The great escapers

the full story of the Second World War's most remarkable mass escape

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Last edited by dcapillae
4 minutes ago | History

The great escapers

the full story of the Second World War's most remarkable mass escape

  • 2 Want to read

The true story of one of the most heroic feats of World War II...the daring prison camp breakout that inspired the classic film The Great Escape.

Stalag Luft III was one of the Germans' "escape-proof" prison camps, specially built by Hermann Göring to hold Allied troops. But on March 24, 1944, in a courageous attempt by two hundred prisoners to break out through a series of tunnels, seventy-six Allied officers managed to evade capture -- and create havoc behind enemy lines in the months before the Normandy Invasion.

This is the incredible story of these brave men who broke free from the supposedly impenetrable barbed wire and watchtowers of Stalag Luft III -- and who played an important role in Allied intelligence operations within occupied Europe. The prisoners developed an intricate espionage network, relaying details of military deployment, bombings, and raids. Some of them were involved in other daring escape attempts, including the famous Wooden Horse episode, also turned into a classic film, and the little-known Sachsenhausen breakout, engineered by five Great Escapers sent to die in the notorious concentration camp on Hitler's personal orders. Tragically, fifty of those involved in the Great Escape were murdered by the Gestapo. Others were recaptured; only a few made it all the way to freedom. This dramatic account of personal heroism is a testament to their ingenuity and achievement -- a stirring tribute to the men who never gave up fighting.

Publish Date
Publisher
Mainstream Pub.
Language
English
Pages
272

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Previews available in: English

Book Details


Edition Notes

Includes bibliographical references (p. 268-269) and index.

Published in
Edinburgh
Genre
Personal narratives.

Classifications

Library of Congress
D805.5.S745 C37 2004

The Physical Object

Pagination
272 p., [8] p. of plates :
Number of pages
272

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL18519459M
Internet Archive
greatescapersful0000carr_g8r3
ISBN 10
1840187956
ISBN 13
9781840187953
LCCN
2008360769
OCLC/WorldCat
59186622, 53823264
Goodreads
7159241

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History

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