Friedrich Wilhelm von Lindeiner - Wildau Oberst Friedrich Wilhelm Gustav von Lindeiner genannt von Wildau ( 12 December 1880 – 22 May 1963 ) was a German Staff Officer during World War I best known today as the Kommandant of Stalag Luft III during World War II , famous for a prisoner escape depicted in the movie " The Great Escape " . Military career . Friedrich Wilhelm von Lindeiner genannt von Wildau was born at Glatz in 1880 . He entered the " 3 . Garde - Regiment zu Fuß " as a Second Lieutenant on graduating from the Corps of Cadets on 15 March 1898 . On 1 May 1902 he left the Prussian Army and the following day entered the " Schutztruppe " for German East Africa . Here , von Lindeiner - Wildau served as the Adjutant of Gustav Adolf von Götzen , the Governor of German East Africa , from 20 June to 13 September 1905 and as the Headquarters Adjutant of the " Schutztruppe " for German East Africa from 7 September to 11 October 1906 . He took part in the Maji Maji Rebellion , for which he received the Pour le Mérite and the Prussian Order of the Crown 4th Class with Swords . He left " Schutztruppe " service on 31 July 1908 and rejoined the Prussian Army on 1 August 1908 with a simultaneous promotion to " Oberleutnant " and was assigned to the " 4 . Garde - Regiment zu Fuß " . On 20 July 1912 , on promotion to " Hauptmann " , von Lindeiner - Wildau was assigned as the Commander of the 11th company of " 1 . Garde - Regiment zu Fuß " . On 10 August 1914 he was assigned as the Commander of the " Infanterie - Stabswache " ( " Infantry Staff Guard " ) at the Kaiser ' s General Field Headquarters . On 19 September he returned to his regiment as Commander of the 11th company , where he was wounded during the First Battle of Ypres on 17 November 1914 . Returning to duty on 13 April 1915 he assumed command of the regiment ' s 5th company , and then of its second battalion on 27 May 1915 . He was again wounded during the pursuit between the Bug River and Jasiolda on 29 August 1915 . On returning to duty von Lindeiner - Wildau assumed command of the " Füsilier " battalion of " 1 . Garde - Regiment zu Fuß " and was again severely wounded on 5 December 1915 in fighting around Roye - Noyon . On 24 September 1914 von Lindeiner - Wildau was assigned to " Etappen - Inspektion 5 " ( Lines of Communication Inspectorate ) and on 4 October 1916 he was assigned as the Personal Adjutant of Prince Joachim of Prussia . After his return to his Regiment on 30 October 1917 he became the Adjutant to the Governor of Riga - Dünamünde . Appointed as Adjutant to the " Garde - Reserve - Korps " on 23 April 1918 he was promoted to Major on 15 July 1918 . His final wartime appointment was as Adjutant of the 4th Army , a post he assumed on 8 November 1918 . Following the Armistice von Lindeiner - Wildau was leader of the collecting point in Potsdam of the Volunteer Border Protection Unit East and Upper East ( " Grenzschutz Ost / Oberost " ) from 18 January 1919 . He retired on 20 September 1919 with permission to wear the uniform of the " 1 . Garde - Regiment zu Fuß " . He worked in several civilian posts , and married a Dutch baroness . He joined the Luftwaffe in 1937 as one of Hermann Göring ’ s personal staff . Refusing retirement , he was the " Kommandant " of Stalag Luft III during World War II . Following the prisoner escape he feigned mental illness to avoid imprisonment . He was wounded by Russian troops advancing towards Berlin while acting as second in command of an infantry unit . He later surrendered to advancing British forces as the war ended and was imprisoned for two years at the British prison known as the " London Cage " . He testified during the British SIB investigation concerning the Stalag Luft III murders . He had followed the Geneva Conventions concerning the treatment of POW s and had won the respect of the senior prisoners . He was released when the testimony given by Allied prisoners at Stalag Luft III saved him from life imprisonment or possibly the death penalty . He died in 1963 at the age of 82 . Awards . Friedrich von Lindeiner - Wildau received the Pour le Mérite and the Prussian Order of the Crown 4th Class with Swords for the brutal fighting in the German East Africa campaign of 1905 - 07 . He was also awarded the Colonial Medal with that bar . During World War I he was also awarded the Saxe - Ernestine House Order - Knight 1st Class with Swords ( 1 May 1918 ) as Hauptmann and 1st Adjutant of the Government of Riga and the Mouth of the Düna , and the House Order of Hohenzollern Honor Cross 3b with Swords on 5 February 1915 . He was also awarded the Iron Cross First and Second Class .