The Real Great Escape - Codename Tom, Dick & Harry
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ม.ค. 2022
- Archaeologists and veterans hunt for the tunnel the Germans never found, and reveal the epic scale of the POWs underground exploits.
On the 24th March 1944 the most famous prisoner of war escape in history took place. It was immortalised in the classic film The Great Escape, yet the real story of the mass breakout from Stalag Luft III is stranger than fiction, it was an incredible operation involving hundreds of Allied prisoners digging three huge tunnels right under the noses of their German guards. But what started off as an adventure would end in tragedy, and the rules of the game would be changed forever.
This is the story of The Real Great Escape.
Subscribe to Element 18 - bit.ly/337R2uO
My stepfather was a sock boy there. He moved a lot of sand. He was a B-17 pilot. Shot down over Austria. He was 23 on his 23rd mission. The only one to get out. His plane exploded. 6 months in a German Red Cross camp. He didn’t talk about it much. He’s at rest at Arlington National cemetery. John “Jack” Thomas Farrington.
Thank you for your Father’s service. We need men like him today
😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
😊
Hats off to the sockmen
May GOD bless. Where would we be without the GREATEST GENERATION?
My father was a prisoner there for 18 months. He said he was as surprised as the Germans when he heard of the escape. The fact that the tunneling was kept a secret ,with so many prisoners involved, was pretty amazing.
Wow....now there's a man who's ear I'd love to bend. Apparently, it was a large camp, if there were other allied prisoners there, who also had no clue of the escape. That war to this day is one of the most astonishing time periods, and events in history. I was born 50yrs too late....(for a lot of reasons).
That's the only way they kept from being ratted out because if you study history that happened a lot in Andersonville during the civil war and many prison camps in WW2.
It's no secret that we're being undermined
There is an AWESOME PBS special where those men involved revisit their tunnels and it is amazing. It includes their other attempts. They once wanted to glider out ?!!
Had the privilege of meeting two survivors. Most amazing men.
To hear the history from the lips of the men who made it,is a priceless moment,a gift and should be treasured as such.
and their tongues
They are just as remarkable as anything the archaeologists are digging out of the ground. But unlike those objects they can give us the details that the objects themselves can't. Once the men are gone, the opportunity to pose any questions not asked of them will be gone forever, and those objects will just be museum pieces with only half a story to tell.
@@newshodgepodge6329 well said 👏
On the anniversary of my dad's passing I saw this video on my feed. The Great Escape was the last movie I saw with my dad. Thank you for posting this video. It meant a lot to me to watch. I miss & love you always Pop!
about 1966 when I was about 8 years old my brother and I when to the movies and watch it, in those days movies play for years in the shows, when I watch the great escape, I also remember my brother, at that time two movies play...one of Clint Eastwood movie play, I think " A few dollars more" I hated it at the time..but when the great escape play was wroth it..a very long time ago.
The sheer genius of the prisoners is amazing. Although it didn't end well for most, working feverishly
to plan and work towards an escape gave the prisoners a purpose and hope under the constant threat of death.
They are now forever in the pages of history. This documentary is historic. Thank you for posting.
Constant threat of death? That’s an absurd claim.
@@OriginalCoastalDistancingThe SS would disagree
The guards were from the Luftwaffe,
And their was a constant threat of death in the air. The SS were in charge
Of the concentration and extermination camps, not the P.O.W. camps
Almost reminds me of Alcatraz...not supposed to be able to escape, yet they did
@@OriginalCoastalDistancingyou obviously know absolutely nothing about the Germans and the SS. If you did you would not be making such a ridiculous comment.
Can remember making a report on this in school about 1972.
Totalitarianism must never be practiced again, but i am afraid we are forgetting the horror and are in danger to repeat it.
Wow the fact that it was 30ft deep and in sand was incredible. The disposing of the sand was so cleverly done. What an amazing generation they all were in.
Two feet square ... i could never ... i could distrubute sand though. I hope i d help this i think i would of course do ts kust that until you re in thsoe shoes ... and also all the airmen . They must be so terribly brave. The odds against them... the numbers we lost
What do you mean "what an amazing generation they were all in"? Im having a terrible time understanding how you think that was amazing.
@@dantesos7564Due to a friend who reads obituaries (weird because he was 44 at the time he started), I started to do the same. You have no idea how many people who were in their late 80s or 90s were heroes in the war effort. Secretaries who were spies; inventors and businessmen who were pilots risking all. I have a relative, Jewish who was hung by the Nazis after landing in a Pow camp. They were indeed the Greatest Generation. Whereas people nowadays make a huge deal out of having to wear a mask.
