The truth about Stalag Luft III and what happened after the escape

Rating: 5/10 (19 July 2006)

In point of fact, the film used one of the camp's most heroic prisoners (the Tunnel King played by Charles Bronson) as an adviser. However, the truth is there was no such character/person as Capt. Hilts. Steve McQueen's character never existed. The famed motorcycle chase in the film never happened. It is true that thousands of Germans (not "millions", as actor Charles Coburn later told during the film's Special Features interview) were used to track down the 76 (not 79) who escaped. Also, Hitler had initially ordered the execution of 100 prisoners, including the 76 who escaped, but was talked into executing 50, instead.
One of the best sites for the truth on the various Allied POW camps and what happened to the men in these camps as the Russians and American armies advanced is found at http://www.b24.net/pow/march.htm. There is video and audio mp3 files from Col. Von Lindeiner and many others from Luft III. The most gripping of all the accounts from these camps however is The Death March from Luft IV in Eastern Prussia. That can be seen at http://www.b24.net/pow/march.htm. It is one of the untold secrets of WWII.