Claim: The film is based on the memoirs of André Devigny, a member of the French Resistance held in Montluc prison by the occupying Germans during World War II.
Evidence: The film is based on the memoirs of André Devigny, who escaped from the Montluc prison in Lyon in 1943, during World War II. André Devigny (25 May 1916 – 12 February 1999) was a French soldier and member of the Résistance. Built in 1921 for use as a military prison, after the invasion of the unoccupied zone of Vichy France in November 1942, the Gestapo used it as a prison, interrogation centre and internment camp for those waiting for transfer to concentration camps. The Geheime Staatspolizei (Secret State Police), abbreviated Gestapo (German: [ɡəˈʃtaːpo; /ɡəˈstɑːpoʊ/), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.