Greatest Escapes WWII S01E01
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00:00In the shadows of history's darkest conflict, a flame of courage burned bright behind the walls and barbed wire of prisoner of war camps.
00:12Awe-inspiring tales of valor and resilience, as captured soldiers, sailors, and airmen dared the impossible to win their freedom.
00:22They dug tunnels, stole planes, forced their way through deadly jungles, and marched huge distances pursued by death squads.
00:34Some of these stories have become the stuff of legend, but many remain shrouded in mystery, even today.
00:43These are the greatest escapes of World War II.
00:52In this episode, Kolditz Castle, the forbidding Nazi fortress that became the university of escapology,
01:06the great escape, and the doomed airmen of Stalag Luft III,
01:14and the most daring breakout of them all, the Warburg Wirejob.
01:22Kolditz Castle in eastern Germany, officially called Offlag 4C, a grim gothic fortress of stone and shadow.
01:36230 kilometers south of Berlin, it has a special place in World War II history.
01:43Formerly a sanatorium, in 1939 it's turned into a prisoner of war camp.
01:48A year later, it becomes a maximum security prison for allied officers.
01:54Not just any officers, but men who've shown they'll do anything to break out of POW camps.
02:02The Nazis proudly boast Kolditz is escape-proof.
02:05That's a challenge the prisoners are happy to accept.
02:15Kolditz becomes a university of escapology,
02:18where most of the 800 prisoners from Britain, Poland, France and the Netherlands
02:25think of little else but how to get home and to rejoin the fight.
02:32Kolditz was the ultimate naughty boys' camp for allied personnel,
02:39so it had automatically been chosen because it was perceived as being so escape-proof by the Germans.
02:46And they thought, why don't we put them in this imposing castle,
02:51make it as difficult as possible, in conditions that are really not pleasant,
02:55to wear down their morale and to crack their resolve.
02:58Kolditz is intimidating.
03:03It's a huge castle on top of a cliff, surrounded by forest and woodland, freezing in winter.
03:09This is a difficult environment for people to operate in.
03:13Very thick walls, very exposed, a lot of guards in this area.
03:18And so I think in a lot of ways it was escape-proof compared to some other camps in Europe at the time.
03:23If there's any way of making it out of the castle,
03:27the men imprisoned here are determined to find it.
03:32Despite being 650 kilometers from the nearest friendly territory,
03:37there were at least 300 escape attempts from Kolditz.
03:40And during peak escape season, when the weather isn't too harsh,
03:49there are attempts almost every day,
03:53by almost every method imaginable.
03:57The men cross-dress,
04:00conceal themselves in straw mattresses,
04:03tunnel into the German guards' toilet blocks,
04:05use decoys and disguises to get past their captors.
04:14At first, the escape attempts are mostly mounted by the French and Dutch,
04:19before the British prisoners decide to join in.
04:27More than 130 men managed to make it beyond the formidable walls.
04:31But only a small proportion managed to make it much further.
04:42These men were incredibly brave.
04:44Risking an escape attempt meant they were exposed to a very real risk of death.
04:50Trying to get from Germany or Austria back to the UK
04:53was a very, very long journey over some extremely harsh terrain.
04:57So the prospects of the men surviving, let alone escaping,
05:02once they got out of the camps and out of Kolditz,
05:04were very small indeed.
05:07In Kolditz, the German guards have a grudging respect for the Allied officers
05:12and acknowledge their sworn duty to escape.
05:17While they're ordered to shoot escapees on sight,
05:20they rarely ever do.
05:22Only one prisoner is ever killed by the guards while trying to escape.
05:26Even though the conditions in Kolditz were not particularly pleasant,
05:30they were, of course, still aligning to the Geneva Convention in most cases.
05:34So the men had to be adequately cared for, they had to be fed,
05:38they needed to have outlets and creative pursuits
05:41in order to help while away their time in Kolditz.
05:45So you're sitting in Kolditz,
05:49you're trying to get through one day to another.
05:52Now you can have bookings.
05:54Oh, we're going to play basketball at nine o'clock,
05:57we're going to have a learn French at four o'clock.
06:02But it gets very dreary.
06:05The prisoners are fortunate with their chief jailer,
06:08Captain Reinhold Eggers,
06:09who has a good-natured disposition
06:11and is no die-hard Nazi.
06:15Instead of facing a firing squad,
06:20escapees are rounded up for a different kind of capture,
06:23being captured on camera for the castle's escape museum.
06:28Eggers collects photos and props,
06:32showcasing the prisoners' creative escape attempts and disguises
06:35to amuse important official visitors.
06:40So the chief guard at Kolditz was Reinhold Eggers.
06:44And we tend to get an impression
06:46that these guards ruled with an iron fist,
06:48that they were truly ferocious.
06:50But he was quite the opposite.
06:52He'd been a schoolteacher, he'd been in the UK,
06:55and so he had a sort of affinity with some of the prisoners.
06:59So far from being a harsh guard,
07:02he sort of took a bit of a joy, if you will,
07:05in these escapes, these attempts at escape.