@@dantesos7564he means they were
Resilient and resourceful
@@dantesos7564You are typing in English, not German or at all. Nuff said.
What a grand bunch of men... seems like we never learn the high cost of war. Rest in Peace
I’ve been fortunate enough to visit many of these places including this one. The English veteran in this program is Bertram, Arthur, James aka Jimmy James. What’s even more incredible than even this story is afterwards he escaped from the Concentration he was sent to by digging a tunnel from under his bed using a spoon !
A man who should have been Knighted if ever there was one. Ironically he probably wouldn’t have accepted it because to him it just seemed the right thing to do and not a big deal !
I've been a history buff since about age 20 and although I did enjoy the film, the book (By Brickhill) was far more compelling because it was real. Those men showed such incredible determination, ingenuity and bravery that it defies the modern world. And for those acts 50 good men were murdered. We must never lose sight of the good fight, those who recognize and treasure freedom staying vigilant against those who would take it away. And that fight is as important today as it was in 1943. Freedom is far more precious, rare and fragile than most people realize!
Agree ! The six million Palestinians caged up inside the worlds largest outdoor prison would certainly agree also !
@@den264 That's the problem though, we have to avoid putting our attention on one single group because the threats come from a variety of places and cultures. We need to be aware of the number of people EVERYWHERE that would rather see a world where people do not have individual freedoms. It's astonishing to me how few people on Earth truly recognize what freedom is and how fragile it is, frankly it scares me.
Yes, the real danger nowadays is the extreme leftist.
And the Israelites caged up and surrounded by the Arabs and Muslims.
As a veteran with a few tours under my belt, I have to say, having never been in that situation, those guys were not only determined and stubborn, but brave beyond belief knowing that discovery means your death and that of several other prisoner, a lot to burden a young mind.
Just a single tunnel would have been an amazing feat but 3 of them ? Incredible
An older gentleman who I was close to was also here. An American airman, his B17 was shot down. He was in a medical section because of injuries he sustained. He had the utmost respect for these men and absolute horror at what the gestapo did.
My uncles friend was in this camp. He said they brought the bodies of the escaped prisoners back, laid them out and made all the prisoners walk past them. They got the message that this would be their end if they tried to escape. We should also realize that more than 95% of U.S. and British POWs survived the POW camp. Less than 5% of the Soviets did. In fact, they starved to death between 2,000,000 and 3,000,000 of them.
We cannot ever let this happen again. NEVER AGAIN, yet I see similar things happening today.
Thank you for reminding this atrocious fact about the deliberate murder of the Soviet soldiets, untermenschen for the likes of Ursula Von Der Leyen
My father in law was in Stalag Luft 3. A B-17 navigator shot down over France. He arrived at the camp the day after the great escape. Edward T. Badder. A book was written about their crew called Coffin Corner.
Wow amazing. Thanks for sharing!
All those involved in the production of this production. I congratulate for their preservation of this event in World War II. To have the former pows as part of the production was also extraordinary.
What an incredible story !!! 30’ underground, I don’t think I could handle the constant thought of collapse. My hat is off to every single one of these men. My grandfather was a submariner in WW2 but he didn’t talk about it. He always had lots of other cool stories to tell around the camp fire though. He was an awesome man and we miss him dearly.
It makes our daily problems seem so trivial.
Few may know this but Davy Jones was also portrayed in the movie "30-Seconds Over Tokyo". He piloted one of the B-25s and was Doolittle's second in command of the mission off the Hornet. And he was a true gentleman and wonderful all-around character. I was honored to have known him.
I think it's awesme that you knew him, how did you meet.?
@@richardleighton5009 He and my Dad went to flight school together in 1939 at Kelly Field, San Antonio and were life-long friends. Davy went on to become a Major General in the USAF and was Director of Manned Space Flight for the Air Force. He also amassed more time flying supersonic than any other AF officer testing the B-58 (Hustler). Funny guy!
@@jhisbell hey thats great i love it and you must have heard a lot of amazing stories.
My high school calculus teacher talked about being shot down as a WW2 pilot. He talked about being captured and put into this camp. As an American, he was in a different section of the camp. I am fuzzy about his details but I remember the amazing story he told.
