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Stalag Luft III

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  • "Aerial view of Stalag Luft III, German prisoner of war camp for air force personnel, at Sagen, Germany. Thousands of American air force prisoners were imprisoned here. In addition, the camp held British and other allied air force personnel who were captured during the air offensive against Germany. This entire camp was evacuated the latter part of January 1945 and all prisoners of war were marched westward as the advancing Russian armies drew near. 17 Sept 1944."

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  • Prisoners of War of the 44th Bomb Group at Stalag Luft III with a USAAF insginia made of stones. Left to right : Bob Walker, Wayne Gotke, Bob McPhillamey, Bill Wockenfuss, Leo Frazier, John Mooney.

    Prisoners of War of the 44th Bomb Group at Stalag Luft III with a USAAF insginia made of stones. Left to right : Bob Walker, Wayne Gotke, Bob McPhillamey, Bill Wockenfuss, Leo Frazier, John Mooney.

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  • Henry H. Northrop's POW card - Stalag Luft 3 (courtesy of his daughter Marielaina Haag, via Marilyn Jeffers Walton)

    Henry H. Northrop's POW card - Stalag Luft 3 (courtesy of his daughter Marielaina Haag, via Marilyn Jeffers Walton)

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  • Dee J. Butler's POW card at Stalag Luft 3, Sagan (courtesy of his daughter Kay Gamble, via Marilyn Jeffers Walton)

    Dee J. Butler's POW card at Stalag Luft 3, Sagan (courtesy of his daughter Kay Gamble, via Marilyn Jeffers Walton)

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  • 2nd Lt Lloyd W Waterman 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF POW record card. Shot down in P-51B 42-106911 9-May-44. Stalag Luft III.

    2nd Lt Lloyd W Waterman 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF POW record card. Shot down in P-51B 42-106911 9-May-44. Stalag Luft III.

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  • Part 1 of the P-47 poem written by Raymond

    Part 1 of the P-47 poem written by Raymond "Moose" Moulton at Stalag Luft III in 1944. The scanned page was taken from a logbook written by my father, 2LT Robert G. Presley. He was downed by flak on a mission to Berlin in May of 1944. This and one other poem by Moose were also passed on to the Stalag Luft III website in order to provide a wider dissemination of POW's talent under duress.

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  • This poem about P-51s was also the my father's logbook from Stalag Luft III in 1944. Written by 2LT Raymond

    This poem about P-51s was also the my father's logbook from Stalag Luft III in 1944. Written by 2LT Raymond "Moose" Moulton who shared lodgings in the West compound, Block 164 with 2LT Robert Presley.

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  • Part 2 of a poem written by 2LT Raymond Moulton during his stay in Stalag Luft III in 1944.

    Part 2 of a poem written by 2LT Raymond Moulton during his stay in Stalag Luft III in 1944.

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  • Ink drawing of Leonard D. Culbertson by William P. Nicholson while POWs at Stalag Luft III. This was one of many drawings found in Bill's Wartime Journal.

    Ink drawing of Leonard D. Culbertson by William P. Nicholson while POWs at Stalag Luft III. This was one of many drawings found in Bill's Wartime Journal.

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  • Dutch Rekindle War Memories for Pilot, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, January 30, 1989

    Dutch Rekindle War Memories for Pilot, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, January 30, 1989

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Detailed history

Allied aircrew shot down during World War II were incarcerated after interrogation in Air Force Prisoner of War camps run by the Luftwaffe, called Stalag Luft, short for Stammlager Luft or Permanent Camps for Airmen.

Stalag Luft III was situated in Sagan, 100 miles south-east of Berlin, now called Zagan, in Upper Silesia, Poland.

This POW camp was one of six operated by the Luftwaffe for downed British and American airmen. Compared to other prisoner of war camps throughout the Axis world, it was a model of civilized internment. The Geneva Convention of 1929 on the treatment of prisoners of war was complied with as much as possible, but it was still war, still prison, and still grim.

