The Great Escape

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'Great Escape' Observances Honor the 50

76 POWs made it through a tunnel out of a German camp, but most were later murdered

(Newser) - Observances were held in Poland on Sunday to mark the 80th anniversary of the "Great Escape," an ingenious act of defiance during World War II in which 76 prisoners of war tunneled out of a German prisoner of war camp into a snowy forest. British soldiers carried photos...

Last 'Great Escape' Survivor Dies
Last 'Great Escape'
Survivor Dies
OBITUARY

Last 'Great Escape' Survivor Dies

Dick Churchill thought his name saved his life

(Newser) - The last of the Great Escapers has died. Dick Churchill, a British Royal Air Force veteran who took part in the famous 1944 mass escape from the Stalag Luft III POW camp, died earlier this month at his home in England, the New York Times reports. He was 99. The...

'Great Escape' Survivor Tells His Tale, 70 Years On
'Great Escape' Survivor
Tells His Tale, 70 Years On
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'Great Escape' Survivor Tells His Tale, 70 Years On

Dick Churchill thinks his name may have saved him

(Newser) - Monday marked the first "formal act of remembrance" held in the name of the World War II prisoners who participated in the "Great Escape," the famed March 24, 1944, breakout from German POW camp Stalag Luft III that saw only three men make it to freedom. The...

Great Escape Forger Dead at 95
 Great Escape Forger Dead at 95 
Obituary

Great Escape Forger Dead at 95

Flight Lt. Alex Cassie key figure in mass breakout of German camp in WWII

(Newser) - Flight Lt. Alex Cassie, the British bomber pilot whose work as a forger of Nazi documents was immortalized in The Great Escape, has died, reports the New York Times . He was 95. Seventy-six prisoners of war escaped from the Stalag Luft III camp in eastern Germany on March 24 and...

Great Escape Tunnel Set for Excavation

'George,' a lesser-known tunnel, was dug after initial escape

(Newser) - It's called "George," the lesser-known tunnel of the Great Escape, and historians hope to uncover World War II equipment or personal effects when engineers excavate it. Prisoners of war dug “Tom,” “Dick,” and “Harry” for the famous 1944 escape attempt from the Nazi...

5 Stories