A thrilling, first-person account of one of the most famous prison escapes of World War II.
Jens Müller was one of only three men who successfully escaped from Stalag Luft III on the night of March 24, 1944—the breakout that later became the basis for the famous film The Great Escape.
His memoir tells how Müller, a pilot in one of the RAF’s Norwegian squadrons, was shot down by the Luftwaffe over the English Channel in June 1942. After some days at sea in his Spitfire’s life raft, he made it to land in Belgium but was soon captured by the occupying Germans and sent as a prisoner of war to Stalag Luft III (in what is now Zagan, Poland).
Müller vividly describes life in the camp, how the escapes were planned, and relates the compelling story of his personal breakout. Together with Per Bergsland, he managed to make it to the coast and stowed away on a ship to Gothenburg, Sweden. The two men eventually reached RAF Leuchars base in Scotland.
The Jens Müller memoir is a unique, unforgettable journey through twenty-four months of German captivity and an ingenious escape like no other I’ve ever read about. Each page brings you into the moment with intricate detail, contrasting the kindness of a few guards with the cruelty of many others in a great adventure reaping the most precious gift of all—freedom.
A fascinating and highly suspenseful firsthand account of the famous Stalag Luft III escape, written by one of only three men from among 76 fugitive POWs who managed to evade the Nazi manhunt and gain their freedom.
It’s fantastic that Jens Müller’s memoir is finally in English. A firsthand account by one of the very few successful Great Escapers makes this not only historically important, but also a thrilling read.
The Great Escape was far more than a Hollywood film; it was an aggressive campaign waged by Allied prisoners against the Nazi security forces in their own back yard—and Jens Müller was a key player. His memoir is a must read for anyone interested in this gripping episode of the Second World War.
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