07:09But as time goes on,
07:11and the escape attempts continue,
07:14the Nazis demand a far tougher regime.
07:17There are these harder repercussions brought in
07:20because every escape undermines the authority
07:22of the Nazi leadership,
07:24and it hands a propaganda victory to the Allies.
07:28Despite the crackdown,
07:30the prison population is now fully immersed
07:33in its own deadly contest.
07:36Who can plan and execute
07:38the most ingenious escape of all?
07:43Today, these tales of derring-do
07:45have achieved legendary status.
07:47The stuff of movies, books, and TV shows.
07:52But these relentless escape attempts
07:54aren't just about breaking free.
07:56The prisoners' dangerous game of one-upmanship
08:00is vital to keep their morale high
08:02and for many to help deal with grinding boredom
08:07and the mental trauma of war.
08:09The POW experience,
08:12it's a lousy one.
08:15It's associated with depression,
08:17it's associated with PTSD,
08:20demoralisation,
08:22and what you can call loss of will.
08:25And then there's all the dreams of what you've lost.
08:28You were a fighting soldier,
08:29and for many,
08:31hey, that was something.
08:32That gave you a sense of dignity,
08:34a sense of purpose.
08:35It's all gone.
08:37So once you start latching on
08:39to the idea of
08:41I'm going to escape,
08:44it's almost the idea
08:46that powers you
08:47rather than the actual event,
08:50because sadly,
08:51the actual event turns out
08:53all too often
08:54a complete failure.
08:55Of one POW,
09:07Chief Warden Reinhold Eggers wrote,
09:08For sheer mad yet calculated daring,
09:13the successful escape
09:15of the French cavalry lieutenant
09:16Pierre Mairès-Lebrun
09:18will not, I think,
09:19ever be beaten.
09:22Pierre-Marie Jean-Baptiste Mairès-Lebrun
09:25had a life and career
09:27as magnificent
09:28as his aristocratic name.
09:30An Olympic show jumper
09:32and polo champion,
09:34he seemed to live
09:35a charmed life
09:35until he was captured
09:37during the fall of France
09:38in June 1940.
09:40In no time at all,
09:42Lebrun establishes himself
09:43as the castle's most elegant
09:45and debonair officer.
09:48But his appearance is deceptive.
09:50He spends every hour
09:51plotting his escape.
09:53And on a relaxed summer's day
09:55in July 1941,
09:57he seized his opportunity.
09:58Now, they'd gone out
10:01to the exercise yard
10:03and this was a really common place
10:04for escapes
10:05because, in many cases,
10:06this was the only time
10:08you saw the light of the day.
10:10So, as a result,
10:11this was the perfect moment
10:12to try and escape.
10:16And what Lebrun did
10:17was he took a running charge,
10:19he got one of his comrades
10:20to lift him up
10:21over the wire enclosure
10:22and, apparently,
10:24he leapt over
10:24with this cat-like elegance,
10:27landed and almost did,
10:28like a pirouette,
10:29a cartwheel over,
10:31and, ultimately,
10:32landed like a cat
10:34and ran off straight away.
10:36Dodging a hail of gunfire
10:38thanks to his athletic prowess,
10:42he disappears into nearby woods,
10:45then walks more than 100 kilometers
10:49in the direction
10:50of neutral Switzerland.
10:57Stealing a bicycle,
10:59he pedals for five days
11:00until the tires disintegrate
11:02close to the border.
11:06Confronted by a German officer,
11:08he knocks him out
11:09and vanishes into the Swiss forests,
11:12eventually finding refuge
11:16on a local farm.
11:19Back in Kolditz,
11:22the guards find his meticulously
11:24packed belongings
11:25and a polite note
11:27asking for his suitcase
11:28to be sent to his home.
11:29The Germans,
11:32in a rare moment of chivalry,
11:34oblige his cheeky request,
11:37a fitting acknowledgement
11:39for his remarkable escape.
11:43But the guards also quickly
11:45increase the height of the fence
11:47to make sure no one else
11:49follows in the Frenchman's
11:50athletic footsteps.
11:51It was absolutely remarkable.
11:54He was able to go that far
11:55with such a simple way
11:57of getting out.
12:00For those French prisoners
12:02who couldn't go over these walls,
12:04there was always the prospect
12:05of trying to go under them.
12:07At the same time
12:08as Mayresse Le Brun
12:09was planning his acrobatic escape,
12:12his fellow officers
12:15were secretly digging Le Metro,
12:18a 140-meter-long escape tunnel.
12:22Beginning high up
12:23within the castle's clock tower,
12:25the tunnel wound down
12:27through solid rock
12:28and under the chapel
12:30through two floors
12:31of basement cellars
12:32emerging on the outer wall
12:35of Kolditz
12:35near the sheer cliff face
12:37over the river Mulder.
12:40Le Metro was an incredibly
12:42advanced tunnel,
12:43so it had its own
12:44ventilation system,
12:46it had its lights,
12:47it had all of these
12:48different provisions
12:49which were amazing
12:50considering the city
12:51circumstances
12:52and it benefited a lot
12:53from great engineering knowledge
12:55amongst the officers.
