 Stalag
Luft III
The
Great Escape
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The Great Escape
Stalag Luft III was located 100 miles
southeast of Berlin in what is now Poland. The POW camp was one of six operated
by the Luftwaffe for downed British and American airmen. Compared to other
prisoner of war camps throughout the Axis world, it was a model of civilized
internment. The Geneva Convention of 1929 on the treatment of prisoners of war
was complied with as much as possible, but it was still war, still prison, and
still grim. With a madman on top, there was the ever-present threat that the
'Higher Authority' above the Luftwaffe could change things on a whim. 'Kriegies'
(POWs) always knew that they were living on the razor's edge.
The
story of The Great Escape is probably best known for the movie of the same name,
however the story of the escape is authentic, and the fate of 50 of the escapers
equally real. Of the 78 men that successfully broke from the camp (all but 2
of whom were recaptured) 50 were shot - ruthelessly executed by order of the
Gestapo - invariably by a cowardly bullet to the back of the head as the men
were offered the chance to stretch their legs and urinate by the roadside.
The
game I have designed here is intended to be played and enjoyed - however there
is no intention to make light of the events which actually took place and no
disrespect whatsoever is implied or intended. Rather, I hope that this game
will be regarded as a tribute to the ingenuity and bravery of the men who were
interned at Stalag Luft III.
As you have already learned, Stalag Luft
III was run by the German Air force or 'Luftwaffe' (up until the Great Escape,
after which the running of the camp fell into the hands of the SS and Gestapo).
It was standard practice that the Luftwaffe looked after allied Air force
prisoners, and similarly the navy or Kriegsmarine were in command of camps
containing allied navy prisoners and so on.
It is important to
understand that while the camps were heavily guarded, for obvious reasons the
personnel who were employed at such camps were not the 'cream' of the German
armed forces who could be better employed at the front. Camp life was also
tedious and dull not only for the prisoners but equally for the Luftwaffe
personnel, and as the war progressed the conditions and quality of food rations
and supplies deteriorated for both sides. The nutritional value of camp
rations was at best poor, and the arrival of supplies for the POWs from the Red
Cross and YMCA brought the best hope of sustenance and news from home.
Conditions were so poor for the guards that often it did not take much more than
the promise of a cigarette or a tin of real American coffee to coerce them (the
camp coffee was made from ground Acorns and the 'butter' somehow derived from
fish heads!). Remember also, that time was on the POW's side, and as amicable
and mutually beneficial relationships were struck up between the POWs and the
Guards, it was all too easy for a Luftwaffe guard to find himself getting deeper
and deeper into trouble. With the threat of being 'sent to the Russian Front' if
they were found to have been collaborating the guards could quickly find
themselves in an impossible position, forced to yield to the prisoners ever
increasing demands.
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