I've watched the Great Escape Movies and numerous great Escape documentaries. This is one of the best. The three men that participated in the Great Escape were astonished of the items found while digging. What a truly amazing story with a tragic ending. Most of hitler's hired murderers were brought to justice. Hopefully, that gave the family of those lost some closure. This is a great, great story and I thank you for producing it.
You should Google "how many Germans were executed for war crimes after WWII. Many, most were commuted?
R.I.P to all that were killed, u guys are the real heroes of this world. Thank u for everything u guys did for our freedom. 🙏🇺🇲🗽🇬🇧🙏
As a former homeless man who had built an underground complex 10ft underground in sand I can state yes sand is really tough, and I deff couldnt imagine digging that tunnel 30ft under ... much respect to those guys and hopefully the atrocities of war will one day cease
I former homeless man? Who lived underground? I'll watch this later. What's your story? You have my complete attention. Seriously? You dug for shelter? How'd you get homefull again?
@@PaulTheSkeptic😂
@@LayingInAMeadow I guess it is kind of funny but I really am interested. I mean, that sounds like quite a story doesn't it? Lol.
@@PaulTheSkepticThere are a few documentaries about the mole people living under the Vegas Strip, if you're interested. Not the same as digging but still, living in tunnels.
An elderly English woman I met in NZ was the widow of a British Naval officer who spent time in a German POW camp. I’m sure conditions differed by camp but his papers included typewritten programs for camp musicals and swatches for costume fabric. Photos of one of the shows (men in drag, with makeup and wigs). A hilarious review in the camp newsletter. So they had access to camera, typewriter, typesetting, costuming supplies, tools and materials to construct sets. I was pretty astonished at how much they had access to. Probably the Germans were at pains to treat British officers reasonably well given the ties between those two countries.
Truly incredible that this ever happened. One of the greatest insults to the Germans during the whole war, no wonder Hitler was furious. It just shows that character, dedication and ingenuity can beat military might, cruelty and barbarism.
The present politicians need to take note and reconsider their efforts.
"military might, cruelity and barbarism.." things the british and americans just know to good how to do (hundreds of years of british imperialism with all the gruesome side effects like famines in ireland and india with millions of death; american illigal land grab, genocide on the american natives, the geopolitical charades they play till these days). Really, just cry me a river you hypocrite. You guys were just concerned when the shoe was on the other foot.
I wish I could have seen Hitler's fury and rage. I am inwardly laughing at him. I am of German heritage but neither my dad nor his father served in any of the wars. My dad was too young and his father was a coal miner and instrumental for Hitler's war machine. My dad's mother had nothing but contempt for Hitler and always muttered to herself calling him a pig and a degenerate. But during WW1, 13 of my male relatives were killed in one battlefield or another.
Absolutely incredible what those heroes did.
My father's cousin Charles Pearce Edward Hall was one of the 50. He was a photo reconvene pilot flying an unarmed photo rece Spitfire and was shot down over Belgium and sent to Stallag Luft 3.
Wow amazing
All amazing men
Did he survive?
"It is the sworn duty of officers to try to escape. If they can't, it is their sworn duty to cause the enemy to use an inordinate number of soldiers to guard them and their sworn duty to harass
the enemy to the best of their ability"
A favorite film made more so by seeing the men who lived it here.
I cannot thank the film makers enough for this.
Absolutely exceptional documentary. May those who needlessly died RIP as heroes. And all those involved in the Great Escape be remembered as the heroes that they we’re doing what all captured military do to get home. It was their duty and they did it well.
Just another reason why they are called the greatest generation of the 19 hundreds. I thank all veterans for my FREEDOM. Thank you for your service thank you for your suffering.
Wow!!! Just incredible. What a bunch of very talented and determined individuals. You couldn’t make this stuff up. Fantastic
Unarmed and harmless, just trying to get home. Rounded up and murdered. A terrible and tragic end to this incredible story
Think Americans are capable of killing innocent unarmed ppl? Same way the Nazi SS did? Like 500 women & kids. Shot dead at a ditch. & After this happened. But don't think the officers in charge & participating, didn't pay. Pardoned. Even governor Jimmy Carter saluted & praised the top officer. Nah, we make excuses. In fact a US chopper Pilot, who landed & put his life on the line to stop this massacre, is hardly known. Read up on Mai Lai. You can find interviews of him here. Great man. Great courage.
