Death at Stalag Luft III

All the letters home from captured British and other Allied airmen pictured Stalag Luft III as one of the best prison camps in Germany. The barracks squatted in a spacious clearing among the pine woods northeast of Dresden. The prisoners had a chapel, library, playing field and garden. They lazed through a 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. day. They took walks, naps, sun baths. They had rugby and cricket matches. They attended lectures (science, languages, history, elocution). The food was heavy on soup and potatoes, but Red Cross parcels and afternoon tea kept British spirits up. Last March 22, Stalag Luft Ill's easy routine suddenly fell to pieces. Exactly what happened only the Germans knew, and did not tell. They kept the bare facts secret until April 17, when a Swiss official, on a periodic camp inspection, asked questions. Then the Germans explained that

76 prisoners had tried a mass escape, that 14 had made good their getaway, 15 had been recaptured, 47 shot to death, by pursuing Gestapomen and soldiers.

Nothing like this had happened before in a German prison for Allied airmen. Geneva sent the shocking news to London. Last week Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden gave the House of Commons the German story. He was not satisfied with the story, nor was anybody else.

Under Marquess of Queensberry rules (national and international usage), the Germans had the right to shoot prisoners in the act of escaping or of resisting recapture. Under the same rules, the prisoners had the right to try an escape, with the expectation of nothing worse than close confinement if they failed and gave up when challenged. Under the Geneva Convention of 1929, the Germans were obligated to notify the British immediately and fully of any escapes or deaths among the prisoners. This obligation had not been honored. Britons wondered whether the secrecy hid other, more flagrant misdeeds.

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