The Great Escape: The Full Dramatic Story with Contributions from Survivors and Their Families [Paperback]

Anton Gill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2002

On the night of March 24, 1944, 76 Allied RAF officers escaped from Stalag-Luft III, Nazi Germany’s most secure POW camp. It was the biggest, most daring break-out of World War II. The tenacity and ingenuity of the prisoners has become the stuff of legend, as they carried out their plan to dig the longest and most sophisticated tunnel ever conceived. But the men paid a high price for their bravery—of the 73 men recaptured, 50 were brutally executed on Hitler’s direct orders. The tireless RAF investigation into the atrocity offers a chilling insight into the last hours of the victims and the actions of the killers. Drawing on the meticulous research carried out for the war crimes trial, as well as interviews with survivors and families of the murdered men, Anton Gill gives us the definitive account of the escape and its shocking aftermath. Among the author’s many books are The Journey Back from Hell and Art Lover: A Biography of Peggy Guggenheim.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

On the night of March 24, 1944, 76 Allied RAF officers escaped from Stalag–Luft III, Nazi Germany’s most secure POW camp. It was the biggest, most daring break–out of World War II. The tenacity and ingenuity of the prisoners has become the stuff of legend, as they carried out their plan to dig the longest and most sophisticated tunnel ever conceived. But the men paid a high price for their bravery: of the 73 men recaptured, 50 were brutally executed on Hitler’s direct orders. The tireless RAF investigation into the atrocity offers a chilling insight into the last hours of the victims and the actions of the killers. Drawing on the meticulous research carried out for the war crimes trial as well as interviews with survivors and families of the murdered men, Anton Gill gives us the definitive account of the escape and its shocking aftermath. Among the author’s many books are The Journey Back from Hell and Art Lover: A Biography of Peggy Guggenheim.

About the Author

Anton Gill read English at Cambridge University and became a full-time writer in 1984. He has published over twenty books, mainly in the field of contemporary history, including a study of Berlin between the wars and a history of the German resistance to Hitler

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Headline Book Publishing (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0755310381
• ISBN-13: 978-0755310388
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,261,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Variety of New Information on the Great Escape, May 8, 2006

By 

Jan Peczkis "Scholar and Thinker" (Chicago IL, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Great Escape: The Full Dramatic Story with Contributions from Survivors and Their Families (Paperback)

There are quite a few books out on the Great Escape. This one repeats most previously-written information, but also has some novel items. A fair amount of biographic detail is devoted to "Big X"-Roger Bushell. There is a picture of him on the British ski team in 1932. Several other pictures, apparently not found in any other book on the Great Escape, are also in Gill's book. This book is also relatively unique in that it has short blurbs of paragraphs, written by individual ex-POWs, interspersed within the main text. There are also brief commentaries by some of the relatives of the 50 murdered escapees.

Much detail is devoted to the processes wherein documents and papers were forged. It is amazing to read that the camp artists could actually paint letters to closely resemble typewritten ones, complete with typos and other typed idiosyncrasies. The need to construct a makeshift theodolite (surveying telescope), as opposed to using a real one, is identified as a major source of error in measurement of the distance that the tunnels had to go in order for their exits to be in the woods. This helps explain why Harry was some 20 feet short of the pine treeline.

The discovery of the escape in progress from tunnel Harry, at just before 5 AM on March 25, 1944, is presented as one that took place when a German guard patrolling the wire perimeter noticed one of the escapees moving through into the forest. According to other versions of this event, the guard was initially attracted to the column of steam coming out of the exit shaft of tunnel Harry, and only noticed the escapees when one of them yelled "Don't shoot!" in German. Mention is made of the fact that the stiff wind periodically helped dissipate the column of steam through the night.

Gill discusses the German people's reaction to Nazi rule, almost tacitly suggesting that the Germans had no choice in the matter. No mention is made of the fact that 89% of the German population voted for the Nazi Party in earlier free elections. Gill also devotes some attention to the hunt for the German war criminals responsible for the murder of 50 of the 73 recaptured escapees.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heroism and tragedy., April 15, 2005

By 

Roger J. Buffington (Huntington Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Escape: The Full Dramatic Story with Contributions from Survivors and Their Families (Paperback)

We all know the story: US GIs and British Tommy POWs at Stalag Luft 3 staged, during World War II, probably the greatest escape operation of all time. This is the true story of what went on, and it is a great story.

The reader will appreciate the courage and perhaps even more, the ingenuity of the soldiers who managed to turn the POW camp's "operational purpose" to be to conduct escape attempts. The basic notion was that by focusing on escape, the captive Allied soldiers could contribute materially to the war effort by tying down a disproportionate amount of German military and police forces. This they did do.

The "Great Escape" largely ended in tragedy, but this in no way detracts from the heroism of the men who conducted it. This is a fascinating and engaging read to which the discerning reader will return many times.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading...., August 8, 2007

By 

Seamus (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Escape: The Full Dramatic Story with Contributions from Survivors and Their Families (Paperback)

I am somewhat a WWII history buff, so I am not objective, but I really liked this book. I remember seeing a movie about this when I was a kid with Steve McQueen jumping fences with his motorcycle... This is the real story, not the stylized Hollywood tale. The thought of being in a small diameter tunnel, hundreds of yards from the opening in the barracks and digging with rudimentary tools makes one shudder. The odds that these guys faced between detection and tunnel collapse, are amazing.