..or the ray in Hawaii, but we can't talk about that...@@baberRuth
My father was a prisoner there at the time and a member of the team tracking the German "goons" who were trying to find tunnels. He led the building of the memorial outside the camp. His friend Roger Bushell was one of those shot. The rationale for escaping was that it tied up a couple of divisions of troops who would be searching for them. At that point of the war a couple of divisions was a big deal and my father always thought the shooting of the 50 was because Hitler wanted an end to that massive diversion of effort. I cannot say if he was right but that was the reasoning.
Of course he was right. Had Hitler an extra 2 or 3 divisions at Kursk, D-day, the breakout to Fallaise, or the battle of Berlin, history might’ve been changed for the worse.
@@flashgordon6670 I am glad you agree but I guess the important thing is that Hitler agreed. Those guys (and a lot of others) did not die in vain. My Dad was a bit sad about it in the end..... the feeling of waste of good men affected him badly when he was old.
@@keithmclean4283 Well at least we get to live freely now and have the right to do all kinds of stupid things thanks to them.
@@flashgordon66703 extra divisions at any of those battle grounds wouldn't have changed the course of the war in any meaningful way. By mid 1943 the Germans were completely overwhelmed.
@@lesmotley6839 How do you know? Were you there?
I was fortunate to see "The Great Escape" 1963 when it was first released, I was 8. World War II was closer to us then and as a kid I had lots of surplus stuff to play with there was still loads of it around. Just the other day I returned to Stalag Luft III and watched that fine movie. This documentary just reeforced the notion I had that it was a huge undertaking and some serious engineering work had to be done. Soon all the veterans of World War II will leave this mortal coil. If you know one, talk to them while you can in real time, because all we will have is what they have wrote and recorded..
I was 8 also in 1963.
I also had the privilege of working security at the official dedication of the WWII Memorial in Washington DC
I'm a veteran an respect these men so much for there valor bravery and immunity,and for there sacrifice for this country,great great documentary
I was born in 57 I enlisted on the 27 of Sept.1977 & served for 10 years, as a Combat Engineer, & a Battalion HQ craftsman, 19th Engr. Bn.Ft Knox KY. To this day if I meet a WW2 Veteran I get VERY weepy. I get on my knees & I Thank them profusely for saving the FREE world, to many paid the highest price, so we could remain Free. My paternal great grandfather was an enlisted NCO in the English army, horse drawn light artillery, he was gased twice once with chlorine, & once with mustard he died at 55 of lung destruction. I was fortunate to have my greatgramma with us until I was 23. She would tell me stories of explains boming London, I always new how lucky I was to have her for so long, she died at 96, I will always carry her in my heart. My dad's brother was a Combat Engineer Veteran who served in Korea Imiss him my dad & his parents very much especially my grandfather he & I were very close. Watching the documentary makes me continue to realise how much Freedom can cost & how we ALL must do our part in protecting it.
Thank You for reminding all of us not to take our freedom for granted.
Mark A. Foster USArmy Disabled Combat Engineer Veteran who served at the height of the cold war. Vermont U.S.A.
To find the tunnel cover and a hook is absolutely amazing.
one of my distant cousins escaped twice from different German prisoner of war camps during the second world War
What an incredible group of men & story! 🤯 i hope all of your decendants are as proud AF to call you a relative ❤❤❤
I'm working in the area of Stalag Luft 3 in an area that was to be expanded to but never came to be, Karliki. I have been to the memorial these gentlemen saw the names on and walked along the path they say Harry was. They came up not far at all from the guard tower. I walked next to the fire water pit, been down in a hospital they had for the prisoners. It is very humbling to be here.
Man, do I love hearing the old gentlemen’s reactions to seeing the tunnel!
The Great Escape is a wonderful movie but this humanizes a bit what those men went through to get out and back in the fight. Simply extraordinary and astonishing.
I was privileged long ago, when I was much younger , to know a man who was a British veteran of World War One. He was captured by the Germans Five times, escaped four times. It must have been a sport back then.
Perhaps the greatest story of WW2 and of all history. Pity that only 3 out of 77 escapees made it to freedom, barely a 4% success rate. An escape attempt is only successful, when it’s 100% complete and the runaways make it to a free nation.
Would the POWs who put so much into their escape efforts, if they had known the chance of success a-forehand, have undertaken their attempts to escape?
This film is a real eye opener and makes the struggles during WW2 a reality in our modern day.
Thank you for all the work that went into producing this film and excavation, and especially to the veterans and POWs, who gave their souls and life for their cause.
