Outrageous BBC article calls Great Escape ‘mad failure’ and claims most Brit POWs wanted to STAY in Nazi prison camp
Historians have blasted the Beeb for taking a 'modernistic liberal stance' on the famous event, without providing an alternative view
AN extraordinary BBC article has dubbed the Great Escape a "mad failure" and claimed that most British POWs wanted to STAY in the Nazi prison camp.
The controversial piece states the epic wartime break out 75 years ago was led by the "tally-ho brigade" officers in the camp and claimed it didn't make "one ounce of difference" to the war effort.
Writing in BBC History Magazine, the historian Guy Walters said the escape "needlessly risked young lives" and "made not an ounce of difference to the war effort".
His appraisal is far removed from the way the audacious getaway was immortalised in the classic 1963 film The Great Escape starring Steve McQueen, which he described as "triumphalism".
The escapers' courage came at a very heavy cost as only three of the 76 men who crawled out of Stalag Luft III camp through a tunnel
evaded capture. Fifty of those caught were executed in Nazi reprisals.
The article has prompted a backlash from other historians who have slammed it for 'demeaning the memory' of the escapers and accused the BBC of taking a 'modernistic liberal stance' on the famous event.
I find putting sweeping statements in bold which decry the gallantry of these men is demeaning to their memory, although they may see it as a tool to sell magazines
In the magazine, Mr Walters wrote: "In a sad but unpalatable truth, the Great Escape was anything but great.
"Instead, it should largely be seen as a failure, a hubristic exercise that needlessly risked young lives, and had the very opposite effect to what was intended.
"In the words of one prisoner of war, it was 'an act of military madness' that resulted in 50 recaptured escapers being shot, and made not an ounce of difference to the war effort."
Fellow historian Paul Beaver, who has written over 60 military history books, hit out at the way the magazine presented the article 'by putting sweeping statements decrying the gallantry of the escapers in bold'.
A stripline across the front cover of the April edition of the magazine reads: "The not-so great escape".
Mr Beaver said historians had a duty to reassess the facts and come up with their own conclusions.
The Great Escape - what happened?
- The Germans considered the purpose-built camp near the Polish town of Zagan as practically escape-proof.
- Prisoners codenamed three potential escape tunnels 'Tom, Dick and Harry'.
- 'Tom' was discovered by Germans and dynamited, but 'Harry' was ultimately used for the getaway on the night of March 24-25.
- Only 76 of the planned 200 prisoners managed to leave after the Germans discovered the escape.
- Of those, only three managed to successfully escape, while 73 were captured.
- The night they had fled was the coldest March in 30 years, meaning the escapees had no option but to leave the cover of woods and fields and stay on the roads so as to avoid detection.
- Fifty of those caught were executed in Nazi reprisals.
- The getaway was immemorialised in the 1963 film starring Steve McQueen.
But he added: "It would have been good if they had also published an article with another historian with a counter view and run it next to the original article so the readers could make up their own minds.
"I find putting sweeping statements in bold which decry the gallantry of these men is demeaning to their memory, although they may see it as a tool to sell magazines."
Despite the losses, he described it as "one of the most successful escapes in the history of warfare" that "should be remembered now and by future generations".
"At a time when Germany was reeling from defeat after defeat, the escape and need to re-capture these determined men was a military operation right in the heart of Nazi Germany," he said.
It was exceptionally brave, exceptionally spirited and courageous thing for them to attempt
Dan Snow, TV historian
"More than 60,000 police and auxiliaries has to be seconded from other duties in the days following the escape.
"Indeed, more than a million people were involved in the round-up of the 73 prisoners."
John Grehan, military historian and former assistant editor of Britain at War magazine, also criticised the magazine for its "modernistic liberal stance", saying the activities of escapees caused the Germans "immense" problems.
TV historian Dan Snow came to Mr Walters defence, although he acknowledged the 'exceptional bravery' of the escapers.
He said: "He is right - not many people escaped, lots of people were killed and it made conditions for prisoners even tougher as there was a massive German crackdown.
"But at the same time it was exceptionally brave, exceptionally spirited and courageous thing for them to attempt."
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The mass escape from Stalag Luft III took place on the night of March 24, 1944.
Of those recaptured by the Germans, 50 were summarily executed on the orders of an enraged Adolf Hitler to deter other prisoners from trying to escape.
Rob Attar, the editor of BBC History Magazine, declined to comment on the article.
But a spokesperson from Immediate Media, who publish the magazine, said: "BBC History magazine has nothing but respect for those who sacrificed their lives in both World Wars and regularly publishes articles which explore historical accounts of the period.
"It also publishes articles by historians with differing views of historical events and it’s important for them to be free to express these views.
"Not all historians agree and that’s what makes history such a fascinating subject.”
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