers and their Accessories
   
  W/Cdr Wilfred "Freddie" Bowes, F/Lt (later S/Ldr) Francis McKenna, F/Lt (later S/Ldr) "Dickie" Lyon, F/Lt Stephen Courtney, F/Lt Harold Harrison and W/O H J Williams, of the Royal Air Force Special Investigation Branch, painstakingly travelled Europe and gradually pieced together enough evidence to identify the culprits. Lt. Col. A P Scotland, an Army Intelligence expert, interrogated many suspects at the London Cage. 
   
  The Court President at the resulting trials was Maj-General H L Longden; the Judge Advocate was Mr C L Stirling, with a panel of six senior military officers - three Army Colonels, two RAF Wing Commanders and an RAF Air Commodore. Ten German lawyers - one a woman, Dr Anna Oehlert - formed the defence team. The Court pronounced its verdict on September 3rd 1947, and in early February 1948, thirteen of the perpetrators were hanged at Hamelin Gaol, Hamburg.
   
  A short while after this, a second trial took place for three more of the accused.
   
  (W/Cdr Bowes and S/Ldr McKenna were later both awarded the OBE for their work in bringing the culprits to justice. Lt Col Scotland also received the OBE for this, and other, duties.)
   
   
   
  German Luftwaffe
   
  General Grosch was the Luftwaffe officer directly responsible for the security and welfare of prisoners of war. He and his deputy, Colonel Waelde, were Interrogated by Lt.Col. Scotland at the London Cage. A German civilian, Peter Mohr, who worked in the Kriminalpolizei and who was outraged at the murders, provided key information to the interrogators.
   
  Breslau Gestapo
   
  Standartenfuhrer Seetzen was involved with the Breslau Sicherheitsdienst, and arrested in Hamburg on September 28th 1945, after identification by former colleagues. He bit on a cyanide capsule whilst being taken for interrogation, and died within minutes.
  
   
  Obersturmbannfuhrer Max Wielen, Breslau Gestapo Chief, was sentenced to life imprisonment on 3-Sep-47 but only served a few years before being released.
   
  Gestapo Chief Dr Wilhelm Scharpwinkel was masquerading as a Lt Hagamann in the No 6 Hospital at Breslau when Frau Gerda Zembrodt, corroborated by Klaus Lonsky, saw Russian officers remove him at gunpoint. During the enquiry into the murders, the Russians refused to co-operate with the Allied investigation, although after much prodding they allowed Scharpwinkel to make a statement, in Moscow, during August and September 1946. Soon afterwards, Scharpwinkel disappeared and although reported dead by the Russians on 17-Oct-47, was believed to have found a high position in the Soviet administration.
   
  He and his associate Lux murdered Cross, Casey, Wiley, Leigh, Pohe and Hake. The next day Lux executed Humphries, McGill, Swain, Hall, Langford, Evans, Valenta, Kolanowski, Stewart and Birkland. The day after that, he executed Kiewnarski, Pawluk, Wernham and Skanzikas. On April 6th, Lux murdered Grisman, J E Williams, Milford, Street and McGarr. Long followed soon after. Lux is also believed to have killed Tobolski and Krol, who vanished in the same area as the others. Lux, with at least twenty-seven murders on his soul, died in the fighting around Breslau at the end of the war. Gunn, killed at Breslau, is likely to have been another of their victims.
   
  Krimilalkommissar Dr Gunther Absalon investigated the escape and poked around at Sagan for some weeks. He chaired the German enquiry into the Escape and collected evidence. It is not clear what happened to him or whether or not he was involved in the murder conspiracy. Absalon, seen alive and well in Breslau in May 1946, was reported to me as (a) being hanged and (b) having died in a Russian prison in May 1948.
   
  Soon after 1948 the investigators caught up with Erwin Wieczorek had been involved with the killing of Cross, Casey, Leigh, Wiley, Poole and Hake. He was sentenced to death but later the sentence was quashed.
   