12:57Unfortunately,
12:58it was given away
12:59by one of the French personnel
13:00who had given away
13:02the secret to the German guards
13:03and unfortunately
13:04it had to be destroyed.
13:06But it really showed
13:07the ingenuity
13:08but also the real intelligence
13:10and the persistence
13:11that these officers could wield.
13:13I think Kolditz continues
13:19to resonate with people
13:21even after all this time
13:22just because of the tales
13:23of daring.
13:24I think it fits in
13:25with what we want to believe
13:26about the war.
13:27These officers did want
13:28to get back to the front,
13:29they did want to continue
13:30the fight.
13:31These men were pillars
13:32of the community,
13:33they were leaders of men,
13:34they wanted to get back
13:36and continue the war effort.
13:41Airy Neve,
13:43later a leading British
13:44political figure
13:45and close confidant
13:46of Margaret Thatcher,
13:47proved himself a master
13:48of escape from Kolditz.
13:51While many breakout plans
13:52were courageous and daring,
13:54some were faintly ridiculous.
13:57Men dream up schemes
13:58to fly a glider
13:59or even catapult themselves
14:01to freedom.
14:03But Neve came up
14:04with the audacious idea
14:05of just walking out
14:07through the front gate
14:08under the noses
14:09of the German guards.
14:14Educated at Eton
14:15and Oxford University,
14:17Airy Neve joined
14:18the Royal Engineers
14:19in May 1938.
14:23Classic British Army
14:25officer stock.
14:26He's tall,
14:27quick-witted,
14:28well-bred.
14:32At the outbreak of war,
14:34Neve sent to France
14:35but is captured
14:37in the fierce fighting
14:38around Calais in 1940
14:39and hauled off
14:41to a prison camp
14:42in German-occupied Poland.
14:46Eleven months later,
14:48after a failed escape,
14:50he's transferred
14:51to Kolditz.
14:53There was quite a rigid
14:54class system at Kolditz.
14:56The officers
14:57sort of transferred
14:59their previous lives
15:00with them,
15:01so much so
15:02that there were
15:03university clubs,
15:04that their ranks
15:06were maintained
15:06within the prison.
15:10Not only was there
15:11a gap,
15:12a chasm,
15:13between the officers
15:14and their orderlies
15:15of the other ranks,
15:16who they looked down upon
15:18and saw them mainly
15:19as their butlers almost.
15:21There was also
15:22racial divisions
15:23as well,
15:24and this was not
15:25only racial
15:26but also
15:27anti-Semitic.
15:30There was a facade.
15:32We're your officers,
15:33we are good guys,
15:35we have your interests
15:36at heart.
15:36But the men knew
15:38that they weren't really
15:40and that there was
15:41always a gap.
15:43There's us
15:44and there's them.
15:46But Niamh would have
15:47no truck
15:48with racial divisions
15:49and announces
15:50early in his captivity
15:51that ostracized
15:53Jewish military prisoners
15:54are welcome to dine
15:55with the British officers.
15:59After just four months
16:00in the castle,
16:01Niamh makes his first
16:02attempt to escape
16:03with another officer.
16:04Aerie Neve
16:07made two attempts
16:08at escaping.
16:09The first one
16:10wasn't that great.
16:11It failed.
16:13He'd created himself
16:14a uniform,
16:15but it was
16:16a theatrical uniform.
16:17The bits of
16:18random fabric,
16:19cardboard,
16:20bit of silver foil
16:21for the belt.
16:22And although
16:23it might have
16:24looked all right
16:25to the naked eye,
16:26once the searchlights
16:27of the camp
16:28were on him,
16:29this uniform
16:30that he'd painted
16:30using theatrical scenery paint
16:32shone up bright green
16:34in the lights
16:35and it was quite clearly
16:36not the real thing.
16:38Four months later,
16:40in January 1942,
16:42they give it another go.
16:44This time,
16:45their plan's
16:46far more sophisticated
16:47and involves them
16:48using a theatrical production
16:50as a decoy
16:51from which to access
16:52the tunnel system
16:53under the castle.
16:55It really showed
16:56that even if you
16:57had tried to escape once,
16:59sometimes you had
17:00to refine your plan
17:01and try again.
17:02They put on fake
17:04German officer uniforms,
17:06this time meticulously made,
17:08almost identical
17:09to real ones.
17:12Hearts pounding,
17:13they run along
17:14the tunnels
17:15until they exit
17:17through a room
17:18used by the guards,
17:21slip over a wall,
17:23and walk out
17:27at Kolditz.
17:32The thing that always
17:33makes me laugh,
17:34the idea that a prisoner
17:36could just throw on
17:36a uniform
17:36and stroll out
17:37without being challenged.
17:39But in the case of Niamh,
17:40it worked perfectly.
17:42The most brazen escape
17:44at Kolditz
17:44was complete.
17:47Two days later,
17:48the men are in Switzerland.
