The Writing of the Great Escape (Stalag Luft III)

The idea of using the Great Escape was a true moment of realization, and I was very excited in getting it started. When I first considered the idea I was concerned it could be somewhat removed from what is generally considered "a project" in the business world. It was the least obvious project I could think of, and most people would not consider it to be a project. After sometime to further research it and run the idea by a few people including my publisher Kevin at MMPUBS I became convinced and was convinced it was a good idea.

My analysis showed that this event went through a very meticulous and an enormous level planning. The escape committee that planned the escape instigated a project of a monumental scale. They were scaling up previous projects by 20 fold. Nothing was easy, almost everything was a challenge to the project team. An inhospitable and inconducive environment was in place to numb prisoners into boredom and inactivity. These were truly dire circumstances to launch a project from. Hence, the appeal as today's projects seem tame and easy in comparison.

The publisher set up a challenge and suggested that one of the criteria of in writing the book was to look at the project from the 9 project management knowledge areas of the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK), developed in 1983. The question was whether they would hold up in project that preceeded them by 40 years. It would help establish how well founded these were. Was there evidence that projects of the past followed these intuitively, in the days before the project management discipline was established. Gut feel told me it did, and I wanted to determine if and how well the project followed these knowledge areas.

The starting point for the research was through several books notably:                                                                                                                     

• Paul Brickhill, The Great Escape. New York, Norton, 1950
• Alan Burgess, The Longest Tunnel, New York, Pocket, 1991
• A Gallant Company the True Story of "The Great Escape", Jonathan Vance, 2003 ISBN 0-7434-7525-9, ibooksInchttp:www.ibooks.net. Prof Vance spent some 20 years researching the Great Escape so it is one of the best written account.

Other books included:

• William Ash, Under the Wire, 2005 (ISBN 0-593-05408-3)
• Albert P. Clark, 33 Months as a POW in Stalag Luft III, 2005 (ISBN 1-55591-536-1)
• B.A. "Jimmy" James, Moonless Night, London, William Kimber, 1983
• George Millar, Horned Pigeon
• Ken Rees, Lie in the Dark and Listen, Karen Arrandale
• Calton Younger, No Flight from the Cage, 1956 (ISBN 0-352-30828-1)
• Foot & Langley, 'MI9', Book Club Associates 1979
• Details of the "Great Escape" compiled by USAF 392nd Bomber Group Association.
• Memories of Australian prisoner-Sgt. Alf Miners
• "Stalag Luft III" by Arthur A Durand, Patrick Stephens Ltd 1989, ISBN 1-85260-248-1

The story was also brought to prominence by Paul Brickhill's book, and then a worldwide audience through the film/movie the “Great Escape” (1963). Unfortunately, I was later to discover that most people will recollect the motorbike scene and Steve McQueen entangling in barb wire fences in an attempt to break across the Swiss border. Unfortunate because it takes away from the more mundane but brillaint feats, like the forging of documents, and amazingly, the creation of passports.

The film has had mixed blessings for the ex-POW’s of Stalag Luft III. It certainly brought attention to the escape and captivated its audience with its humour and action but, it takes poetic license with the escape. It takes is a very distorted view of the actual event as by 1944 the U.S. POWs had been segregated to a separate compound, and no motorbikes were ever used in the real escape. A train ride was the best transportation most escapees could hope for.

Mid-way through the writing I ran across a site The Great Escape Memorial Project (GEMP). This is a worldwide initiative to help preserve the memory of the event for future generations. Founded in November 2002 in Calgary, the non-profit organization had to date been able to find and bring together most of the POWs from Stalag Luft III and their families. One of the goals is a peace development on the site, in Zagan, with a memorial, and a meditation garden. The memorial landscape park consists of five buildings/monuments in total including a tower, a chapel, the tunnel entrance consisting of an underground sky pavilion, the tunnel exit memorial and an outdoor landscape piece.

http://www.thegreatescapememorialproject.com/

I contacted Shannyn Scarff, on the executive board, and explained I was writing a business book related to Stalag Luft III. In short, this led to a partnership where a small contribution from each book sale was made to GEMP. In return, GEMP agreed to provide an advisor to help with the book, namely a POW survivor to help with any questions, and points of clarification. This was important as to date there were a few discrepancies between the source books.

Dr George McKiel was my contact and I can not thank him enough for his advice and insight. He served in the RCAF and was shot down in February 1944. One of the most important comments made by George was that many of the POWs taking part in the escape went onto the business world after the war and had very successful careers. They leveraged the skills they had mastered as part of the project and escape.

George McKiel was part of the sand removal crew. They dispersed sand around the camp, carrying it in bags in the legs of their trousers and releasing it by pulling drawstrings. They were called “penguins” because of their shuffling walk when carrying sand.

George also worked as a “stooge,” keeping track of the German guards and sending signals if they approached Hut 104. “We could close the trap door, return the stove into place and clean up sand in about 20 seconds.”

As for George’s role in the actual breakout, selection was done by priority. The first 30 people selected to escape were those who spoke German or other European languages, and knew local customs, giving them a good chance to getting to safety. Another 100 places were given to those who'd made important contributions to X, including Wally Floody, head of tunneling. The names of the others were drawn from a hat. George McKiel drew No. 327, putting him out of the running.

"Much of my Luft 3 time I was involved in our camp theatre as I was invited to take Kath Hepburn's role in Philadelphia Story. Guided and coached by West End producer/actor I spent many hours learning to talk like a woman, walk like a woman and learning  the lines of the play. Then in August 1944 the play was slated for the camp theatre which usually ran for 4 nights so everyone in our North Compound had a chance to see it. We had only one performance as I developed a severe bout of dysentery but it was still a amazing success partly because the senior Luftwaffe officers were given seats in the front row so it helped ease the tension that was still high from the executions  perpetrated by the Gestapo in March."

George is now a retired doctor, lives in Nova Scotia, Canada. His story is fascinating as documented in this interview. He spent 2 years in as a prisoner of war (POW) in Stalag Luft 3, where he helped 76 officers escape in the Great Escape. After his liberation, Mr. McKiel returned to Canada and eventually earned a PhD in Cancer Research. These credentials have allowed him to consult on Nursing issues as far away as Australia. Having recently returned to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Mr. McKiel is already involved with seniors' health programs in his community.

See a fascinating set of interviews with George given to Veterans Affairs Canada and his story through Stalag Luft 3 and role in the Great Escape Project. He describes his journey from the bomber being attacked, parachuting to temporary safety, and then being captured.

• 1: I Lost My Egg!
• 2: A Tunnel - Twelve Feet From My Bunk!
• 3: The X Committee
• 4: The Tunnel
• 5: Passport Photos
• 6: Diversions
• 7: Conditions Worsen
• 8: Battling Boredom and Depression
• 9: The Great Escape
• 10: Freedom At Last
• 11: Remembrance Train