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Start of WWII
September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland, which led Britain and France to declare war on Hitler and the Nazis. -
Period: to
The Great Escape
Memoir by Paul Brickhill of Escape from Stalag Luft III -
Roger Bushell Captured
Roger Bushell was a British Royal Airforce squadron leader. He emergency landed his plane between Boulogne and Dunkirk. He was capured by the Nazis and ended up at Stalag Luft III. -
Stalag Luft III East Compound Completed & Opened for POW
American, Englsh and Allied Airmen moved to camp. -
Himmler Takes Over Prison Camps
Himmler takes over a head of Nazi prison camps and starts making very strict orders. -
Russian Prisoners Chop Down Trees Outside Stalag Luft III
British prisoners disguised as Russians attempted escape but were captured. They also tried escape by hiding in trucks hauling away brush. Most important is that any tunnels built would have to be much longer to make it to the woods. -
Igel Order
All prisoners in transport would be chained. It would be much harder to escape while in transport. -
Frirst Escape Trojan Horse
The first escape was in October 1943 in East Compound. The prisoners made a wooden gymnastics vaulting horse to hide the sand from digging tunnels.They would drag the horse out to the yard everyday for practice. -
Stufe Romeisch III Order
The order put out by Himmler that recaptured prisones of war would not be returned to their camps.They would be dealt with by HIgh Command and might be turned over to the Gestapo. -
The Great Escape
76 men escaped Stalag Luft III though a tunnel that they worked on for over a year. Three men made it home, 50 were captured and murdered under Hitler's orders. The res were recaptured. -
The Great Escape Memoir Published by Paul Brickhill
The other versions of the escape were written by Paul Brickhill, but this was the last one.Brickhill was not one of the men who escaped, but he did take part in working on the tunnel at Stalag Luft III.