17:49And after a dangerous journey
17:53through France,
17:54Spain,
17:54and Gibraltar,
17:56make it back to England.
18:01Niamh is the first
18:02British officer
18:03to make it all the way home
18:04from the so-called
18:05unescapable Kolditz.
18:09He's soon recruited
18:10by British intelligence,
18:12a secret department
18:13called MI9,
18:15that assists allied airmen
18:17or soldiers
18:17trapped behind enemy lines.
18:20or held as prisoners of war.
18:24Niamh spends the rest
18:25of the war
18:25helping men escape
18:26and make it home alive.
18:29Niamh was important
18:30having escaped
18:31from Kolditz,
18:32and so his information
18:33about how the Germans
18:34operated,
18:35his information
18:35about their systems,
18:37the security,
18:38the ways they tried
18:40to keep prisoners
18:41in camps such as Kolditz
18:42was absolutely invaluable,
18:45and his import
18:46was responsible
18:46for helping many other men
18:47to escape from camps as well.
18:50Airy Neve
18:51is not the only
18:52British officer
18:53to become as famous
18:54for his escape attempts
18:55as for his bravery
18:57in battle.
19:04Douglas Bader
19:05is an RAF pilot
19:06and officer.
19:08He loses both legs
19:10in a 1931 plane crash
19:12and is initially written off
19:16for active flying duty.
19:20But by 1940,
19:23the RAF is becoming desperate
19:24for experienced pilots,
19:26and Bader is called
19:27into the front line,
19:29false legs and all.
19:30by the end of 1941,
19:33his kill rate means
19:34he's declared an ace
19:35and a hero
19:36of the Battle of Britain.
19:39He's promoted
19:39to wing commander
19:40and is flying more sorties
19:42than his able-bodied contemporaries.
19:47When he's shot down
19:49over France
19:49and taken prisoner,
19:51one of his prosthetic legs
19:52is damaged.
19:53Unlike many other POWs,
19:57the Germans treat Bader
19:58with immense respect
20:00and even allow the RAF
20:03to drop off
20:03a replacement leg for him.
20:05But they live to regret
20:08making him so mobile.
20:11Douglas Bader
20:12isn't just
20:12a highly skilled pilot.
20:14He's also
20:15a top-notch escape artist.
20:18The story of Douglas Bader
20:19is the stuff of legend.
20:21He was a double amputee,
20:23Spitfire ace.
20:24He was determined
20:25to be,
20:26in his own words,
20:27a bloody nuisance
20:28to the Germans.
20:29And as a result,
20:30he tried to escape.
20:33Still recovering
20:34from his injuries,
20:35at the San Omer hospital
20:36near Lille,
20:38Bader attempts to escape,
20:40using tied sheets
20:42to climb out
20:42of an upper-story window.
20:46Unsurprisingly,
20:47given his condition,
20:48he's caught.
20:49And before he can cause
20:51any more trouble,
20:52is dispatched
20:53to Stalag Luft III POW camp
20:55in Poland.
20:57Undeterred,
20:58he immediately starts
20:59plotting escapes
21:00with other POWs.
21:03Transferred yet again,
21:05he becomes a leader
21:06of resistance,
21:07smuggling out letters
21:08about camp conditions
21:09and orchestrating
21:10mass breakouts.
21:14After he makes
21:15dozens of escape attempts,
21:17the exasperated Germans
21:19sent him to Kolditz.
21:20It really was an unpleasant
21:23atmosphere to be in.
21:25It was cold,
21:26it was drafty,
21:27the men were incredibly bored
21:29and they had moments
21:30where they were kind of
21:31having to deal
21:32with their traumas themselves
21:33because, of course,
21:35to be a prisoner of war,
21:36you've often been shot down
21:38or captured
21:38in truly horrific circumstances.
21:40So, yes,
21:41there is somewhat
21:42of a sense of camaraderie
21:44in that the men
21:45can speak with one another,
21:46but they've also got,
21:48particularly in the case
21:49of British officers,
21:50this sense of
21:50a British stiff upper lip.
21:52And so,
21:53at the end of the day,
21:54even if you want to
21:55express your feelings
21:57and the hell
21:58you've gone through,
21:59well,
21:59everyone's gone through hell,
22:01so it doesn't make you special.
22:02But here's what
22:06the history books
22:06don't say.
22:09Douglas Bader
22:09is supremely brave,
22:11but he's also arrogant
22:14and selfish
22:14in the extreme.
22:17He's as much
22:18a bloody nuisance
22:19to his fellow prisoners
22:20and his long-suffering
22:21batman Alex Ross,
22:23who has to carry him
22:24up and down
22:25the stone staircases
22:26of Kolditz
22:26as he is to the Germans.
22:29It should be borne in mind,
22:30of course,
22:30that those that tended
22:31to succeed in
22:32war had to have
22:33certain qualities.
22:34They needed to have
22:35grit, determination,
22:37they needed to be assertive.
22:39But, of course,
22:39sometimes this could
22:40border over
22:41into being rude,
22:42into being controlling,
22:44into thinking
22:44you know best.
