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Stalag Luft III

History of the Royal Air Force during World War IIPOW escapes and rescues during World War IIProvince of Lower SilesiaUse British English from November 2018World War II prisoner-of-war camps in Germany
World War II sites in Poland
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Stalag Luft III (German: Stammlager Luft III; literally "Main Camp, Air, III"; SL III) was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during the Second World War, which held captured Western Allied air force personnel. The camp was established in March 1942 near the town of Sagan, Lower Silesia, in what was then Nazi Germany (now Żagań, Poland), 160 km (100 mi) south-east of Berlin. The site was selected because its sandy soil made it difficult for POWs to escape by tunnelling. It is best known for two escape plots by Allied POWs. One was in 1943 and became the basis of a fictionalised film, The Wooden Horse (1950), based on a book by escapee Eric Williams. The second breakout—the so-called Great Escape—of March 1944, was conceived by Squadron Leader Roger Bushell of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and was authorised by the senior British officer at Stalag Luft III, Herbert Massey. A fictionalised version of the escape was depicted in the film The Great Escape (1963), which was based on a book by former prisoner Paul Brickhill. The camp was liberated by Soviet forces in January 1945. The site of the former POW camp is now the 'Stalag Luft III Prisoner Camp Museum'.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Stalag Luft III (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Stalag Luft III
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N 51.5986 ° E 15.3075 °
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Stalag Luft III

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68-100 , Kolonia Laski
Lubusz Voivodeship, Poland
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Żagań
Żagań

Żagań [ˈʐaɡaɲ] (French and German: Sagan, Upper Sorbian: Zahań [ˈzahajn], Latin: Saganum) is a town in western Poland, on the Bóbr river, with 25,731 inhabitants (2019). The town is the capital of Żagań County in the historic region of Silesia. Previously in the Zielona Góra Voivodeship (1975–1998), Żagań has been in the Lubusz Voivodeship since 1999. The town hosts the Polish 11th Armoured Cavalry Division. An American Armored Brigade Combat Team is constantly rotated through the town under Operation Atlantic Resolve.

Gmina Żagań

Gmina Żagań is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Żagań County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. Its seat is the town of Żagań, although the town is not part of the territory of the gmina. The gmina covers an area of 281.11 square kilometres (108.5 sq mi), and as of 2019 its total population is 7,324.

Żagań County
Żagań County

Żagań County (Polish: powiat żagański) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Żagań, which lies 39 km (24 mi) south of Zielona Góra and 124 km (77 mi) south of Gorzów Wielkopolski. The county contains four other towns: Szprotawa, lying 14 km (9 mi) south-east of Żagań, Iłowa, lying 15 km (9 mi) south-west of Żagań, Małomice, lying 12 km (7 mi) south-east of Żagań, and Gozdnica, 25 km (16 mi) south-west of Żagań. The county covers an area of 1,131.29 square kilometres (436.8 sq mi). As of 2019 its total population is 79,297. The most populated towns are Żagań with 25,731 inhabitants and Szprotawa with 11,820 inhabitants.

Duchy of Żagań
Duchy of Żagań

The Duchy of Żagań (Polish: Księstwo Żagańskie, Czech: Zaháňské knížectví) or Duchy of Sagan (German: Herzogtum Sagan) was one of the duchies of Silesia ruled by the Silesian Piasts. Its capital was Żagań in Lower Silesia, the territory stretched to the town of Nowogród Bobrzański in the north and reached the Lusatian Neisse at Przewóz in the west, including two villages beyond the river (Pechern and Neudorf). It was formed in 1274 from the western part of the Duchy of Głogów and existed under Piast rule until 1304, then again from 1322 to 1394 and from 1413 to 1472. Since 1329 it was under the suzerainty of Bohemia; it was acquired by the Saxon House of Wettin in 1472, before it was finally seized by the Bohemian king in 1549. The Żagań ducal title later passed to Bohemian and French nobility, in 1742 it was annexed by Prussia. Re-established as a fief of the Prussian throne in 1844, it formally existed until its official termination in 1935.

Kreis Sagan
Kreis Sagan

Kreis Sagan was a Prussian district in Silesia, with its capital at Sagan. It existed until 1932, when it was dissolved and most of its territory was merged into the Sprottau district, with some smaller areas being assigned to other adjacent districts.

Puszczyków

Puszczyków [puʂˈt͡ʂɨkuf] is a settlement in the administrative district of Gmina Żagań, within Żagań County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. It lies approximately 3 kilometres (2 mi) north of Żagań and 36 km (22 mi) south of Zielona Góra.

Chrobrów

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Pożarów, Lubusz Voivodeship

Pożarów [pɔˈʐaruf] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Żagań, within Żagań County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland.Pożarów is approximately 4 kilometres (2 mi) north of Żagań and 35 km (22 mi) south of Zielona Góra.

Stary Żagań
Stary Żagań

Stary Żagań [ˈstarɨ ˈʐaɡaɲ] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Żagań, within Żagań County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. It lies approximately 4 kilometres (2 mi) north of Żagań and 35 km (22 mi) south of Zielona Góra.

Marysin, Lubusz Voivodeship

Marysin [maˈrɨɕin] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Żagań, within Żagań County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland.

Bożnów

Bożnów [ˈbɔʐnuf] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Żagań, within Żagań County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland.

Gryżyce, Lubusz Voivodeship

Gryżyce [ɡrɨˈʐɨt͡sɛ] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Żagań, within Żagań County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. It lies approximately 7 kilometres (4 mi) north-west of Żagań and 34 km (21 mi) south-west of Zielona Góra.