Stalag Luft 3 [entry point]

Stalag Luft 3 [entry point]

Stalag Luft 3, Stalag Luft iii, Stalag Luft III, Belaria camp, Belaria, Belaria compound, Żagań camp, Zegan camp, Sagan camp.

Stalag Luft 3 was in Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan, 100 miles (161 kms) south-east of Berlin.

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It opened in March 1942 by the Luftwaffe to hold captured Allied airmen. The site was chosen because the sandy soil made tunnelling difficult for prisoners of war to dig tunnels. It was the site of the ‘Great Escape’ in March 1944. By July 1944 it covered 60 acres and housed 2,500 RAF, 7,500 American and 900 other Allied prisoners. It was liberated by Soviet forces in January 1945.

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