STALAG LUFT III - THE GREAT ESCAPE
Stalag Luft III (German: Stammlager Luft, main camp for aircrew) was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war camp during World War II that housed captured air force servicemen. It was in the German province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan (now ลปagaล, Poland), 160 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Berlin. The site was selected because it would be difficult to escape by tunnelling due to the sandy ground.
The camp is best known for two famous prisoner escapes that took place there by tunnelling, which were depicted in the films The Great Escape (1963) and The Wooden Horse (1950), and the books by former prisoners Paul Brickhill and Eric Williams from which these films were adapted.
The photographs were made in 2015, 70 years to the week of Liberation from the camp on the night of 27th January 1945, around the main route of entry for POWs, the train station through to elements that remain of the camp.
A selection of these images and story were published in The Daily Telegraph weekend magazine.
Train Platforms, Zagan
Remains of Zagan train station platforms. POWs disembarked onto these after being shot down, captured, interrogated and eventually taken to Zagan via train to begin the short walk through the dense pine woods to Stalag Luft III POW Camp. These platforms are also where POWs who took part in The Great Escape boarded their trains soon after escaping from Tunnel Harry less than ยฝ a mile away.
A snowy train station with multiple train tracks, signals showing red, a platform with blue railing, and an old tower in the background.
Abandoned building with boarded-up windows, snow on the ground, and train tracks in front.
Empty train station platform on a snowy day, with train tracks, lamp posts, and some trees in the background.
An old, dilapidated train station platform with a small abandoned wooden and brick building in the center, covered in boarded-up windows. Snow is on the ground, and track rails are visible at the bottom of the image. There are poles and signs in the background, with leafless trees and an overcast sky.
Abandoned building with boarded windows next to snow-covered train tracks, with a large stone tower in the background.
Winter scene of a rural train yard with snow-covered ground, wooden stacks of lumber, utility poles, and scattered buildings, with trees and a large house in the background under an overcast sky.
Zagan Station Train Tunnel
The underground tunnel entrance/exit for Zagan train station. All POWs entering Stalag Luft III passed through this. It was this stairway that POWs who took part in The Great Escape could not find in the dark, until daylight revealed it was in a recess in the side wall of this underground pedestrian tunnel. This meant many missed their planned trains leaving in the dark resulting in quick decisions to walk across country or wait on the platform in daylight where some were captured less than ยฝ a mile from the exit of Tunnel Harry.
Old, abandoned building with snow-covered ground in front, surrounded by leafless trees and overcast sky.
A snow-covered forest graveyard with a white cross monument in the foreground and several headstones in the background.
War memorial with three stone plaques on a brick base, decorated with flowers and candles, in a snow-covered forest.
A memorial monument with four stone plaques in a snowy forested area, decorated with flowers and wreaths, surrounded by trees and a green metal fence.
Snow-covered road and sidewalk with leafless winter trees in the background and a street sign on the left that reads "Stalag Luft 3 Tunnel Hany" with an arrow pointing right.
Snow-covered landscape with sparse trees and the ruins of an old brick building in the background.
Snow-covered forest road with tire tracks, lined with tall trees with snow on branches, overcast sky.
A snowy forest with tall pine trees, a wooden signboard, a stone monument with inscriptions, and a pathway covered in snow leading to the monuments.
A snow-covered forest with tall, thin trees and a narrow trail winding through.
Snow-covered forest scene viewed through a barbed wire fence with wooden posts.
Snow-covered wooden pathway leading into a forest of tall pine trees with snow on the branches.
Snow-covered road and forest with pine trees and leafless trees, overcast sky
Snow-covered forest with a variety of bare and pine trees, ground blanketed in snow, overcast sky.
Snow-covered forest with a dirt path running through it, trees on either side, and snow on the ground and branches.
Snow-covered forest with tall trees, some with snow on their branches and trunks, and a cloudy sky overhead.
Snow-covered forest clearing with scattered brick and concrete remnants pacing towards the trees in the distance.
Snow-covered forest clearing with trees and a trail.
Snow-covered forest trail with tall pine trees on both sides under a cloudy sky.
Snow-covered forest with tall pine trees and a small cleared path
Snow-covered remains of an old brick structure with stairs leading up in a forest with tall trees and snow on the ground.
Snow-covered forest with brick ruins and a sign in the distance.
Snow-covered forest with tall pine trees and sparse undergrowth.
A forest with tall pine trees and a light dusting of snow on the ground.
Snow-covered clearing in a forest with brick ruins on either side and a sign in the distance.
Snow-covered forest with tall pine and birch trees, and remnants of old brick and stone structures scattered on the ground.
A snow-covered forest with tall pine trees and a set of metal stairs leading into the woods.
Snow-covered forest trail with tall trees on both sides and a cloudy sky overhead.
A snow-covered forest with a mix of pine and birch trees and a small set of stone steps in the foreground.
Snow-covered forest with tall trees and some broken brick structures on the ground.