To keep up the fight under extreme hardships, mental and physical challenges, stress and trauma is worthy of the highest regard and respect, the fight to sustain our humanity.
The greatest of all.
The Wooden Horse (1950) is a movie about a different escape from the same camp - Stalag Luft III. This involved an elaborate ruse to dig a 40 foot tunnel under the wire. Three men escaped - all three made it to Neutral Sweden.
@@joebombero1 Yes I know ty.
That top British officer in charge wd say to you. Look up the date & casualties of battle of the Bulge. And a few cuss words.
@@baberRuth and I’d say, “thanks for confirmation that you are indeed an idiot.”
If they had known? Yes they would have because it was a duty not only to one's country but to oneself. It is a question of pride, not just patriotism. They will forever be remembered and I hope we learn from them.
RIP Gentlemen, may you all be with your families now forever. Bless you all for your service and sacrifice. You will bot be forgotten.
"The Germans never found Dick...." 😂 lol, sorry, i had too
Thanks for this doco, first time learning about something diff from WW2. And i LOVE that this was made when the men were still alive ❤
Shout out to El Chapo and his tunnels too 🤣🥰
You do realize that that is where the saying came from right? The Germans never found Dick , equals to never found anything, zero, nothing, nada.
Barry Davidson was a neighbour to my great aunt and my mom used to chum around with his daughter, he was a pilot from Calgary, Alberta, Canada . He was referred to as “the scrounged” by fellow POWs. In the movie James Garners character was based on Barry Davidson.
What these brave souls accomplished is totally phenomenal!! 🇺🇲✨🇺🇲✨
Unbelievable to actually see how they were able to make it happen.
🇺🇲🙏🇺🇲
Incredible men who had such intellect & strength both physically & mentally were a true testament to the calabar of these men.🇺🇲🩵🇺🇲🩵🇺🇲 ✨💫 Despite the odds they prevailed!! May they rest in peace 🕊️🩵🕊️🙏🇺🇲
Amen! 🙏🏼 One of the greatest events of all history. They fought for their cause, to sustain our humanity, in the face of extreme hardships and suffering, so we may be free today.
Thanks be unto them.
🇬🇧
I served nearly 3 years active duty in the US Army in the early 60's, and was stationed in Germany for 2 years. This was before Vietnam. Needless to say I've always been grateful for the easy tour of duty knowing how bad it was for those who served during the war. To all those Veterans - Thank You for your service.
Seeing the movie then the work here brings joy for those who escape and sadness to those who were left behind. War is so horrible!
I have never seen the movie...
I might have to after watching this! 😉👍🏻
I have this movie,but to watch this documentary really nails it home what these guys went through.
These soldiers were amazing, moving 6 tons of sand for every 2 feet by 2 feet 30 feet deep and 76 soldiers escaped the German prison camp.
They definitely worked their ass off and deserved their freedom. Also 2ft cubed is equal to about 814.5lbs
Sad that only 3 made it out of germany
@@Lettusfarm ya I saw what you wrote and it made sense, the poster was only supposed to calculate the 30-foot deep shaft of sand only one time. Still don’t know how it wasn’t spotted on the top soil
@@Kannij_03what a waste of time luckily the guards knew what was going on
@@TheWelwyn21The guards didn’t know, the prisoners escaped right under the Nazi’s noses, either permanently or temporarily.
This docu is right up there with my other favourite war docu done amazingly by Jeremy Clarkson of all people
Would love to see him cover this story
Kiwis, Sqdrn Ldr Leonard Trent VC was in the tunnel when rumbled and F/O Porokuru (John) Pohe RNZAF (a Maori airman) was one of the 50 shot by the Nazis - New Zealand Remembers!!
Davey Jones, was also known as "Tokyo". Why? Because he was also on the Doolittle Raid. What a career! I hope I can meet him on the other side.
I do like documentarys on the great escape and hearing the veterans talk about the great escape brings it so close
best documentary I’ve seen in a while.
One thing of our olden days reminds me that any scrap tins or wooden packages were so strong that they can b utilised as tools or converted into other item ...so the story goes on...
This video is so interesting, it goes hand & hand with the movie.
Thank you to the makers of the documentary.
Pleased to see you got the tragic ending right, and the retribution. The story of how a RAF unit was put together for the hunting down of the Gestapo criminals was made into a great book.
Which book?
@@clairebarber6728 hunting the great escape murderers, I think, came out in the 80s after declassification.