22:46And Bader
22:46was one of those people.
22:48He could be incredibly
22:50rude and blunt to men
22:51he perceived
22:51as being inferior to him.
22:53He didn't want to join
22:55with other ranks.
22:56He wasn't interested.
22:57He was above that
22:58in his mind.
22:59So,
23:00he was one of those men
23:01that was great.
23:02But he wasn't necessarily
23:03great to be around.
23:04in the iconic Hollywood film
23:20The Great Escape,
23:22superstar Steve McQueen
23:23plays an American POW,
23:25taking part in a daring
23:29mass breakout
23:30masterminded by a British
23:31squadron leader,
23:32Roger Bushell.
23:33in the real-life
23:36Great Escape,
23:3776 airmen
23:38make it out
23:39of Stalag Luft 3
23:40in early 1944.
23:45The film of The Great Escape
23:47is phenomenally good.
23:49It's dramatic.
23:51It's exciting.
23:52But the real-life
23:54Great Escape
23:54was even more exciting
23:56than the film makes out.
23:57Stalag Luft 3
24:00Stalag Luft 3
24:00is in Upper Silesia
24:02in German-occupied Poland.
24:05A site chosen
24:06because its sandy soil
24:07poses a serious challenge
24:08for any tunneling
24:09escape attempts.
24:13To make it even harder,
24:15the camp's designers
24:16raised the barracks
24:17off the ground
24:17and installed
24:19sensitive microphones
24:20to catch sounds
24:21of any digging.
24:22The Germans
24:24are certain
24:25it's escape-proof.
24:28It houses
24:29around 10,000 airmen,
24:30mainly British
24:31and American officers.
24:35Compared with other camps,
24:36the conditions
24:37are relatively relaxed.
24:40Rations are short,
24:41but prisoners
24:42can play basketball
24:43or volleyball
24:43to pass the time
24:44or work on
24:46new escape plans.
24:47Roger Bushell,
24:54who inspired
24:54Richard Attenborough's
24:55portrayal of
24:56Roger Bartlett
24:56in the Great Escape movie,
24:59takes charge
24:59of organizing
25:00the escapees.
25:04Alongside
25:05the charismatic
25:05bomber pilot
25:06Johnny Bull,
25:09Bushell conceives
25:09a plan
25:10for a mass breakout
25:11so bold
25:13and audacious
25:14it'll echo
25:15through the years.
25:15capturing the imagination
25:18of Hollywood screenwriters.
25:24Their plan
25:25is nothing short
25:26of extraordinary.
25:27200 men
25:29breaking out
25:29on a single night.
25:32Each one chosen
25:33for their language prowess,
25:35escape skills
25:36and unwavering commitment
25:37to tunneling underground
25:39for months.
25:41The first tier
25:42were chosen
25:42because they were seen
25:43as having the greatest
25:44chance of escape.
25:46These were the men
25:47that were master forgers,
25:49men with excellent
25:50language skills,
25:51men who were already
25:52very much aware
25:53of using their
25:55engineering skills
25:56and many other types
25:57of evasive maneuvers
25:58in order to escape
26:00Stalagluff 3.
26:02The second group
26:03were a little less specialized
26:04but would still prove useful
26:06in the escape attempt.
26:07And the third ones
26:08really were a little bit
26:09more like chancers
26:11but at the end of the day
26:12everybody is chancing
26:14at this point
26:14and it's a result
26:15that whether you are
26:17skilful or not
26:18sometimes luck
26:19isn't on your side.
26:20So it's worth a go anyway.
26:26Three tunnels
26:27called Tom, Dick and Harry
26:29each more than 90 meters long
26:31are dug to the safety
26:32of the forest
26:33past the perimeter fence.
26:34The idea is that
26:38if one tunnel is discovered
26:39two more stand ready
26:41as backups.
26:45The tunnels are hidden
26:46under drains or stoves
26:48and are deep enough
26:48so the buried German microphones
26:50can't hear anything.
26:54The prisoners use
26:55ingenious methods
26:56to conceal their work.
27:00From secret trap doors
27:01to layers of blankets
27:03muffling the sounds of digging.
27:05Famously
27:06they smuggle out
27:07and scatter
27:08some of the 100 tons
27:09of sand they excavate
27:10in specially adapted
27:11trousers and coats.
27:14Lighting rigs
27:15allow work to continue
27:16around the clock
27:17all the while
27:18protected by a team
27:19of watchers
27:20keeping a close eye
27:21on the movement
27:22of the guards.
27:24The dig takes
27:25almost 12 months
27:26during which time
27:28the tunnel
27:28nicknamed Tom
27:29is found and destroyed
27:30and Dick
27:33is abandoned.
27:34But on March 24, 1944
27:39everything's ready
27:40for the great escape
27:41through Tunnel Harry.
27:44200 men nervously
27:45wait for lights out
27:46to begin their daring
27:48dash to freedom.
27:49the men that are trying
27:52to escape
27:52are going through
27:53immense psychological stress.
