The Fifty – The Great Escape – Zagan, Poland


The Fifty - view on the site
The Fifty – view on the site

History

The Great Escape took place on the night of 24 March 1943. 76 prisoners escaped through a 110 meters long tunnel named “Harry” in Stalag Luft III. After the alarm was raised and the hunt on the airmen seized only 3 escapees managed to stay out of German clutches, the other 73 were caught again and brought back to the camp. Hitler personally ordered the infamous “Sagan Befehl”. Ordering all 73 to be shot, as well as camp commandant Lindeiner who designed the camp. It is said that due to the interference of Hermann Göring this number was reduced to 50. Field Marshal Keitel, Major-General Westhoff and Major-General Graevenitz all argued against this order for it was in conflict with the Geneva convention.

The Fifty - Zagan
The Fifty – Zagan
The Fifty - Text on the cross
The Fifty – Text on the cross
The Fifty - Altar for 50 urns
The Fifty – Altar for 50 urns
The Fifty - Altar
The Fifty – Altar

The sentence was executed by the Wroclaw Mordkommando, a Gestapo murder command. The executions took place near the town of Iłowa in Poland. The selection of the fifty men was done by the commander of Einsatzgruppe B and head of the Nazi Kriminalpolizei Arthur Nebe. Most of these men died later in the battle for Fortress Breslau and avoided responsibility. Max Wielen, chief of the Kriminalpolize in Breslau, was sentenced to life imprisonment and Wilhelm Scharpwinkel, officer in the Einsatzgruppe, died in a Russian prison cell in Moscow. Arthur Nebe was put to death due to the fact that he was involved in the plot to kill Adolf Hitler in the Wolfsschanze.

Among the Fifty was the South African Major Roger Bushell, the commander of committee “X”, the escape organisation in Stalag Luft III. He was shot by Gestapo official Emil Schulz.

The Fifty - The Great Escape
The Fifty – The Great Escape
The Fifty - Names rigth tablet
The Fifty – Names rigth tablet
The Fifty - Major Roger Bushell on the 4th row left
The Fifty – Major Roger Bushell on the 4th row left
The Fifty - Names middle left row
The Fifty – Names middle left row
The Fifty - Names middel right row
The Fifty – Names middel right row

Visit

A memorial for “The Fifty” was erected by the airmen of Stalag Luft III, a special tomb was built by the prisoners in the shape of an altar for 50 urns with the ashes of those murdered. On three tablets are the names of the Fifty and their ranks. After the war the urns were moved to Cytadela, a war cemetery in Poznan, also in Poland.

The Fifty - Memorial in Zagan
The Fifty – Memorial in Zagan

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