The Great Escape - Stalag Luft 3 - The camp as it is Now in 2018.

Discussion in 'Prisoners of War' started by The Cooler King, Apr 16, 2018.

  1. The Cooler King

    The Cooler King Elite Member

    The Local Museum has recently installed some useful notice Boards around the camp to assist visitors.

    Museum 1.jpg

    Museum 2.jpg

    Museum 3.jpg

    Museum 4.jpg

    Museum 5.jpg
     
    Incredibledisc likes this.
  2. The Cooler King

    The Cooler King Elite Member

    And Finally, close by to the camp is the Memorial to the Fifty men murdered by the Gestapo. :poppy:

    This was the original Simple Cross and inscription.

    Memorial 2.jpg

    memorial 3.jpg
     
  3. The Cooler King

    The Cooler King Elite Member

    Latter this more significant memorial was constructed with the name of each of the murdered men.

    memorial 4.jpg

    memorial 5.jpg

    memorial 6.jpg

    memorial 7.jpg

    memorial 8.jpg
     
  4. The Cooler King

    The Cooler King Elite Member

    Lets move onto the Museum that is located on a separate site about a mile or so away from the camp.
    This is purpose built and they have done a decent job with the main building a reconstructed Hut and a couple of watch towers.


    Museum1A.jpg



    Museum1B.jpg
     
  5. The Cooler King

    The Cooler King Elite Member

    The Museum itself contains some interesting exhibits - most nations are represented with their respective uniforms.

    Museum2A.jpg

    Museum2B.jpg

    Museum2C.jpg

    Museum2D.jpg

    Museum2E.jpg

    Museum2F.jpg

    Museum2G.jpg Museum2H.jpg

    Museum2J.jpg

    Museum2K.jpg

    Museum2L.jpg
     
  6. The Cooler King

    The Cooler King Elite Member

    There is also an excellent model of the camp:-

    Museum1H.jpg

    Museum1G.jpg

    Museum1D.jpg

    Museum1E.jpg
     
    Owen likes this.
  7. The Cooler King

    The Cooler King Elite Member

    Here are some of the artifacts that where recovered from the actual camp which are on display.
    Museum5A.jpg

    Museum5B.jpg

    Museum5C.jpg
     
    Incredibledisc and canuck like this.
  8. The Cooler King

    The Cooler King Elite Member

    Here are some images of the reconstructed Hut. I was surprised at how large it actually was.

    Museum6A.jpg

    Museum6D.jpg

    Museum6C.jpg

    Museum6B.jpg
     
    Incredibledisc and Owen like this.
  9. The Cooler King

    The Cooler King Elite Member

    Here is the interior along with some information on its construction.

    Museum8D.jpg

    Museum8E.jpg

    Museum8F.jpg

    Museum8C.jpg

    Museum8A.jpg

    Museum8B.jpg
     
  10. The Cooler King

    The Cooler King Elite Member

    Here is a reconstructed "Oxygen" machine. Museum7A.jpg

    Here is A reconstructed trolley which was used to move up and down the tunnels and move the earth.

    Museum7b.jpg

    This cover was recovered from the camp - Dick's entrance was hidden in a drain sump in the washroom of hut 122.

    Museum7c.jpg
     
  11. The Cooler King

    The Cooler King Elite Member

    Here is some of the art work and pictures from the museum:-

    Museum9F.jpg

    Museum9E.jpg

    Museum9D.jpg

    Museum9C.jpg

    Museum9B.jpg

    Museum9A.jpg
     
  12. The Cooler King

    The Cooler King Elite Member

    Some more artifacts from the museum including fake papers, camera etc.

    musx3.jpg

    musx4.jpg

    musx1.jpg

    musx2.jpg
     
    Quarterfinal and Incredibledisc like this.
  13. canuck

    canuck Closed Account

  14. The Cooler King

    The Cooler King Elite Member

    Within the grounds is this memorial to all prisoners of war and the holocaust. :poppy:

    musx5.jpg

    musx6.jpg

    musx7.jpg

    musx8.jpg
     
    Owen likes this.
  15. The Cooler King

    The Cooler King Elite Member

    There is also a small shop within the museum.

    Museum4A.jpg

    Here are some more exhibits.............

    Museum4B.jpg

    Museum4C.jpg

    musx9.jpg

    musx9a.jpg
     
  16. The Cooler King

    The Cooler King Elite Member

    A few to finish the Museum Off................

    musx9b.jpg

    Museum3B.jpg

    Museum3A.jpg

    Museum1C.jpg
     
    Sussex by the Sea likes this.
  17. Sussex by the Sea

    Sussex by the Sea Senior Member

    Great thread, thanks very much.

    Steve
     
  18. BFBSM

    BFBSM Very Senior Member

    Thank you for these detailed images. I will never get the chance to see the camp myself and appreciate this thread.

    A distant relative, Donald Curtis Walch, DFC, was a prisoner at Stalag Luft III.
     
  19. The Cooler King

    The Cooler King Elite Member

    Thanks very much for your feedback. :)

    This is the final set of images.......that concentrates on the Railway station at Zagan.
    The station was very important as an integral part of the escape plan. Moving by train would effectively get the escaper as far as possible away from the camp in the shortest possible time. Use of time tables, travel papers, passes and ID's had specifically been manufactured for travel. Some of the best clothes and uniforms where also given to the men who planned to reach the station and some of these men had a second language to give them a more realistic alibi.

    The station sequence was also heavily featured in the film. (Although not the original). It was located about 3/4 of a mile from the camp.

    This first image is of the ground of the direction of the camp that the escapers would have crossed;-

    Z1.jpg
     
  20. The Cooler King

    The Cooler King Elite Member

    This is what they would have first seen of the Station:- The buildings in the foreground would have been still standing but note the entrance to the underpass which they would have had to pass through to access the platforms.

    Z2.jpg
     

Share This Page