  Richard Haensel was acquitted on 6-Nov-48; Dankert and Kreuzer disappeared. Kiske, Knappe, Kuhnel, Pattke and Lang were killed in the Breslau fighting. Lauffer committed suicide. Prosse died in 1944 after an unsuccessful stomach operation. Hampel was not tried, and Schroeder was a material witness.
   
  Brno/Zlin Gestapo
   
  Brno Gestapo Chief Hugo Romer, believed to have given instructions for the murders of Kirby-Green and Kidder, disappeared. Kriminalrat Hans Ziegler, Gestapo Chief of Moravia, arranged the killing of S/L Tim Kirby-Green and F/O Kidder, which was done by Erich Zacharias (arrested in Fallersleben, also after having been given away by his deserted wife) and Adolf Knippelberg (arrested in Czechoslovakia), with drivers Friedrich Kiowsky (arrested in Prague by the Czechs) and Schwartzer. Knippelberg, Hauptsturmfuhrer Franz Schauschutz (arrested in Austria) and Zacharias were recognised from a painted mural in a dubious wartime Gestapo night club. The Czechs executed Schwarzer and Kiowski in 1947. Ziegler committed suicide in the London Cage (Cockfosters) on 3-Feb-48. Zacharias, described by Lt. Col. Scotland as "without doubt the most uncivilised, brutal, and morally indecent character in the entire story" was hanged at Hamelin on 27-Feb-48. Knippelberg was captured by the
 Russians; released in 1945, he disappeared.
   
  Wilhelm Nolle was arrested 10-Jun-48 but was not tried; Otto Koslowsky was executed by the Czechs in 1947.
   
  Danzig Gestapo
   
  Danzig Gestapo Chief Dr Venediger ordered many of the killings and received 2 years on 17-Dec-57. The deaths of Henri Picard, Tim Walenn, Edward Brettell and Romas Marcinkus were believed to have been at the hands of Hauptmann Reinholt Bruchardt, who was traced in 1948 and sentenced to death but later commuted to life imprisonment (in Germany, this meant 21 years). Max Kilpe, Harry Witt and Herbert Wenzler were not prosecuted; Walter Sasse, Walter Voelz and Julius Hug disappeared.
   
  Karlsruhe Gestapo
   
  Oberregierungsrat Josef Gmeiner, who with Kriminalsekretar Otto Preiss shot Cochran, aided by his driver Heinrich Boschert. The latter was arrested in Karlsruhe, the French handed over Gmeiner, and all three were sentenced to death, although Boschert's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Gmeiner, Preiss and Walter Herberg were hanged at Hamelin on 27-Feb-48.
   
  Otto Gannicher committed suicide 26-Apr-46; Magnus Wochner given 10 years.
   
  Kiel Gestapo
   
  Chief Friedrich Schmidt and his deputy Sturmbannfuhrer Johannes Post were being eagerly sought by the RAF SIB. Post, living with his mistress Marianne Heydt, was arrested at Minden under a false name after being given away by the wife he had deserted. Arrogant to the last, he admitted the murder of Catenach, Christiansen, Espelid and Fugelsgang, under the orders and assistance of Danzig Gestapo Chief Dr Venediger, and aided by Hans Kaehler and his associate at Danzig. Post, Oskar Schmidt, Walter Jacobs and Kaehler were hanged at Hamelin on 27-Feb-48; Friedrich Schmidt escaped prosecution until May 1968 when he was sentenced to 2 years in prison. Drivers Arthur Denkman and Wilhelm Struve were each given 10 years on 3-Sep-47.
   
  Franz Schmidt committed suicide 27-Oct-46
   
  Munich Gestapo
   
  Gestapo agents Johan Schneider, Emil Weil and Eduard Geith shot Gouws and Stevens; all were hanged at Hamelin on 27-Feb-48. Charges against Oswald Schafer were dismissed on 11-Dec-68; Martin Schermer committed suicide on 25-Mar-45. 
   
  Reichenburg Gestapo
   
  Gestapo Chief Bernhard Baatz, Robert Weyland and Robert Weissman of Bruex arranged the killing of W Williams, Bull, Kierath and Mondschein. Baatz disappeared after being released by the Russians; Weyland stayed living in the Russian Zone. The French later captured Weissman, but his fate is unknown.
   
