Stalag Luft III Sagen. 'The Great Escape'

[stgeorge64]

#16.............along the top of the tunnel marker is a listing of all 76 prisoners who escaped through 'Harry'. The ones marked in black were the ones murdered...........this one shows Sqadron Leader Roger Bushell..........."Big X".....a man whose determination was instrumental in the escape taking place.......(incidently the marker is the exact width of the tunnel)

[stgeorge64]

#17..........some scenes from around the compound.........the static water tank where the French prisoners hid their 'hooch' to celebrate bastille day........

[stgeorge64]

#18..........the theatre...........the prisoners had to sacrifice one of their accommodation huts to build this............the 'displaced' prisoners being soaked up in the other huts...........

[stgeorge64]

#19.......another view of the theatre..........

[stgeorge64]

#20......steps leading down into the 'cooler'.........

[stgeorge64]

#21.........now on to Sagen railway station.........many of the 76 arrived here and purchased tickets...........

[stgeorge64]

#22...........most of the prisoners arrived at the back of the station after coming out of this wood.......this is there first sight of the station......

[stgeorge64]

#23..............the ticket office.............of the 26 escapees who were not murdered, there are 3 survivors to this day. 2 of those 3 went through this station and both remarked how the station was completely unchanged since 1944.............

[stgeorge64]

#24...............the station clock in the ticket office..........the current station master insists this clock is original to 1944 and both escapees agreed in his opinion...........

[stgeorge64]

#25...............onto the platforms...............

[stgeorge64]

#26...............onto the platforms.................as captured brilliantly in the film...........

[stgeorge64]

#27............another platform view.......

[stgeorge64]

#28............last shot of the station (I am not a spotter by the way!).....

[stgeorge64]

#29.............onto the memorial at Sagen errected in 1944 by the prisoners, under supervision of the Germans. Note the year is left unfinished as the war was still in progress..........

[stgeorge64]

#30.........the memorial to the 50..........the urns containing the ashes of the cremated escapees were placed here in 1944 but were broken open by Russian soldiers in 1945 because they thought the gold wedding rings and watches were in the urns...........