@@richardcaves3601 Thanks so much! I’ll
Check it out
Have you found the proper title?
The already existing RAF Special Investigation Branch undertook the job. The officer in command was Squadron Leader William Bowes. Most of the leg work was undertaken by Deputy Assistant Provost Marshal Frank McKenna. He was a particularly effective investigator having been a Dectective Segeant in Blackpool Borough Police before joining Bomber Command in 1943.
The investigation featured in the second half of the American made-for-tv film The Great Escape II: The Untold Story. As usual, it plays fast and loose with the facts, omtiing any mention of it being a British operation. In reality the Yanks were delberately obstructive to McKenna's work, refusing to hand over the Gestapo suspects they held.
The book is - Human Game: The True Story of the 'Great Escape' Murders and the Hunt for the Gestapo Gunmen by Simon Read.
Publication date, October 2012.
I actually just watched The Great Escape, Stalag 17 and Hart's War this past week. This is a very special video to come across so soon after seeing those movies again. I know 2 of those are complete works of fiction but they are all great movies.
The movie about this is one of my all time favorites.... the men who pulled this off in real life are amazing ... unfortunately, not the wisest thing they could have done...but, they were all adults knowing the consequences...
What those brave men did just to get out......just to get back to there side and do there thing.
Hats off to the chaps.
Appendectomy, 9th grade, couldnt go to gym for two weeks so they sent me to the library. I found The Great Escape and devoured it. These men were both brave and brilliant. The greatest generation. Indeed.
Flight Lieutenant Paul Gordon Royle (17 January 1914 - 23 August 2015) was an Australian Royal Air Force pilot who was one of the last two survivors of the 76 men who were able to escape from the Stalag Luft III German prisoner-of-war camp in World War II in what became known as The Great Escape.
Kinda remind me of James Coburn character in the great escape
Wow...only 3 got home....what an incredible feat!
mind boggling ......the movie & book did a great job of showing what happened......but frankly, this film does more to capture the reality of the story ...it must have been terrifying ......
3:03, holy crap, that POW camp was huge. Ive seen my fair share of hogans heroes, but i never realized the camps were that big. Thats like a whole town.
You'll be amazed at how many US ships were sunk west & east. How many 🇺🇲 🇨🇦 Australia RAF planes were shot ⬇️. They had parachutes.
I'd like to see a historically accurate movie version of the whole affair. Including the terrible snow, which - as a survivor described - is what defeated them after the escape. Also the fact that SOME guards were almost complicit in helping the POWs; it's how they got information abt the railroad schedules and maps of the surroundings (not having Steve McQueen easily escape to gather that info and then just turn himself in). The old classic 'Great Escape' is pretty good, but the 2nd half has an awful lot of goofy stuff. The blind guy; Steve McQueen always wearing white pants, even during the escape; no snow anywhere; etc. The movie was made for more naive audiences of the day, who needed to see heroic Americans in the cast, even though the Yankee POWs had been moved to another compound by the time the escape was implemented.
Will there be enough good men today to stop evil like this again?
That's an interesting question because evils like that have happened since and even now.
Not in China, Russia. Pakistan,North Korea, Indonesia and the Middle East.
Only if they can still get their face cream, eye make up and lattes.
Well as you can see with the ongoing Ukraine war the answer is a staunch & swift No their is none such men available
@@pepsipeanuts521 the Ukraine weren't that nice during WW2
Having read the book and watched the movie 80+ times I visited Harry and the museum twice. Fascinating and sobering.
Bless their hearts man, im glad tbey persevered through, and made it out alive. They all look great, healthy in their great old age 💪
Incredible what the greatest generation went through to keep us free.
Describe free, because LGBTQ and liberal feverdreams are not free. If our grandparents could see how shit this world is, they would have stayed home.
What an amazing documentary. The movie really does NOT tell the story. It is a combination of this documentary and reading Wikipedia that you really know what is going on here. This was an amazing great escape without a doubt. Even more amazing was the two Dutch who made it safe out German and the Norwegian likewise. However, the escape will not have been possible without the great work of the 600 prisoners who took park in this escape. Sadly 50 were executed for escaping. Thus, congratulations must be given to the British government in the pursuit of justice. They hunted these Nazis down. Thus allowing Albert Pierpoint the henchman to bring justice to the 50 by hanging these depraved Nazis. Bravo. That is the way to do it. Remember the 50 and justice for the 50. As a Gulf War veteran I salute you. Amazing escape.
