While most would say the escape was a dreadful failure, the Allies could little predict such harsh treatment for escaping. The Geneva Convention clearly allowed for escape activity and mandated short jail time for any caught trying to escape. In fact, many thought it was their duty to escape, no matter the costs.
But this aside, one must remember that one of the goals in the attempt was to force the enemy to tie up their resources, in the hunt for the men, their transfer and later captivity. It has been said by some that after the escape, the Germans had 100,000 in the youth movement, the military, the police and others searching every possible escape route, trains, buses, etc and checking homes and barns to find these officers. That took up lots of time, manpower and dollars that could have been spent on more warlike activities. Many resources say the number of 100,000 was very low.
Back at Loft lll the German guards and their own officers were horrified with what the Gestapo did, and tried to assure the POW's in camp that they had nothing to do with the crimes and wanted the men to know that. They felt so bad they even helped by giving some land to the Allies to erect a memorial to the murdered men.
While one of the Urns containing the ashes of a murdered officer went elsewhere for burial, 49 came back to the camp and ultimately were placed within this memorial. In later days upright markers were added containing the engraved names and ranks of each of the 50 murdered men.
The line is in fact directly above where the very tunnel travelled. The entrance being duly marked, at the base, and was near the corner of old hit #104. One of the exterior walls of that hut are depicted by the black row of stakes near where the fellow is standing and perhaps taking a picture.
Notice the young trees at the top of the page. These were not there in 1944 as all were chopped down. At the very top end of the picture, but a few feet down would have been the edge of the camp and the barbed wire fences and entanglements.
Beyond that was about a 30 foot open ground area (after trees were cut down in 1944,) and at that point is where the exit of the tunnel came up from 30 feet below ground. It appears in the image that there may be people at that location.
The marker inscription is in Polish, and says..."To the Allied Airmen, prisoners of STALAG LOFT lll, participants in the GREAT ESCAPE, Zagan, 2004."
The camp monument to these men has been cleaned up over the years and now had three tablets that list each of the 50 officers that were murdered.
Hank Birkland's name is on the first tablet on the left and in upper left corner. He was from Spear Hill Manitoba. Jimmy Wernham was from Winnipeg. George Wiley was from Windsor Ontario. Their names are on the right side of the center tablet about mid way down. Gordon Kidder was from St. Catherines Ont.,and Pat Langford was from Alberta. Their names are at the top, and bottom of the left side of the far right tablet. George McGill was from Toronto and, while difficult to read, his name appears a few down from the top of the right side of the 3rd panel, or a few from the top on the left side of the first panel. These Canadians were obviously among the other 44 murdered.
In the early 1960's the very successful movie..."The Great Escape" came out. It was based on the book of the same name written by Paul Brickhill, an Australian pilot attached to the RAF. The introduction for his book was written by George Harsh, an American but serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Brickhill. like some 131,000 got training in Canada under the plan called the Empire Air Training Scheme. With only three officers actually finally making it back to England after the escape, two of these were also trained in Canada under this program.
Many of the famous actors of the day played key roles in this Hollywood movie made for the American public. Steve McQueen was not as well known as some of the others in the movie at the time but he was rapidly becoming so.
One reference I found said that he was a little insecure in his earlier days, and whilst on the set for this movie in Europe in 1962, he walked off the set... and stayed off for two weeks because he thought a fellow actor was getting to much attention in the movie. That fellow was James Garner. So the script writers went back to the drawing board and introduced the whole motorcycle stunt that McQueen, an avid racer of bikes, loved. Trouble is, there was no such event involved in the real story, especially one where he jumps over a 60 ft wire fence with the Alps in the background for added effect. Truth be told, he became famous in part because of the Motor Cycle scene even though he did not even ride in the scene! A stunt man did the scene as the insurance folks were too nervous about the possibilities of him getting hurt.
James Garner, the movie scrounger, pictured at far left, could have been also portrayals of several real POW's including Barry Davidson, from Calgary, who's name has appeared earlier in this series.
Between the two is Toronto born Wally Floody who played a major part in the role of a tunnelling, and was on the executive of the Organization X committee. He was requested by the Hollywood studio to be their onsite advisor, a role he gladly accepted.
Charles Bronson, at far right, played the role of the tunnelling king, when it real life that job was performed by Hank Berkland from Manitoba and Floody of Toronto.
The scrounger and the forger worked closely together in the movie and real life at Luft lll. In the movie, as in real life the forger started to develop eye problems, In the movie he goes blind. The scene below is with Garner partnering up with Donald Pleasence in the role of forger and just getting out of the tunnel where Garner is committed to assist Pleasence at every step of the escape and be his "eyes".
Over the last seven blogs on this subject you have read the names on almost 30 Canadians who played key roles in the planning and digging of the tunnels, their security and camouflage, the security above and below ground, the scrounging and forging divisions, the distractions like the boxing, golf, theatre etc and sand disbursement teams. Over 600 men played a role in the above and below ground work. About 1/3rd of these were Canadians. In fact, it was a Canadian who got back to England after the war and gave the horrific news of the 50 men murdered to MI 5 that in part probably played a role in the investigations and later war crimes trials. And Canadians appeared before those hearings.
The movie has been reported as being about the third MOST downloaded, viewed at a theatre or taken out of the library, of ALL war time movies EVER.
While many Americans helped in the early stages with the digging of HARRY, the later work in the tunnel mostly did not involve them. It is believed that three got out, but were later captured and NONE of the Americans were executed. Six Canadians were.
Yet the incredible Canadian involvement in this story is not the message any viewer gets after having watched the movie. It is 3 hours long. At one point a German Guard teases a POW about fighting for England and reminds the POW that it was England that attacked the US during the War of 1812.
That is the closest to a Canadian reference I found a few weeks back when I again watched the movie. I did not hear the words "Canada" or "Canadian" once in those three hours!
Strange, in a movie clearly more about Canadians than Americans!
Back on Wednesday.