Visit Stalag Luft 3: The WWII POW Camp of “The Great Escape”

I grew up watching the 1963 movie, The Great Escape. The movie tells the story of a group of allied airmen from World War II who were held at a Prisoner of War camp roughly 125 miles southeast of Berlin. The group dug a tunnel 30 feet deep, 330 feet long and roughly two feet wide/tall from one of their barracks to the forest so they could escape. Three months after that escape, my grandpa, Leo Carlton, arrived at Stalag Luft 3 as a POW after his B-24 was shot down during a bombing run over Munich.

In June 2023, 19 members of my family were welcomed to the Stalag Luft 3 museum to learn about life in the camp and walk the steps of Leo Carlton. The museum is open for all, and you can experience the site and memorial where The Great Escape took place.

If you want to visit a piece of World War II history, I encourage you to visit the Stalag Luft 3 museum near Zagan, Poland. Here’s a rundown on what you can expect during your visit, and a little bit about why this was such an important stop for the Carlton family’s 2023 family history trip to Europe.

Background on Stalag Luft 3

The museum actually sits on the grounds of an army POW camp known as Stalag VIII C. This POW camp was built in 1939 and was one of the largest POW camps in Germany. This camp held approximately 49,000 POWs during it’s operation.

In 1942, the Luftwaffe (German air force) built Stalag Luft 3 and designated it for officers of the Allied air forces. The location was chosen because of the military nature of the town of Żagań. To prevent tunnel escapes, the barracks were also built up off the ground to prevent tunneling from the barracks to the ground. That’s why The Great Escape plan was to start the tunnel through the cement and brick foundation stands. Brilliant!!

Over time, with the growing number of Allied officers captured as POWs, additional compounds were built. In total, there were five compounds – East Compound, Centre Compound, North Compound, South Compound and West Compound. The infamous Great Escape took place in North Compound. My grandpa, Leo Carlton, was in West Compound.

In late-January 1945, the 10,000 POWs were marched out of camp in the cold of winter. The destination was Spremburg, Germany, roughly 45 miles west. From there, the POWs were transported by train to other camps, like Stalag VII-A at Moosburg or Stalag XIII-D at Nürnberg. My grandpa was in the small group from West Compound that was sent to Moosburg.

Directions to the POW camp near Żagań, Poland

The Stalag Luft 3 museum is located a few minutes southwest of Żagań, Poland along Route 296. For our visit, we were driving from Prague, Czech Republic, to the south. Here’s a rundown on distances from some of the major cities around Żagań and the distance/direction from the city to the POW camp.

• Prague, Czech Republic: 235 kilometers (145 miles); roughly 3 hours north
• Dresden, Germany: 173 kilometers (107 miles); roughly 2 hours 15 minutes east
• Berlin, Germany: 204 kilometers (126 miles); roughly 2.5 hours south east
• Warsaw, Poland: 508 kilometers (315 miles); roughly 5 hours west

As you approach Żagań from the south, you’ll see what looks like an elevated guard shack just off the road. That’s the entrance to the museum area of Stalag Luft 3. Follow the road to the parking area, which is located between the more modern-looking building (the museum) and the replica of a barracks (wooden building).

The site of Harry (the escape tunnel) is a short drive from the museum. I strongly recommend visiting the museum first to get your bearings, then you can venture out to the site of Harry.

Tickets to Visit the Museum Dedicated to Stalag Luft 3

The best place to begin your visit is at the museum. You can enter the large building near where you parked, then take the stairs to the second floor. There’s a little gift shop and information desk, so that’s where you’ll purchase your admission tickets for the museum. They accept Euros and Polish Zloty (PLN), but they do not take credit cards.

• General admission tickets: 15 Polish Zloty (PLN), which equals about $4
• Reduced ticket price is available for children (10 PLN)
• Children under the age of 7 are free
• Guided tours in English are available for roughly $25 for one hour, but you’ll want to book those in advance by emailing muzeum@um.zagan.pl

The museum is open year-round, Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10a.m. to 5 p.m. Between November 1 to March 1 (winter months), the museum is open on Saturdays and Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The museum is closed on Mondays, though you can still visit the site of Harry.

What You’ll find Inside the Museum

As you explore the museum – either on your own or as part of a guided tour – you’ll begin to understand what life was like for the 10,000 allied airmen who spent time there as POWs. Along the walls are various display cases. Each one focuses on a slightly different aspect of camp life. For example, games and sorts equipment, Red Cross packages, eating utensils, buttons and more.

There is also one large image of the camp, captured during an Allied aerial reconnaissance mission in September 1944. What makes that image more interesting is that Marek, our tour guide for the visit, said, “Leo Carlton is here in this photo.” When the photo was taken, all the airmen were in their barracks, meaning Leo Carlton was hanging out inside the barracks he was assigned – Barracks 172, room 15. It’s cool to think that he’s in that photo (see the photo above with museum director Marek indicating barracks 172).

