Escape from Germany: new book out now

Escape from Germany: new book out now

Detail from Escape from Germany book cover

20 July 2009

A fascinating history - Escape from Germany: True stories of POW escapes from WWII - is out now, published by The National Archives.

With an introduction by Air Commodore Graham Pitchfork, this once-secret commission by the Air Ministry is the definitive account of the lives, experiences and methods of escape of RAF prisoners of war during the Second World War, based on unique records held at The National Archives.

Escape from Germany presents this account in its original, unedited format, compiled by a former fighter pilot, POW and highly respected journalist, Squadron Leader Aidan Crawley, who spent two years after the war gathering information from airmen who had been imprisoned in Germany's notorious camps.

Sixty-five years after the Great Escape from Stalag Luft III, and the murder of 50 of the escapees, the book portrays the success and failure of journeys outside the camps, including the famous Wooden Horse escape, breakouts from Colditz Castle and attempts to steal aircraft, as fugitive POWs struggled to freedom inside refuse carts, leaping from trains or hidden in ships' coal bunkers.

The book also features a new selection of original photographs, from The National Archives and elsewhere, of Second World War camps and prisoners.

Escape from Germany is available to buy now from our online bookshop.