STALAG LUFT III - THE GREAT ESCAPE
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 ½ a mile away.
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 ½ a mile from the exit of Tunnel Harry.
