RAF Hunt for Nazis

[rwanttaja]

My Dad, who turns 100 in April, was a POW in Stalag Luft III which is the same POW camp as the Great Escape. He was there from '44-'45 so it was a few years after the Escape, but it still holds my interest and I watch the movie any time it's on.

Actually, the Great Escape occurred in April 1944. However, as I mentioned earlier, the Germans had moved the American POWs to their own compound a few weeks prior.

We had a B-17 tail gunner/POW as a speaker at EAA Chapter 26 a while back. I was curious about how the poor food and bad health care in the camps had affected his long-term health. I expected some nutritional deficiencies, or dental problems.

I asked him. His response was immediate: "Nightmares."

This really rocked me. But it makes sense. Airmen do not become POWs because of a sudden overrun of their position, or a negotiated surrender. They become prisoners after a violent, life-shattering event that they barely escaped from. Today, we call the aftermath Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). And there were camps filled with thousands of men who'd survived their shootdowns. As well as ground and naval personnel with similar experiences, of course.

I really recommend Brickhill's book. He talks about some who broke, but a lot more about how the others coped. He goes a lot into what it was like in the camps, and why the POWs were (mostly) so anxious to escape.

Ron Wanttaja