  Saarbrucken Gestapo
   
  Oberleutnant Dr Leopold Spann (killed 25-Apr-45 in an air raid on Linz), Gestapo Chief at Saarbrucken, Kriminalsekretar Emil Schulz (found to be custody at Saarbrucken under a false identity) and driver Walter Breithaupt (arrested in Frankfurt) were responsible for the deaths of Roger Bushell and Bernard Scheidhauer. Schulz was hanged at Hamelin 27-Feb-48, Breithaupt given life on 3-Sep-47.
   
  Strasburg Gestapo
   
  The portly Alfred Schimmel, a former solicitor, and another unidentified Gestapo man took Hayter from Strasburg jail on April 6th 1944, and killed him near Breslau. Schimmel was hanged at Hamelin, 27-Feb-48,
   
  Max Dissner committed suicide 11-May-45; Heinrich Hilker acquitted and died 11-Apr-48; Erich Isslhorst executed for other crimes.
   
  <Picture>
   
  The 1963 Film of "The Great Escape"
   
  The feature film of the Great Escape was made by the Mirish Company and released in 1963. The director, John Sturges, had bought the rights to Paul Brickhill's book and was well known for films such as Gunfight At The OK Corrall, Bad Day at Black Rock, and The Magnificent Seven. Filming on The Great Escape began in the summer of 1962.
   
  The screenwriter was James Clavell (of SHOGUN and KING RAT fame) who was himself a PoW of the Japanese during WW2.
   
  The prisoner-of-war camp was renamed Stalag Luft Nord and was built amongst pine forests near Munich in Bavaria, with interiors shot at local studios. One of the technical advisors was former F/Lt Wally Floody, a Canadian mining engineer and wartime Spitfire pilot, who had been responsible for the tunnel traps and their camouflage.
   
  Nearly all of the incidences, both serious and humorous, which are shown in the film are completely true, although there is some inevitable telescoping of events, and many characters are rolled into one. In particular, the method of "stooging" (keeping watch for German guards and ferrets) is well demonstrated, and the method of constructing the tunnels is extremely accurate.
   
  There was indeed Christmas Carol singing taking place to mask the sound of "manufacturing" and "building" whilst escape materials, air piping, and compasses were made, and concrete plinths pierced. (The Germans did not seem to notice that, at the time, it was nowhere near Christmas.) The trap for "Dick" in the wash-room floor is particularly well shown - the Germans never found it, because 'Dick' had a perfect disguise. In the film, whilst the escape takes place through the tunnel called 'Harry' the trap is portrayed as being in the wash-room floor, and is definitely that of 'Dick' in real life.
   
  The camouflage of the traps used for 'Tom' and 'Harry' is again extremely accurate and reflect the advice given by Wally Floody. Manners of the guards and ferrets, and even the way some of them were suborned, is again quite true to life. "S/Ldr Roger Bartlett" gives a good impression of the driving power behind Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, but his sister said that Dickie Attenborough, who played the part, looked nothing like him. Dickie even had the facial scar of Bushell, incurred in a prewar-skiing accident (he was an Olympic skier) which often caused him discomfort.
   
  "Group Captain Ramsey", the SBO or Senior British Officer, has the severe leg injury suffered by his real counterpart, G/C Herbert Massey, who in real life was repatriated shortly after the escape, and who was instrumental in bringing the atrocity to the attention of H.M. Government.
   
  The sequence where several prisoners hide in an outgoing lorry loaded with cut tree branches actually happened, almost exactly as shown; also, the piece where Bronson and Coburn try to escape masquerading as Russian prisoners is remarkably close to an actual escape attempt. True, too, is the scene where McQueen, having removed numerous bedboards, watches helplessly as a fellow prisoner crashes through his fatally weakened bunk and lands on the man below.
   
