Touching Discovery: World War II 'Great Escape' captives' secret letters unveiled, tale of hope and resilience
In a touching discovery, secret letters penned by the 'Great Escape' captives from World War II have been unveiled, shedding light on a tale of hope and resilience during tumultuous times. These heartfelt messages offer a glimpse into the strength that sustained these heroes amid adversity.
FollowWorld War II was one of the most deadly conflicts that resulted in the capturing and execution of many soldiers and civilians. There are plenty of tales of Prisoner of Wars from the time but none jaw-dropping like Great Escape on which a movie has also been made in Hollywood.
However, the inside details are unknown to many as letters from the POWs and other documents related to the event are classified under the UK Defense Ministry. The Ministry recently decided to unveil the letters of the POW's at the UK's National Archives.. The letters were written by the 1944 Allied group prisoners that were kept in jail by the Nazis in Poland.
The group made efforts for years that opened up a channel for communication. On the night of March 23-24, 1944, 76 Allied prisoners broke through and managed an escape. However, the escape was successful only for a very limited time as they were caught and about 50 were then executed.
The letters unveiled showcase the methodology used by the prisoners to communicate. The letters were sent routinely to family members and also to military intelligence. Often the covert messages to intelligence were requests for fake identity cards. This eventually helped in the escape of three prisoners who were caught during the Great Escape. All three posed themselves as Norwegian engineers and managed to escape by showcasing the fake identity cards.
One such letter written by captured Spitfire pilot Peter Gardner read, “Had marked success with various documents supplied to number of escapees on 5 March, but have considerable difficulty obtaining originals to copy. Therefore request tracing of identity card for foreign worker in Germany. Suggest suitable paper as fly leaves in books. Request also powdered Indian ink, three very fine nibs.”