27:55So not only
27:56are they having to think
27:57about all of their backstories
27:59and keep them in mind
28:00for when they get out
28:01but even just trying
28:03to get out
28:03is so dangerous.
28:05They're having to make sure
28:06that they're not going to be
28:07jostling each other
28:08and causing problems
28:09in the tunnel
28:10and increasing the chances
28:11of a collapse
28:12but also they've got
28:13to make sure
28:13they're not spotted
28:14that they're not shot at
28:16and ultimately
28:16what their backup plans are
28:18should their original plans fail.
28:23At 10.30pm
28:25Johnny Bull
28:26with all the bravado
28:27of Steve McQueen
28:28descends the 9m shaft
28:31to the tunnel
28:31directly below
28:32the Nazi guards
28:33that will take him out
28:36beyond the camp's
28:37outer fence.
28:39On the night
28:40of the great escape
28:42things didn't go
28:43quite according to plan.
28:46For a start off
28:47the tunnel was short.
28:50The idea had been
28:51that it would get
28:51into the trees
28:52into the forest
28:53around the camp
28:54but it didn't quite make it
28:56so as the men
28:57made it through
28:58they were actually
28:58coming out
28:59into open countryside
29:00where they could be
29:01easily spotted
29:02by searchlights.
29:05Precious minutes
29:06are wasted
29:06as each prisoner
29:07now has to wait
29:08for an all clear
29:09signaled by a rope tug
29:11before making
29:13the dash for the forest.
29:16To add to the tension
29:17the tunnel begins
29:18to collapse.
29:20The soil
29:21is starting to sag
29:22the weight of trying
29:23to keep those tunnels up
29:24with these makeshift
29:25equipment
29:26is really difficult
29:27and of course
29:28if it comes down
29:29you could easily
29:30have many of the men
29:31trapped
29:32and buried alive.
29:35Midnight
29:35an air raid siren
29:38sounds.
29:42Starlog Luft III
29:43is suddenly plunged
29:44into total darkness
29:45which means
29:47the lights in the tunnel
29:48also go out
29:49so no one can move.
29:50after an hour
29:56the lights come back on
29:57and the escape
29:59resumes
29:59but Johnny Bull
30:02and Roger Bushell
30:03realise there's now
30:04not enough time
30:05for all 200 men
30:07to escape
30:07some would need
30:09to be sacrificed.
30:13I think for the officers
30:14in charge of the escape
30:15it was a blow
30:16that they realised
30:17the plan was not
30:18unfolding as they
30:19wanted it to
30:19but at the same time
30:21these were military men
30:22and by the very nature
30:23of them being
30:24in a prison camp
30:25they already were
30:25very experienced
30:26with combat
30:26with leading men
30:27in difficult situations
30:28so they were
30:29very experienced
30:30and I'm sure
30:31that they felt
30:32well this is the lot
30:32that we've received
30:33we simply have
30:34to get on with it.
30:38By 5am
30:39when the tunnel
30:40is discovered
30:4176 prisoners
30:42have reached the trees
30:44and begin their attempt
30:45to reach a safe haven
30:46by any means possible
30:47the Nazis
30:51swiftly mobilised
30:52to recapture them
30:53scouring the surrounding
30:55farmland
30:56and setting up roadblocks
30:57The Great Escape
31:00was a massive embarrassment
31:01for the Nazi leadership
31:03because at the end
31:04of the day
31:04Salaglof 3
31:05was designed
31:06to keep the most
31:07troublesome prisoners in
31:09and so the fact
31:10they managed to get out
31:11caused absolute chaos
31:12because they weren't
31:13expecting it
31:14They've already had
31:15quite a few escapes
31:17from Kolditz
31:18and the fact that
31:19Salaglof 3
31:19is seen as being
31:20particularly escape proof
31:22it really blows that
31:23out of the water
31:24and it embarrasses them
31:25immensely.
