Snug Slug Activities

The journey through WWII continued this week with The Great Escape (1963). I watched this movie quite a lot as a child; it was one of Dad’s favourites. I hadn’t seen it in several years, but I remembered it as being a good movie with a moving story, even more so because it is based on actual events.

The Great Escape from Stalag Luft III, a German prisoner of war (POW) camp, was first conceived in March 1943 and took place a year later on the night of March 24, 1944. Three tunnels were dug simultaneously so that if any one tunnel was discovered, they would already be well on their way with another.

The most radical aspect of the plan was not the use of multiple tunnels; rather, it was the number of men that they intended to have escape through them. For the most part, escape attempts involved individuals or small groups, maybe as many as 20, but for this attempt, the plan was to smuggle over 200 men out of the POW camp.

Through a series of unforeseen events, only 76 men successfully made it through the tunnel and out of the camp. Of these 76 prisoners, 73 were recaptured, and only three made it to safety. 50 of the recaptured prisoners were executed on Hitler’s orders. Most of the remaining prisoners were sent back to Stalag Luft III, while a couple of them were sent to a concentration camp. (You can read a firsthand account from one of these men here: https://www.pegasusarchive.org/pow/jimmy_james.htm)

In 1950, a book with the title “The Great Escape”, written by Paul Brickhill, was published. Paul Brickhill was a POW in Stalag Luft III during the escape and participated in the plan. He was not a part of the actual attempt due to claustrophobia, which would make crawling through a 300+ foot tunnel 30 feet underground even less fun.

The 1963 film is a fictionalized version of events, with the fictitious characters each being composites of several men. Events are dramatized for film, but many of the included details about the escape are historically accurate.

Despite its tragic ending, the movie is a great one to watch. It tells an important story about hope and resilience.