I love when asking about how they dug in such a tight tunnel basically saying it was impossible. Jimmy i believe just shakes his head and shrugs saying “noo no no”. You can kinda sense the whole “you don’t get it” moment. It was either dig in impossibly tight spaces risk death and try to escape or sit there and roll the dice on your fate.
Thank you for your documentary, I’ve seen the movie several times. I hope all those souls can rest in peace.
I watch many WWII history, and glad that the Germans in charge were held accountable in war crimes. As much as it was possible
These Brave men should ALL be Collectively Awarded the Victoria Cross for their efforts to escape the clutches of the Enemy and attempting to rejoin their Forces and to Continue the Fight, for they were the True Men of Renown, and have become Truly Giants of Their Time in their Lifetime and in our Hearts of our Remembrance, now and forever more. This is all I can allow myself to say, for I am overwhelmed by Their Courage. and am humbled by their Sacrifice. Amen
Brilliant!. The resources required at these camps to keep these prisoners must have impacted the German war effort. The ingenuity of these men is amazing!. How do you 'tap' into a live elecrical system undetected! Post war an RAF Police officer tracked down a lot of the surviving German officers responsible for the executions of the escapers and bought them to justice. He used German records to do so. Heroes! Lest we forget!. Nuff said.
Truly the greatest generation. What a people, both men and women, during those times.
Hail to ur dad bro. As my grandpa told me after ur 21st mission u went home. Ur dad was brave as hell to re enlist for anotha tour. The aver bomber groups didn’t make 12 b4 shot down. Be proud of him, ur dad’s my hero now also.
The Great Escape by Paul Brickhill was the first book that I bought for myself with my allowance around 1967. In paperback, it was a riveting story of the amazing and tragic story of the British POWs that escaped from Luft Stalag III in WWII. I was thrilled by its contents and the bravery of these men who gave everything in their attempt to disrupt the Nazi war machine from the inside out.
The book is still a great read written as it is, so clearly written that it is accessible to fairly young readers.
It dawned on me as the video was ending that the material they were digging could have killed any one of them at anytime and the fact that never happened is amazing. I wonder if that conversation ever took place at the time, should someone get killed while tunneling how would they explain that to the gaurds?
An incredible movie and true story. Sad ending by lots of prisoners
I hope they place a memorial over the tunnel to mark the spot. So much history is lost. For me I have to be at the spot touch it, feel it beneath my feet. I hope this location is salvaged by the Polish Government, and kept for our posterity.
Even among enemies, one can still be impressed by a certain aspect of another, so I’d bet a number of German officers and staff were pretty darn impressed by these guys’ ingenuity and their determination.
The movie was one of the best true war movies ever made.
My Grandfather, Lt. Col. Walter J. Paton, in charge of the 58th Artillery. Kia March of 1945. He was the only educator of the Shrewsbury, Massachusetts School system not to come home. He taught math at the Beal school. The elementary school is named after him. Truely a great man. His story and the Artillery unit are told in an ebook called Hot Steel.
Had the privilege of meeting Jimmy James, remarkable man
This have to be great things I ever watch on TH-cam thank you put this video
Excellent description of the event !
I very well understand about the problem of the sand caving in on the tunnels. As a small boy, I remember our digging trenches from a new well by the house. My brothers were digging those tunnels by hand and one of my brothers was about five feet deep in very sandy soil when the sides of the trench caved in on him. Luckily it was not deep enough to completely bury him, but he had to have someone dig him out. Dry sand moves very easy!
In honor of those 50 murdered following the great escape.
Here's a group of archeology types, with modern equipment, and can't keep the tunnel from collapsing.
Budget & schedule. I got from them just what I wanted. Sorry everything ain't up to your standards
Proper heroes !
Thank you very much for making and posting this documentary 😊
My HS Principal was at Stalag Luft III. He was a P-47
pilot. He was captured after the Great Escape. After
VE day, he went to the Pacific theatre. Ralph Kling.
steve
Even with the tragic number of losses, the fact that those three men managed to make it to freedom still makes it a net win in my eyes.
Wonderful program.
It is always the best way to tell of an historical event by employing those involved as you know where you stand and there is more closeness to the event than if just told as history. Amazing men that we lack today.
WOW!!!!THAT WAS AWESOME. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS 😢
Amazing what they came up and how they did this. And to be able to keep it a secret with many knowing that was the hard part .