Great Escape 1944: Munich Gestapo Murder of Recaptured Allied POWs скачать в хорошем качестве

Great Escape 1944: Munich Gestapo Murder of Recaptured Allied POWs

In March 1944, seventy-six Allied POWs staged a daring escape from Stalag Luft III at Sagan in Lower Silesia – an event remembered today as The Great Escape. While the breakout was a remarkable feat of planning and courage, the aftermath would become one of the most infamous war crimes committed by Nazi Germany. This video focuses on events in Munich, where several of the escapees were recaptured by the Kripo and the Gestapo. Among them were Flight Lieutenant Rupert Stevens and Lieutenant Johannes Gouws of the South African Air Force. Their fate was sealed when Gestapo chief Oswald Schaefer received Hitler’s secret directive: recaptured Allied prisoners were to be executed. We trace the movements of investigators, the orders given in the Gestapo headquarters, and the chilling sequence that led to the murder of these officers near Ingolstadt. The story highlights not only the brutality of the regime, but also the atmosphere of coercion and fear within the Gestapo itself, including the presence of Emil Weil – a quarter Jewish Gestapo officer whose life depended on his compliance. This is a detailed historical account based on documented testimony and post-war investigations. It sheds light on individuals, motives, and the chain of command that turned Hitler’s order into an atrocity that shocked the world. If you’re interested in: • The Great Escape (1944) • Stalag Luft III history • Gestapo command structure • War crimes trials • Personal stories of Allied POWs Then this video provides vital context and depth. Great Escape 1944, Stalag Luft III, Allied POWs, Rupert Stevens, Johannes Gouws, Munich Gestapo, Oswald Schaefer, Martin Schermer, Johann Schneider, Emil Weil, WWII history, Nazi war crimes, RSHA, Third Reich history, Ingolstadt, Sagan POW camp, escape to Switzerland, wartime Germany, military history documentary, World War Two investigation In March 1944, a group of 76 Allied POWs escaped from Sagen POW camp in Lower Silesia. Gestapo and police offices throughout Germany were warned to be on the lookout for escaped prisoners. Eventually nearly all of them were caught. On Saturday, 25 March 1944, the Munich Kripo – the criminal police, had received a telex warning everyone to be on the lookout for the men. There was also information about the escape and the suggestion that they would be in civilian clothes with false papers. At Munich, the criminal police officer assigned to the task was Anton Gassler. His idea was to concentrate the search on the railway stations and this quickly produced results. Switzerland was a natural destination for the escapers and most roads to Switzerland would have gone through Munich via train. The first escaped officer to be picked up was arrested near Donauworth on an express train. The prisoner spoke very good German and made a positive impression on his captors. He asked Gassler what would happen to him, Gassler said that he would probably be sent back to the POW camp, but that was a decision for the RHSA, not him. The prisoner was returned to Sagen. Flight Lieutenant Rupert Stevens and Lieutenant Johannes Gouws, both of the S.A.A.F.) were the next to be caught. One was caught on a train near Kaufbeuren, the other on a slow train near Rosenheim. They were both brought to prison in Munich on, or before, 28 March 1944. The investigation of these men was taken from the criminal police to the Gestapo. In charge of the Gestapo in Munich was the 35 year old Oswald Schaeffer. His war time career in the service of National Socialism included being part of an Einsatzkommando and murdering Jews and others in the occupied Soviet Union and overseeing the investigation into the White Rose German resistance movement. On the night of 29 March, Schaefer received a teleprint with the Hitler order to kill any Allied POWs who were recaptured. It was after duty hours, and he sent his car to collect some of his staff. The car returned with his second in command, Martin Schermer, as well as Eduard Geith and Johann Schneider. They were joined by Emil Weil, who was the duty officer. Weil was in a particularly difficult situation. He was one quarter Jewish and a Gestapo officer. Had Schaffer found out, his fate would have been the same as for other Jews in Munich. After a short conference with his second in command, Schaefer summoned the others and explained to them that on orders from the RSHA, the two captured British prisoners held at Kripo headquarters were to be shot. He briefed them in accordance with the Hitler order. It was decided that Schneider, who had a Soviet sub machine gun which had brought back from the Eastern Front and because of this experience did not seem to mind doing the shooting, should kill the men and that Schermer should be in charge of the party and give the order to shoot. All participants were pledged to secrecy by a clasping of hands, a gesture associated with men about to go into battle.