Further detailed information, photographs and stories can be found at :
http://www.b24.net/pow/stalag3.htm

Connections

People

  • Donald Achenbach

    Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio operator/gunner | 452nd Bomb Group
    Prisoner of War (POW) crashed at Trier on 2 Jan 45 in B-17 44-8201

  • Elden Agler

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 381st Bomb Group
    Co-pilot, Simpson crew. 381st BG, 534th BS, 8th AF. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30245 'Lucky Lady'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 381. Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft III and Stalag VIIA. ...

  • Anthony Alaimo

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-pilot | 322nd Bomb Group
    Assigned to 450BS, 322BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) repeat raid to power station at Ijmuiden, Holland in B26 41-18086 'Draggin Lady'. Hit by flak on return ditched in North sea, co-pilot ejected from cockpit and sole survivor. Rescued by a...

  • George Alexander

    Military | Flight Officer | Navigator | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
    Navigator on plane 44-6596 'Sweet Dish'. Plane badly damaged during mission on 5 December 1944. Alexander and two other crew members bailed out and were captured. Rest of crew stayed on board and pilot was able to nurse aircraft back to base.

  • Joe Alexander

    Military | Major | Pilot | 381st Bomb Group
    Pilot, Alexander crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS, 8th AF. Shot down 25 July 1943 in B-17 #42-30153 "Worry Wart". Mission #12 to the Focke-Wulf factory at Hamburg. MACR 131. Flak damaged, vibrating violently over the English Channel, turned 180 degrees back to...

  • Robert Anderson

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 381st Bomb Group
    Navigator, Steele crew. 381st BG, 533rd BS, 8th AF. Shot down by FW 190s on return from mission #62 to the marshalling yards at Brunswick, Germany on 30 Jan 1944 in B-17F #42-29761 'Martha II'. MACR 2244. He had glass in is eyes from the exploding nose...

  • Coburn Arledge

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Fighter Pilot | 365th Fighter Group
    Retired from the USAF with the rank of Major.

  • James Aubele

    Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
    Assigned to 364BS, 305BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down 17-May-43 in B-17 42-29663. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 15555 Awards: PH, POW, WWII Victory, EAME.

  • John Balason

    Military | First Lieutenant | Fighter Pilot | 353rd Fighter Group
    Flew a tour of duty in the Aleutians with 18FS, 343FG, 11AF prior to being assigned to 350FS, 353FG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) free lance to Madgeburg, set off in pursuit of several Me262 fighters in P-51 44-14793 'Miss Betty D', last seen...

  • Clarendon Barbarus

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-pilot | 390th Bomb Group
    Shot down 10 October 1943 in B-17 42-3302 'Rick-O-Shay'. Prisoner of War (POW). Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.

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Known as
Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany

Revisions

Date Contributor Update
23 December 2015 15:36:46 kgonnam Changes to person associations
Sources

Jonah's Feet are Dry. Graham Cross book on 353rd FG
Date Contributor Update
20 July 2015 20:35:20 466thHistorian Changes to person associations
Sources

Chris Brassfield
Date Contributor Update
27 May 2015 16:26:50 general ira snapsorter Changes to person associations
Sources

Associated prisoners of the 457th Bomb Group from http://www.457thbombgroup.org/POW/POW.html
Date Contributor Update
27 May 2015 16:01:10 general ira snapsorter Changes to person associations
Sources

Associated prisoners of the 457th Bomb Group from http://www.457thbombgroup.org/POW/POW.html
Date Contributor Update
11 March 2015 09:50:45 general ira snapsorter Changes to known as, latitude, longitude, history and media associations
Sources

Added further detail from http://www.b24.net/pow/stalag3.htm.
Associated media.
Further detailed information, photographs and stories can be found at :
http://www.b24.net/pow/stalag3.htm
Date Contributor Update
17 February 2015 15:35:48 Anthony Created entry with name, known as, latitude, longitude and person associations
Sources

Flight Officer Moore's Diary and Flight Manifest. Wyatt replaced James Garrison on this flight. Garrison was the Assistant Flight Engineer and Waist Gunner.

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