Stalag Luft III, World War II prisoner-of-war camp in Żagań, Poland.
Stalag Luft III was a World War II prisoner-of-war camp in Żagań, Poland, comprising several separate compounds with wooden barracks, watchtowers and fences. The site occupied a wooded area near what was then the German-Polish border and served to hold captured Allied airmen.
The camp was built by the Wehrmacht in 1942 and held thousands of Allied airmen. In March 1944, 76 prisoners escaped through a 111-meter tunnel, after which 50 of them were shot on orders.
The museum on the grounds displays tunnel reconstructions and objects from the period when Allied airmen were held here. Visitors can trace how the prisoners organized their daily routines and the conditions under which they lived.
The museum opens Tuesday through Friday from 10 AM to 4 PM and on weekends until 5 PM. Admission is free every Tuesday.
The prisoners developed a ventilation system using milk tins and wooden boards to supply air into the tunnels. Without this construction, the underground work would have been nearly impossible.
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