  I have obtained the following cast list from Microsoft's excellent Cinemania CD-ROM database and offer the following comparisons of the real and the imagined:-
   
  Steve McQueen (Hilts, the Cooler King). Likely to be an amalgamation of several characters, he has no direct counterpart, although one likely candidate is Jerry Sage. The sequence where McQueen sees a blind spot in the guards' coverage of the perimeter wire is true; this escape was by Toft and Nichols, who cut through the wire but were soon recaptured. The motorcycle sequences are pure Hollywood and were put in at McQueen's request; he did nearly all the stunt riding himself, as the long shots show. The single motorcycle was in fact a pair of 1961 British 650cc Triumphs, mocked up in German colours; the final leap is believed to have been done by the American rider Bud Elkins, as it proved impossible for the film company to obtain insurance cover for McQueen to do it himself. For the final leap, there is obviously a ramp just out of camera frame, over which the rider launches the motorcycle to get the necessary height for the jump over the barbed wire fence.
   
  There was indeed a group of prisoners (headed by Jerry Sage and Davey Jones) who manufactured raisin wine and distilled raw liquor from vegetables and virtually any ingredient. The party on the 4th July actually happened, although 'Tom' was not discovered on this particular day. 
   
  My Internet correspondent Tom Cleaver offers the opinion that the Steve McQueen character was based on F/Lt Barry Mahon of 121 Squadron RAF -the second Eagle Squadron. Mahon was shot down on Operation Jubilee in August 1942 (where he had just become the 4th Eagle Squadron ace) and sent to Stalag Luft III where he became 'the cooler king' for his many escape attempts. He was brought in from his most recent escape just before "The Great Escape" and actually received first place to go through the tunnel, but decided against accepting, thereby saving his life. Barry later became part of the movie business and was active with United Artists, who made "The Great Escape," and served as a technical advisor on the film. McQueen took a liking to him and had Barry's facts written into his character; Barry allegedly fought like hell to get the movie as real as he could, as his own way of paying respects to the dead. 
   
  McQueen's character, and that of Angus Lennie, are representative of two prisoners 'Shag' Rees and 'Red' Noble who enjoyed baiting the ferrets; consequently both spent a fair time in the cooler.
   
  Steve McQueen died in November 1980.
   
  James Garner (Hendley, the Scrounger). Again, no direct counterpart, although there is some similarity with a fluent German-speaking prisoner who insisted on being known as Axel Zillesen, his "cover" name. (He reckoned that if he was used to being called this, he wouldn't be caught out by checkpoint guards.) He suborned one of the most dangerous ferrets, by carefully chipping away at his morale, and bribing him with chocolate and cigarettes, which were plentifully supplied by the Red Cross. If anyone ever finds out who Axel Zillesen really was, I'd be delighted to know!
   
  Richard Attenborough (Roger Bartlett, Big X). Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, correctly breveted and ranked, with Bushell's eye injury, fluent German, and driving determination.
   
  James Donald (the SBO). Group Captain Herbert M. Massey, age correct (Massey was a First World War career officer) correctly breveted and ranked and with Massey's badly wounded leg.
   
  Charles Bronson (Danny Velinski, Tunnel King). An amalgamation of F/Lt Wally Floody, F/Lt Ernst Valenta and F/O Danny Krol who were all tunnel specialists. Also very representative of F/O Wlodzimierz Adam Kolanowski, the architect of the tunnel traps. Kolanowski, Krol and Valenta were all shot by the Gestapo, but Floody was transferred to Belaria shortly before the escape. Bronson's character (along with that of John Leyton) reaches safety, and the two who escaped in this way were really Per Bergsland (aka Rocky Rockland) and Jens Muller. Bronson's part thus encompasses no less than five real people. Certainly several prisoners were claustrophobic, including W/C Harry Day, who never once let on about it despite frequent inspections of the tunnel and its workings. It is documented that some prisoners were refused places on the tunnelling team, due to known claustrophobia, and had to be found other escape activities to occupy them.
   
