Hey all. I'm just curious to know if every POW in a camp wanted to escape or did they want to do the small things, like manufacturing false ID, uniforms, etc etc?
It's a common misconception, perpetuated by popular films & personal accounts that all POWs thought of nothing but escape. It tended to be the case that it was a small percentage who thought of little else but escape. There were also a relatively small section of the prisoner population who actively opposed the efforts of escapers, feeling that it jeopardised the treatment & conditions of the majority for little actual gain. The majority however were fully prepared to assist escape operations in various ways (stooging, forging of documents, clothing etc.) if not actively plotting to escape themselves. The circumstances of capture could have a significant effect on a POWs motivation to escape. At the start of the war it was often split between those who sought to escape to alleviate the percieved shame of their surrender and those who were left dazed & demoralised by defeat of their forces. As the war progressed the ratio of men captured changed from predominantly members of the army to RAF aircrew, officers or NCOs in their early twenties with the youthful exuberance to seek to escape. Not knowing how long the war had left to run they wished to return to their units to rejoin the fight. As the war entered its final years, however, and RAF losses increased, a combination of the shock of capture (going from the Mess of a British RAF station to enemy occupied Europe in a matter of hours, often by way of an horrific escape from a plummeting aircraft) combined with a knowledge that the war was heading toward an Allied victory, led to an inclination for the majority to wait it out. Often when members of the majority did escape it was on the numerous large tunnel escapes, when ,through their assistance in other fileds, they were offered a place. If presented with an opportunity they were fully prepared to have a go, but were too preoccupied in other useful endeavours to devise their own escape plans. A fine example of the inclination to escape is exhibited in the days following the surrender of Italy. Despite being told to remain in their camps by their SBOs thanks to a communique from England, many took the opportunity, through little or no escape planning of their own, to leave & head towards allied lines. Those who did not were quickly rounded up & shipped to Germany for the duration of the war. Further to this it was not uncommon for prisoners to feel that is was their duty to escape, make several attempts to do so & having suceeded only to be subsequently captured, then settle down to POW life, content that they had least attempted it. A case in point being Robert Key, as covered in his book 'A Crowd Is Not Company'. Further to this it was not unknown for POWs to be preoccupied with the notion of escape, to go through all the planning & development of an escape, only to lose confidence or interest at the final stage. They may then either give up their places to others or the idea would simply be abandoned. Of course all I've written barely scratches the surface of the psyche of the escaper in particular or the POW as a whole. Thankfully there is treasure trove of accounts written by former POWs that covers it brilliantly allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions. Flawed as it may be, this is mine.
It's a common misconception, perpetuated by popular films & personal accounts that all POWs thought of nothing but escape. It tended to be the case that it was a small percentage who thought of little else but escape. There were also a relatively small section of the prisoner population who actively opposed the efforts of escapers, feeling that it jeopardised the treatment & conditions of the majority for little actual gain. The majority however were fully prepared to assist escape operations in various ways (stooging, forging of documents, clothing etc.) if not actively plotting to escape themselves. The circumstances of capture could have a significant effect on a POWs motivation to escape. At the start of the war it was often split between those who sought to escape to alleviate the percieved shame of their surrender and those who were left dazed & demoralised by defeat of their forces. As the war progressed the ratio of men captured changed from predominantly members of the army to RAF aircrew, officers or NCOs in their early twenties with the youthful exuberance to seek to escape. Not knowing how long the war had left to run they wished to return to their units to rejoin the fight. As the war entered its final years, however, and RAF losses increased, a combination of the shock of capture (going from the Mess of a British RAF station to enemy occupied Europe in a matter of hours, often by way of an horrific escape from a plummeting aircraft) combined with a knowledge that the war was heading toward an Allied victory, led to an inclination for the majority to wait it out. Often when members of the majority did escape it was on the numerous large tunnel escapes, when ,through their assistance in other fileds, they were offered a place. If presented with an opportunity they were fully prepared to have a go, but were too preoccupied in other useful endeavours to devise their own escape plans. A fine example of the inclination to escape is exhibited in the days following the surrender of Italy. Despite being told to remain in their camps by their SBOs thanks to a communique from England, many took the opportunity, through little or no escape planning of their own, to leave & head towards allied lines. Those who did not were quickly rounded up & shipped to Germany for the duration of the war. Further to this it was not uncommon for prisoners to feel that is was their duty to escape, make several attempts to do so & having suceeded only to be subsequently captured, then settle down to POW life, content that they had least attempted it. A case in point being Robert Key, as covered in his book 'A Crowd Is Not Company'. Further to this it was not unknown for POWs to be preoccupied with the notion of escape, to go through all the planning & development of an escape, only to lose confidence or interest at the final stage. They may then either give up their places to others or the idea would simply be abandoned. Of course all I've written barely scratches the surface of the psyche of the escaper in particular or the POW as a whole. Thankfully there is treasure trove of accounts written by former POWs that covers it brilliantly allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions. Flawed as it may be, this is mine. Wow, thanks for all that info John!
A fine example of the inclination to escape is exhibited in the days following the surrender of Italy. Despite being told to remain in their camps by their SBOs thanks to a communique from England, many took the opportunity, through little or no escape planning of their own, to leave & head towards allied lines. Those who did not were quickly rounded up & shipped to Germany for the duration of the war. This really struck a chord with me, as it describes exactly the circumstances in which my late uncle found himself. Being a member of the Territorial Army, he was called up on 1 September 1939, and was subsequently taken prisoner by Rommel's troops in North Africa and handed over to the Italians. As in John's description, it was after Italy had capitulated, and in spite of being told to stay put, that he and friend decided to make a break for it - successfully, as matters turned out. In his case, there was an additional factor that influenced his decision to escape, which was that he suspected the alternative would mean being held prisoner instead by the Germans (which, as John points out, proved to be correct). Being Jewish, he didn't consider it worth the risk! In the Far East (where my father was being held), the position was very different. There were very few escape attempts, and for most POWs it was never seriously considered to be an option. Part of the reason for this was that white prisoners stood out like sore thumbs (especially in Thailand, which had had no Western occupying power), many prisoners were being held in impenetrable tropical jungle, and there were monetary awards for handing absconding POWs over to the Japanese military police. So the chances of a successful escape were tiny. The other part of the reason was that attempted escape was punishable by execution - firing squad or beheading. The absconder could expect to be tortured first, however, and there were likely to be repercussions also for those who had remained behind on the camp.