The museum also has a diorama of the North Compound that was built by students in Żagań in the late 80s. It’s a great setup to get a lay of the land for how North Compound was arranged.

Part of the museum also shows parts of what a barracks room would look like. There’s a bunk bed, closet, stove and many other items to help you visualize the rooms.

Explore Key Areas of the POW Camp

After you explore inside the museum and its numerous artifacts, you can venture outside to explore other exhibits. Across the road is a replica barracks for you to explore. While inside, you can see what a typical barracks room setup looks like. There’s also an area dedicated artifacts from The Great Escape, including:

• Air pump used to keep fresh air flowing into the escape tunnel
• Trolley cart used on a wooden rail system in the tunnel to move dirt and people
• Photos of the 50 men who were killed after their escape through the tunnel and recapture
• Other artifacts from The Great Escape

Be sure to visit all the rooms to learn about another successful escape attempt – The Wooden Horse.

On the other side of the museum, there’s a memorial dedicated to those who were held in the Army POW camp next to Stalag Luft 3 – Stalag VIII C. There’s also an opportunity to ride a trolley cart through a two-foot by two-foot tunnel that’s roughly 50 feet long – not the 300+ feet of Harry. It would make me claustrophobic for sure… especially if I was one of the airmen digging the tunnel.

When you’re ready, hop back in your vehicle to make the drive to the site of Harry.

Learn About “The Great Escape”

To access the location of Harry (the tunnel used in The Great Escape), head back to the main road and travel north for a short distance. You’ll see a brown sign with white lettering “Stalag Luft 3” and “Tunnel Harry”. Follow that dirt road for about half a mile until you see a guard tower. Simply park along the road in the pull out area and then you can wander the site of Harry.

It’s helpful to know what you’re looking at, and if you made a stop at the museum first, you’ll have a good idea. But here’s a rundown on what you’ll see around this site of the North Compound.

• A guard tower foundation area where the actual guard tower stood. The replica guard tower was built more recently and moved back a little because of the overhead power lines.
• On the north side of the road, you’ll see a memorial area indicating where the tunnel ended. It’s from this point the men surfaced and made their way into the forest during the escape.
• On the south side of the road, there’s a line of rectangle stones indicating the path of Harry. Follow that to the spot that indicates where the tunnel began – inside one of the barracks.
• To the west of the tunnel indicators, there are some concrete foundations. That’s where “The Cooler” was located – the areas where prisoners were put in solitary confinement for various reasons.
• Roughly 50 yards south of the tunnel entrance marker, there’s a large stone pool. It wasn’t used for swimming – it was a place to collect water for fire suppression.

Leo Carlton’s Experience at Stalag Luft 3

As our family prepared for our visit to Stalag Luft 3, I reached out to the museum director via email. Within a few days, Marek replied and shared a document with me that provided some important information. It’s the log sheet of prisoners who were held at Stalag Luft 3. On the page, we learned a few things about Leo Carlton’s time in the POW camp.

• He arrived on June 17, 1944
• He was assigned Room 15 in Barracks 172, located in the West Compound

During our visit to the museum, Marek offered to take our family out to the site of Barracks 172 in West Compound. In the photo above, I’m standing next to some of the remaining stone foundations and chimney from my grandpa’s barracks. Granted, the area is covered in tall trees and ground cover. That’s a very different look than it had back in the 1940s. It was amazing to stand where Leo Carlton stood when he was a POW during WWII.

During a family history interview, my grandpa spoke briefly about his time in the POW camp. He also spoke of the trek from Stalag Luft 3 in the middle of winter. Marek was a wealth of knowledge and helped our family understand more than we ever thought we’d learn about Leo’s experience as a POW.

During our visit, many of our family members purchased Stalag Luft III: The Secret Story, by Arthur A Durand. I’ve been captivated by the stories told about POWs at the camp. I’m only two chapters into it (as of this posting), but am so glad I picked up a copy during my visit. You might be able to find a copy on Amazon.

The Details

Address: Lotników Alianckich 45, 68-100 Żagań, Poland

How long to spend: Plan on roughly 1 hour for the museum, barracks and memorials near the museum. Also plan on 15-20 minutes for your visit to the memorial of Harry and parts of the North Compound. Overall, plan on two hours or more.

Cost: General admission tickets are 15 Polish Zloty (PLN), which equals about $4. A reduced ticket price is available for children (10 PLN) and children under the age of 7 are free. Guided tours in English are available for roughly $25 for one hour.

Hours: Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday from 10a.m. to 5 p.m. Between November 1 to March 1 (winter months), the museum is open on Saturdays and Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Website: https://muzeum.zagan.pl/

PIN THIS