page_title: Great Papago Escape
hierarchical_section_title: Great Papago Escape
caption_attribution_description: English: The entrance to the escape tunnel used by German prisoners at Camp Papago Park, Arizona, in 1944.
context_page_description: The Great Papago Escape was the largest Axis prisoner-of-war escape to occur from an American facility during World War II. On the night of December 23, 1944, twenty-five Germans tunneled out of Camp Papago Park, near Phoenix, Arizona, and fled into the surrounding desert. All of the escapees were eventually recaptured without bloodshed over the next few weeks, and although most were detained within Maricopa County, a few nearly made it to the border of Mexico, which is about 130 miles south of the camp.
context_section_description: The Great Papago Escape was the largest Axis prisoner-of-war escape to occur from an American facility during World War II. On the night of December 23, 1944, twenty-five Germans tunneled out of Camp Papago Park, near Phoenix, Arizona, and fled into the surrounding desert. All of the escapees were eventually recaptured without bloodshed over the next few weeks, and although most were detained within Maricopa County, a few nearly made it to the border of Mexico, which is about 130 miles south of the camp.
caption: The entrance to the tunnel was concealed by a large box of coal.
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