The Great Escape
The mass tunnel breakout from Stalag Luft III in March 1944 — 76 airmen out, 50 murdered by the Gestapo on recapture.
The Verdict
The escape book every later escape story descends from, written by a man who helped dig the tunnels. Paul Brickhill was a prisoner at Stalag Luft III when its inmates engineered the most audacious mass breakout of the war — three tunnels, 'Tom, Dick, and Harry,' and seventy-six men out into the night of March 1944. The reality is darker than the film it inspired: fifty of the recaptured escapers were murdered by the Gestapo. Brickhill tells it with the authority of a participant and the restraint the subject demands.
Who Should Read It
Read it if you want
- The definitive account of the Stalag Luft III breakout
- Readers who want the true story behind the film
- A prisoner's first-hand authority
- Ingenuity and defiance under captivity
Look elsewhere if you want
- Readers wanting the film's lighter tone
- Combat or strategic narrative
- A gentle ending — fifty escapers were murdered
Why We Rated It 4.5
Historical Context
The Great Escape recounts the March 1944 mass tunnel breakout from the German prisoner-of-war camp Stalag Luft III, in which seventy-six Allied airmen escaped; fifty of those recaptured were executed by the Gestapo on Hitler's orders. Brickhill, a former prisoner there, published the account in 1950; it inspired the 1963 film.
Events Covered
Editions & Reading Notes
Read It Alongside
Collector's Corner
Where to Buy
ISBN: 978-0393325799
Read This Against
The same events seen from a different vantage point. The fullest understanding often lives in the space between accounts that don't agree.
Other Books About the Same Events
More by Paul Brickhill
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is The Great Escape a true story?
- Yes — Brickhill was a prisoner at Stalag Luft III and documents the real 1944 breakout, including the murder of fifty recaptured escapers.
- How does the book differ from the film?
- The book is darker and more factual; the film added characters and a lighter tone, and dramatised events for the screen.