During the war, especially in the first four years from 1939-1941, Germany took many prisoners of war. A continuing stream of prisoners of war were always falling from the skies over occupied Europe –British and American airmen. Australians and other nationalities too. The majority of the prisoners were housed in Germany’s eastern territories, mainly Poland or eastern Germany.

In late 1944-1945 the war was rushing towards its climactic end. British historian Richard J. Evans believed that Hitler, since he could no longer win, wanted, a Wagnerian end for himself, one that was fit for the gods of the Vikings. In the last days leaving Berlin was unthinkable for him. The Nazi capital, Berlin, that had always rejected Hitler and the Nazis in all of the elections, would be finally immolated with Hitler in his glorious ending. How ironic.

At this stage of the war, the allied prisoners of war had two things to fear. Being butchered by their defeated German guards, or falling into the hands of the approaching Russians and being sent to join the other millions of slaves, including many Russians, in the gulags.

This programme is the story of the elite American fliers at Stalag Luft I and the incredible story of how they managed to escape from both perils.

And to finish off, a final shocking story of betrayal by Roosevelt and Churchill to Stalin after the war had ended, one that they had agreed to at Yalta.

Tag words: Stalag Luft I; Hubert “Hub” Zemke; Lt. Colonel Charles “Ross” Greening; Lowell Bennett; Oberst von Warnstadt; General Andrey Andrevich Vlasov; Stalin; Molotov; Anthony Eden; Churchill; Cossacks; General Helmuth von Pannwitz;