Stalag Luft Iii ( Stammlager Luft )

Let me take you back To 1942 In Sagan ( Zagan ) Poland In World War II Their was built a camp For prisoners of war Primarily Air Force Heroes galore The site was selected To escape them tunnelling Deterring their efforts In freedom funnelling Forward we move To March 1944 A tunnel called " Harry " These servicemen bore On a moonless night March 24th The crawled through the tunnel To escape to go forth To assist their escape Air raid sirens wailed The camps lights went dim To the steps they scaled Ten in the first hour Escaped to the trees Seventy six in total From Stalag Luft free The seventy seventh Was seen emerging from the ground The guards in alert As the tunnel was found The escaped seventy six To the railway station they went But confusion arose For the paths they were meant Not knowing where to go They all missed their train Some stayed for the next While others walked the terrain What befell the escaped My words will speak The search by the Germans In prisoner seek Two Norwegians Made it to Sweden A Dutch man through France To Spain was his freedom When news of this broke Hitler was incensed Orders were issued For Artur Nebe to dispense Fifty were herded Onto trucks for their return But they stopped at a clearing For their fate to be learned As they disembarked the trucks To stretch their legs Spandau's and Schmeisser's Sprayed them with lead The news of these deaths Left our Parliament in shock For these tragic moments The Nuremberg trials would unlock After the war Gestapo officers were tried They were responsible For the fifty who died This write is my tribute For they were near freedoms gate To all who were behind The Great Escape http://www.thehighlanderspoems.com/war.php