Aerial view of Stalag Luft III

Stalag Luft III was an officers-only prisoner-of-war camp in Sagan, Germany (now Zagan, Poland). It was also the setting for one of the best-known WWII escape attempts ever made. In March 1943, the combined efforts of 600 prisoners culminated in the attempted flight of 250 men from the camp. Using “Harry,” one of three tunnels that had been dug for this purpose, seventy-six men made it out of the tunnel and into the woods beyond before the camp sentries noticed. Seventy-three were recaptured, fifty of whom were executed as an example to the rest of the prisoners. But there were three men who managed to avoid detection and made it home free.

Photo taken at Stalag Luft III. Per (Peter) Bergsland stands on the left, and his comrade Jens Müller is on the right. Between the two is Halldor Espelid, who was captured and executed for his attempted escape.

Norwegians Peter Bergsland and Jens Müller had decided to work together in their escape. They were lined up as numbers 43 and 44 out of the tunnel and successfully made it to the surrounding woods unseen. The two straightened their makeshift civilian clothes and headed to the Sagan railway station with limited provisions in hand. Müller said this about his travel buddy’s attire:

Bergsland was wearing a civilian suit he had made for himself from a Royal Marine uniform, with an RAF overcoat slightly altered with brown leather sewn over the buttons. A black RAF tie, no hat. He carried a small suitcase which had been sent from Norway. In it were Norwegian toothpaste and soap, sandwiches, and 163 reichsmarks given to him by the Escape Committee.

Since they both spoke perfect Swedish, their plan was to head to Stettin, a coastal city where Swedish ships regularly docked and departed.

Their journey to Stettin was uneventful. They had fake papers that identified them as electricians, ordered to relocate to a new post in Stettin—and they looked the part. The two were only inspected once. A wandering officer approached them as they rested in one of the station cafes, but the cheery men were not suspicious. After a brief glance at their papers the officer bid them good day and left without a second glance.

Stalag Luft III’s Escape Committee had given the men an address to find in Stettin—a French brothel, as it turned out. A Swedish sailor met them there, and they all made a plan for the two men to board the ship and sail off to freedom. But as they waited for the sailor to signal the all-clear to come aboard, the ship left without them. The men eventually returned to the brothel and, fortunately, found another more reliable sailor contact who snuck them onto his ship without a hitch. They hid in the anchor locker as the usual German scan of the ship was performed and remained undiscovered. The ship reached Sweden safely and the two whooped for joy. In just a few weeks from their tense escape, they had reached the British consulate of Sweden and were officially free.

For more details of the story of Bergsland and Müller, check out this page. Also, for more photos of people and places during WWII, check out Fold3’s WWII US Air Force Photos collection. And don’t forget to watch for next week’s spotlight on the third escapee, Bram van der Stok.

Bram van der Stok

Escaping Stalag Luft III Part 1