Problems Addressed by Case Study

Project Lessons from the Great Escape (Stalag Luft III)

There were many problems facing the escape project, and their captors had deliberately set these up.  Typically, the resolution of one problem only uncovered a further problem that was even more complex and more difficult, as shown below.

Location

The first problem preventing escape was the location of Stalag Luft III and the unknown outside world beyond it.  Sagan was 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Berlin, about as far as possible from the neutral Sweden, Switzerland, and Spain, so any escape was going to require a lot of travel and involve many elements.  In 1943, getting around the Third Reich was difficult because of the constant stop-checks and searches by the police, military, and Gestapo.  No persons could travel without documents detailing who they were, where they were traveling, and why.

Prowling Guards

The second problem preventing escape was keeping the activities hidden from the prowling guards and ferrets.  Their constant surveillance forced the prisoners to carefully conceal documents, equipment, clothing, and sand from the tunnels in various hiding places.  Ferrets, German Army intelligence troops specialising in escape detection, could enter the compound at any time and wander in and out of huts.  English-speaking ferrets lay under barracks listening to conversations.  Often, even after detection tunnelling was allowed to continue without intervention until near completion, to keep the POWs busy and prevent them from working on other escape plans. 

Every second day after morning roll call or appell, about thirty ferrets and guards entered one block and threw everyone out.  They then proceeded to search the hut from top to bottom for about three hours, leaving nothing unturned.  They would search different huts each time and select them randomly.  Sometimes they would take advantage of the empty block to hide in the ceiling whilst the POWs were outside on appell.

Physical Barriers

The third problem preventing escape was the number of physical barriers around the camp.  Search towers with floodlights, double barbed-wire fences, trip wires, and shoot zones surrounded Luft III.  With any surface escape, there was a very high risk of being spotted.

To prevent tunnel escapes, the huts were set up off the ground on stilts, the fence was well over 100 yards (90 meters) from the huts, and microphones monitored by the administrative compound were placed every 33 feet (10 meters) to detect digging.  With any tunnel, there was a very high risk that the tunnel would collapse and sand would come pouring down with little warning.  Ventilation was a problem, and a means of getting enough air into the tunnel had to be devised.  Without proper ventilation, men would vomit after a few hours of digging because of the foul air.  

Traveling Incognito

The fourth problem preventing escape was the need to travel incognito in the outside world.  This included mastering a certain level in a language and culture that were foreign to most British and Canadians and going unnoticed by wearing disguises.

The camp was hermetically sealed from surrounding communities, who were likely to be unfriendly to the POWs because they were airmen.  The camp guards (who would recognise escaped prisoners) lived in the local towns and villages, so it was a problem just to get out unrecognised.

Ability to Survive

The fifth problem preventing escape was the issue of surviving in a harsh environment and climate.  In the winter and spring, the night temperatures were well below freezing, and from December to April heavy snow lay on the ground, so the summer was escape season.  The POWs would have very limited access to water and food and would have to carry most of these necessities on their persons.

Transportation

The sixth problem preventing escape was the access to transportation to get to a neutral country and safety.  If the POWs could secure transport, they could get away from the camp and the search cordons.  Methods of transport included trains (passenger and goods), bicycles, and boats/ships.  One advantage that they had was the proximity of the local train station at Sagan, less than 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) away.