31:27Within a fortnight
31:29all but three of the airmen
31:30have been found
31:31two from Norway
31:32and one from the Netherlands
31:34Of the 76 who got out
31:36they're the only ones
31:38who make it to safety
31:39The Germans were astonished
31:41not just by the number
31:43of men who escaped
31:44but the intricate
31:45planning it took
31:46An example will need
31:48to be set
31:49The scale of the material
31:53required in the Great Escape
31:55is just mind-boggling
31:57The number of planks
32:00that were stolen
32:00from beds
32:01in their thousands
32:02It's a miracle
32:03the beds didn't collapse
32:04under the weight
32:04of the men still lying on them
32:06The metal
32:07the tin cans
32:09the electrical wire
32:10the lighting
32:11every aspect of this
32:13was doomed to fail
32:15There is no way
32:16that men in a prison camp
32:17would be able
32:18to gather these resources
32:19and bring them together
32:20in a way
32:21that they could construct
32:22these long
32:23and very impressive tunnels
32:24and yet it did work
32:25Not only was the plan
32:28fairly ingenious
32:29and fairly brilliant
32:30but the execution
32:31the stealing of supplies
32:34the building of the tunnels
32:35was absolutely remarkable
32:36Adolf Hitler
32:38under extreme pressure
32:40with the war
32:40turning against Germany
32:42is furious
32:43He personally orders
32:45the execution
32:46of every escapee
32:48But his senior military
32:50commanders object
32:51Worried about possible
32:53allied reprisals
32:54against German prisoners
32:56of war
32:56Hitler turns to his loyal
32:59SS Reichfuhrer
33:01Heinrich Himmler
33:02Ever faithful
33:06to Hitler's wishes
33:08Himmler organizes
33:09the killing
33:10of more than half
33:11of the escapees
33:12And so
33:14of the 76 men
33:16who escaped
33:1650 are murdered
33:19by the Gestapo
33:20in cold blood
33:21And I think
33:22what you see in there
33:23is Himmler
33:25is an example
33:26of a human being
33:28who had
33:28absolutely
33:29no feeling
33:31whatsoever
33:32for other human beings
33:33And this is the thing
33:36about everything
33:37the Nazis did
33:38when things went
33:40against them
33:41When anyone stood up
33:43to them
33:43it's not just
33:44we will step in
33:46we will punish
33:48to an extraordinary degree
33:50Offlag 6B
34:02is an overcrowded
34:03allied officers
34:04prisoner of war camp
34:05in northwest Germany
34:06near a town
34:07called Warburg
34:08It's another melting pot
34:11of ideas
34:12plotting
34:12and scheming
34:13Escape here
34:16is on almost
34:16everyone's mind
34:17And it's here
34:20that the plan
34:21for the famous
34:21Warburg wire job
34:22is conceived
34:23The Warburg wire job
34:27is essentially
34:28what happens
34:29when you get
34:30a lot of officers
34:31together
34:32who are absolutely
34:33determined
34:33to escape
34:34from their prisoner
34:35of war camp
34:35and get back
34:36to the war effort
34:37What made it stand out
34:39was the sheer
34:40ingenuity
34:41of the way
34:42they decided
34:42that they were
34:43going to escape
34:44The camp is surrounded
34:47by two
34:48four-meter
34:48barbed wire fences
34:49standing a couple
34:50of meters apart
34:51For escapees
34:54going under them
34:54is proving
34:55incredibly difficult
34:56The tunnels
34:59either collapse
35:00or they are found
35:01by the Nazi guards
35:02well before
35:02they're finished
35:03After witnessing
35:07several failed
35:08attempts
35:08to tunnel out
35:09Major Tom Stallard
35:11an Englishman
35:12and Scottish Lieutenant
35:14Jock Hamilton Bailey
35:15devise a unique plan
35:18to go over
35:19the top
35:19of the fences
35:20Called Operation Olympia
35:24many historians
35:25believe
35:26it is World War II's
35:27most daring
35:28mass escape
35:29This escape
35:32stands out
35:33for several reasons
35:34but one of them
35:35is the sheer scale
35:36of it
35:37This isn't going
35:38to be one man
35:38at a time
35:39crawling through
35:40a tunnel
35:40It's going to be
35:41a mass run
35:42at the wire
35:43with essentially
35:44siege ladders
35:45and everybody
35:46getting out
35:47as quickly
35:47as they possibly
35:48could
35:49So it's the sheer
35:50scale of it
35:50that makes it
35:51so interesting
35:52Major Stallard
35:58is a natural leader
35:59and when young
36:02Lieutenant Hamilton Bailey
36:03approaches him
36:04with what seems
36:04a wild idea
36:05in the summer
36:06of 1942
36:07Stallard can immediately
36:09see its potential
36:09It's an outlandish
36:12but ingenious plan
36:13Folding ladders
36:16and a bridge
36:17big enough
36:17to get 40 men
36:18quickly over the fences
36:20But they have
36:22problems to solve
36:23First among them
36:26construction work
36:28is going to be
36:28dangerously noisy
36:29One of the things
36:32that always fascinates
36:33me about these
36:34escape stories
36:35is the most ridiculous
36:37ideas are the ones
36:38that seem to work
36:39the most effectively
36:40Most officer
36:42prisoner of war camps
36:43have a music room
36:44equipped with
36:45orchestral instruments
36:46Some even have
36:47choirs
36:47It's the perfect cover
36:50Making something
36:53like a ladder
36:54is quite noisy
36:55There's hammering
36:56there's sawing
36:57and it needed
36:58to be covered up
36:59so the German guards
37:00didn't realise
37:01what was going on
37:02So they would
37:04strike up
37:05a spontaneous
37:05band practice
37:07making a lot
37:08of noise
37:09or maybe have
37:10a choir practice
37:11Now this wasn't
37:11necessarily a finely
37:12honed choir
37:13probably a little
37:14out of tune
37:14and rather loud
37:15but it did its job
37:17It hid the sound
37:18of the banging
37:19and sawing
37:19The escape happens
37:29on August the 30th
37:301942
37:31Moments after
37:33power to the camp
37:34is sabotaged
37:35by the prisoners
37:36and all the lights
37:37go out
37:37The escape
37:41takes the guards
37:42completely by surprise
37:43It's dark
37:45and all of a sudden
37:46out of nowhere
37:47dozens of men
37:48are running
37:48towards the barbed wire
37:49carrying ladders
37:50setting them up
37:51and the duckboards
37:52over them
37:53to get them safely
37:54to the other side
37:55Nobody has a clue
37:58what's going on
37:59In just one minute
38:04despite heavy gunfire
38:07from confused
38:08Nazi guards
38:09who were shooting
38:09blindly into the darkness
38:11and blindly into the darkness
38:1132 men
38:14managed to make it
38:15over the wire
38:16Six escapees
38:24are quickly recaptured
38:25But by first light
38:29the Germans realize
38:3226 men
38:32are still missing
38:33before long
38:3623 of them
38:37are caught
38:37What's the matter?