  Donald Pleasance (Colin Blythe, the Forger). An amalgamation of Desmond Plunkett, the map maker, and F/Lt Gilbert "Tim" Walenn, the real forger. Pleasance had been a real-life member of wartime aircrew; he had flown as a wireless-operator with No 166 Squadron, flying Lancasters from Kirmington, being shot down on a Agenville operation on 31-Aug/1-Sep-44, Lancaster NE112 AS:M; he died in France on 2-Feb-95 . Walenn was murdered; Plunkett survived.
   
  James Coburn (Sedgewick, the Manufacturer). An amalgamation of Al Hake, compass maker, and Johnny Travis, the real manufacturer. Coburn also reaches safety, and this, the third successful escaper, was in real life Bob van der Stok, who escaped into Holland and Belgium, then over the Pyrenees into Spain and Gibraltar. The scene where Sedgewick produces a large suitcase which has to go down the tunnel is true, but the real escaper in this case was Tim Walenn, the real-life forger. Hake and Walenn were murdered; Travis did not escape.
   
  David McCallum (Ashley-Pitt, Dispersal). A very close match to Peter "Hornblower" Fanshawe, a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm pilot who was the real sand dispersal specialist. The method of sand disposal shown in the film is an exact match for the real events. Fanshawe was transferred to Belaria shortly before the escape, but Ashley-Pitt was one of the victims.
   
  Gordon Jackson (MacDonald, Security). This is a compilation of George Harsh and Tim Kirby-Green (both security) and Bernard Scheidhauer (Bushell's escaping companion). Harsh was one of those transferred to Belaria just before the escape, but Scheidhauer, a Frenchman, partnered Bushell. It was Scheidhauer, used to speaking English in the camp, who inadvertently answered a Gestapo agent in English, a mistake which led to he and Bushell being caught. This is shown very clearly in the film. Scheidhauer, Kirby-Green and Bushell were amongst the 50 victims. Gordon Jackson died in the early 1990s.
   
  John Leyton (Willie, tunneller). No particular representation amongst the tunnellers, but one of the two (Per Bergsland and Jens Muller) who together reached Sweden. John, until the film, was better known for his magnificent singing voice ("Johnny Remember Me") used in several pop songs of the early 60s.
   
  Angus Lennie (Ives, The Mole). Again no direct representation; but he is referred to by Gordon Jackson as "Piglet" at one point in the film, just before Tom is discovered. This can be no other than F/L H W "Piglet" Lamond, a tunneller and escapee who survived the massacre of the 50 victims. As far as Lennie's character is concerned, some prisoners certainly did go 'round the bend' and tried ill-conceived or absurd escapes, sometimes with fatal consequences.
   
  Nigel Stock (Cavendish). During the film interrogation of this character, the dialogue represents that between the Gestapo and one of the victims, who before his being taken away by the Gestapo, recounted his interrogation to a fellow escaper, who survived the murders.
   
  Robert Desmond (Griff, the Tailor). Obviously Tommy Guest, who was a prewar tailor and whose team made the civilian clothes from bits of blanket and uniforms. Guest did not escape.
   
  Hannes Messemer (von Luger, the Kommandant). Oberst Friedrich Wilhelm von Lindeiner-Wildau, an excellent representation of an honourable career Luftwaffe senior officer who was a humane, and where possible, kindly man, respected by the prisoners. Arrested immediately after the escape, he developed heart trouble. He and his two immediate subordinates (Broili and Pieber) were sentenced to one year's fortress arrest. (von Lindeiner was interrogated by the RAF SIB at the London Cage, and proved extremely pro-British and very helpful.) The Kommandant at the time of the announcement of the murders was Oberst Braune and his demeanour at the time - one of shock, disbelief and horror - is well represented.
   
  The Gestapo man in the leather coat who is so nasty to Bartlett ("If you escape again and be recaptured, you will be shot") at the start of the film and so delighted at the capture of most of the escapers ("Ah - Herr Bartlett! You are going to be sorry you put us to so much trouble") has no direct counterpart in real life. However, if the bounds of credibility, artistic licence and real information may be stretched, he may be interpreted being Sturmbannfuhrer Johannes Post, deputy Gestapo chief at Kiel and together with his subordinate Lux, responsible for the murders of over twenty-five of the escapers. Post and his cohorts were hanged. This film character could also be interpreted as being either Dr Wilhelm Scharpwinkel, or Dr Leopold Spann. Any of these three Gestapo men would readily fit the bill. Dr Gunther Absalon is another candidate. More details of these men are on the main page. 
   
  The actual murders were not en masse, but the captured prisoners were taken in small groups and killed whilst in transit. Details of this are on the main page.
   
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  Research & Reading:-
   
   
   
  "After The Battle" Magazine, Issue No 87. Church House, Church Street, London E15 3JA UK. 0181 534 8833. Fax 0181 555 7567. An excellent read, full of useful information and photographs, including a complete photo list of the victims.
   
  "The Longest Tunnel" Alan Burgess. 1990 Bloomsbury Publishing, 2 Soho Square, London W1VV 5DE. ISBN 0-7475-0589-6. Burgess' account is excellent and should be read by anyone interested in the escape.
   
  "Exemplary Justice" Alan Andrews. 1976, George G Harrap Ltd, London. ISBN 0-245-52775-3. Excellently detailed account of the search for the murderers and accessories.
   
  "The Great Escape" Paul Brickhill. 1951 Arrow Books, 3 Fitzroy Square, London W1P 6JD. ISBN 0-09-919020-6. Brickhill speaks from a personal point of view (he was there) but is occasionally vague, or wrong, on the fine detail.
   
  "Fly For Your Life" Larry Forrester. 1956 Frederick Muller. The biography of W/Cdr Roland Robert Stanford-Tuck, DSO, DFC and 2 bars.
   
  "The Escape Factory: The Story of Mis-X" Lloyd Shoemaker. St Martin's Press, May 1990. ISBN 0312038267.
   
  "Wirebound World" by H P Clark, published by Alfred H Cooper Ltd, arranged by Wallace Heaton Ltd. An immediate postwar publication (7-Mar-46) unlikely to be available today.
   
  "A Glimpse at Stalag Luft III (North Compound)" a privately compiled album by Tony Bethel. 
   
  "Stalag Luft III" by Arthur A Durand, Patrick Stephens Ltd 1989, ISBN 1-85260-248-1
   
  "Spotlight on Stalag Luft III" by "Scangriff", a private compendium published in 1947.
   
  "Flak and Ferrets" by Walter Morison, Motor Books, ISBN 1-87467-092.
   
  "Wingless Victory" by L R Sidwell, private publication by Merlin Books Ltd, Braunston, Devon, England.
   
  "Final Flight" John Hartnell-Beavis. Private publication via Anthony Rowe, Chippenham, Wiltshire UK. ISBN 0 86303 251 6.
   
  "The London Cage" by Lt. Col. A.P. Scotland OBE, Evans Brothers Ltd, 1957, ISBN 0 7041 0015 0. This covers the interrogation by the author of several of the Nazis responsible for the murders.
   
  There was a BBC2 Documentary in the series "Going Underground" broadcast on the 50th Anniversary of the Escape, 29th March 1994. This revisited the site and the local station with some of the survivors, retracing their steps.
   
  Documents in the AIR40 section of the Public Records Office, Kew, London are extremely comprehensive and contain many documents relating to, or even signed by, the people in this article. Notable is AIR40/268 which is the official history of Stalag Luft III, and other documents in the range AIR40/2265 to AIR40/2293, which refer in great detail to the investigation and its progress as well as fascinating minutiae of Camp life, such as correspondence between the Kommandant and the SBO and many preserved internal documents, all of which are well worth a browse. Details of accessing PRO documents.
   
  Thanks to...
   
  All those ex-Luft III PoWs who gave me so many hours of their time; John Williams, Kingswood, NSW Australia; Mike Mucha of Poznan, Poland; and Dr Jonathan Vance for kindly filling in gaps and correcting errors. Thanks also to Graham Welsh (former Luft III prisoner) who passed additional useful information, having read the web pages. Paul Tobolski also supplied information and drew on my Bomber Command data to assist him in his search for people who knew his father.
   
   
   
   
   
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