38:47But three men
38:48spend four months
38:50on the run
38:50through Germany
38:51Holland
38:52Belgium
38:53and France
38:54before making it
38:55safely home to England
38:56Come on
38:56where they are each
38:57awarded the military cross
38:59for bravery
38:59It's seen as perhaps
39:01the most epic
39:02home run
39:02of World War II
39:04Harry Neve
39:08who disguised himself
39:09as a German officer
39:10to stroll out
39:10through the main gate
39:11of Coles
39:12returns to England
39:14and is decorated
39:15with the military cross
39:16and serves on the
39:21International Military Tribunal
39:22at the Nuremberg Trials
39:24The prisoners remain defiant
39:28throughout the trial
39:29seemingly confident
39:30that they will be free
39:31Five years after the end
39:36of the war
39:36he enters politics
39:38and eventually becomes
39:40one of Prime Minister
39:41Margaret Thatcher's
39:41most trusted advisors
39:43before being assassinated
39:50by Irish terrorists
39:51in March 1979
39:53Tom Stallard
39:59leader of the famous
40:01Warburg wire job
40:02leaves the army
40:03after the war
40:04and works in the wine trade
40:06for many years
40:07He lives to be almost 80
40:10Jock Hamilton Bailey
40:14who thought up
40:16the ladders and bridges
40:17that saw so many men
40:18go over the top
40:19at Warburg
40:19stays in the army
40:21until 1979
40:22He then spends a decade
40:26lecturing in geology
40:27at the Royal Military
40:29College of Sciences
40:30Johnny Bull
40:35and Roger Bushell
40:35heroes of the real life
40:37great escape
40:38are not so lucky
40:39They're among the men
40:43executed by the Gestapo
40:45on Hitler's orders
40:46After the war
40:50a military tribunal
40:52investigating the atrocity
40:53found 18 Nazis
40:56guilty of war crimes
40:5713 of whom
40:59were sentenced to death
41:00And what of Douglas Bader
41:04double amputee
41:05fearless spitfire pilot
41:07and determined
41:09and determined escape artist
41:10The story of his life
41:12is an instant bestseller
41:14when it's published
41:14in 1954
41:15and countless movies
41:20and countless movies
41:20and TV shows
41:20are made about his bravery
41:22He becomes a national hero
41:24Do you think the days
41:27of the dogfighter
41:28are really almost in?
41:30No I don't
41:30I think as long as you've got
41:31manned aeroplanes
41:32you'll have it
41:33He continued to advocate
41:35for disabled soldiers
41:36until his death
41:37in 1982
41:38Douglas Bader's story
41:43is so remarkable
41:45if it was fiction
41:46you wouldn't believe it
41:47the story of a man
41:48who loses both legs
41:49in an aircraft accident
41:51then goes on
41:51to fly in the Battle of Britain
41:53and eventually parachutes
41:54out of a stricken aircraft
41:55and is captured by the Germans
41:57I mean
41:57that's the stuff
41:59of myths and legends
42:00it's incredible
42:01that there actually
42:02was a man
42:02that went through this
42:03and I think
42:05as a representation
42:06of what we all like
42:07to think about
42:08the Second World War
42:09the stoic British spirit
42:10never giving up
42:11in the face of impossible odds
42:12there's not many stories
42:14like Douglas Bader's
42:15As a prisoner of war
42:19it is an Allied officer's duty
42:21an obligation
42:22to try to escape
42:23and rejoin the fight
42:25The men in the stories
42:26of escape from Warburg
42:28Kolditz
42:29and Stalag Luft III
42:31fulfilled that journey
42:32of duty
42:33desperate for the chance
42:35of freedom
42:35some paying for that chance
42:41with their lives
42:42These people risked
42:45literally everything
42:47and they were so determined
42:48to get back
42:49and to continue the fight
42:51and I think for us today
42:53this has great relevance
42:54to show the perseverance
42:56and the determination
42:57of these people
42:58to continue to try and
43:00make life as good
43:02as it could be
43:02It's incredibly important
43:06that we remember
43:06these men
43:07because of what
43:08they went through
43:09but really
43:10because of their
43:11spirit
43:12and their determination
43:13to make sure
43:15that they could get back
43:16and to continue the journey
43:17and to continue the fight
43:17and to continue the fight