Hannes Messemer was in the film for only 10 minutes, yet he made every millisecond count with his great line delivery and body language. He deserved an Oscar nomination at the very least.
@Brian Home account Seriously? ... I knew that most Great German Actors had Experience in Captivity of one sort or another, but I never knew that about Herr Messner... Can You Elaborate on Your Reply? Dates of Service, Unit and Rank when Captured... and how He Survived and was Returned Home to Germany would be a Wonderful Thing to Learn and very Inspiring... Please tell us More about Herr Messner. Bruno Biava ⚓
Colonel von Luger, originally as Oberst(Colonel) Friedrich-Wilhelm von Lindeiner-Wildau of the Luftwaffe (12 December 1880 - 22 May 1963), Commandant of the Luft Stalag III, the only POW camp Commandant that dares to disobey an order of bloodshed on the prisoners as far as we know, anti-Nazism himself, earned respect from both the allied senior officers and his own staff, this man of honor is a legend.
If I understand correctly von Luger was not removed from command for the Great Escape, but for black market activities. He also participated in reunions with Stalag 3 prisoners. Also his replacement was supposed a sympathetic officer. Contributed to the memorial for the murdered prisoners.
1:30 I thought it was very amusing when Col. Von Luger started tossing the files on his desk. It just shows how frustrated he was while trying to maintain his composure.
I really liked the fact that even though they were on opposite sides, they respected each other as gentlemen. I also respect the fact that the smart play for the British officers would have been to have quietly waited the war out...but they were officers and gentlemen and did their duty even though it cost them their lives.
Yes, you' re right but, in this case, the massive escape was a Bushell's personal revenge for the treatment he had received by Gestapo when he was captured in Praga during his last evasion in June, 1942. The question is: was he guilty of the capture and death of fifty escapees, including himself, or that high risk was accepted and assumed by all those men like officers they were?
No sympathy for soldiers who try to escape from a Wermacht governed prison where they're being treated well according to the Geneva convention. They are deliberately putting a strain on German resources to recapture them, as explained in this scene, they're throwing the German's good will back in their face and have only themselves ot blame when the Gestapo get on their case and play hard. As a soldier in either world war you're lucky if you are captured by a nation with the resources and civlility to actually take prisoners. If I was them I'd be bloody thankful and take the attitude I've done enough for the war effort already. By going along with it at all instead of conscientious objecting, you're basically 'asking for it' anyway. War is death, and wouldn't happen if people were not mindless puppets.
I remember being a kid and wondering why Ramsay would admit that they’re going to attempt to escape. Once I got a bit older, I realized he wasn’t telling Von Luger anything he didn’t already know, and this was all so they could come to an understanding as officers and gentlemen, albeit on opposite sides.
The medal round Von Luger’s neck is the Blue Max, awarded for shooting down 20 enemy aircraft. On his chest is the Iron Cross, one of Germany’s highest bravery awards. And the eagle directly above it means he earned the Iron Cross in WW1 and another one in WW2.
A true officer and gentleman. “Do you expect officers to forget their duty? No.” Perfect military man’s answer. In real life, Hitler wanted to murder the entire camp. High Command convinced him to settle for 50. The Commandant was arrested by the Gestapo and was scheduled for execution, but his friends in High Command kept moving him around from base to base, one step ahead of the goons. As war drew to a close, he was captured by the allies, and ended the war as a P.O.W himself.
@@tommym321 That’s a great question. I googled the real person this character was based on, turns out he was a bigger hero with more bravery decorations than even the movie suggests. But he hated Nazism and refused to join the Nazi party, and tried to resign/retire (he was over 60) from the Luftwaffe which was refused. Commanding the POW camp was a compromise to keep him in military service without having to serve the Nazis directly.
If you think about it, Von Luger was one of the few decent German characters throughout this film. You can tell the colonel isn't the kind of man who would resort to cold-blooded murder and if it wasn't for him the POW's who escaped in the past would have been killed by the SS a long time ago. It's only because he lost command of the POW camp that Von Luger was helpless to save the men who were eventually captured towards the end of the movie.
+Eric Kinney Absolutely. I think you see it most clearly when Big X is delivered into Von Luger's custody and you can read on his face that he feels terrible for Bartlett.
@BlackDeathViral03 im sure there many Germans who were terrified of Hitler. What could they do while under the eyes of German authorities? Very little.
@BlackDeathViral03 Then would you care to explain why so few tried to over throw Hitler when the Allies were at Germany doorstep? I know once the Western allies landed in France did some element of the German army tried to kill Hitler but what about towards the beginning of 1945? At that point, it was inevitable that Germany was going to lose the war. Why not attempt another major upraising to save whats left of Germany. Even if you dont know exactly what would happen next, might as well tried to surrender to the Western allies and by time to concentrate what remaining forces to the Eastern front. They all know to some extent that the Western allies were better than the Soviets.
Love the line ‘It is the sworn duty of all Officers to escape. If they can’t, it is their sworn duty to cause the enemy to use an inordinate number of troops to guard them, and their sworn duty to harass the enemy to the best of their ability.
The Honorable British and the Honorable Germans knew what Gallantry was and Kept to a Code of Conduct during both the Great War (WWI) and the Second Great War (WWII)... something often dismissed in American Cinema Production in the Era "The Great Escape" was made. An Exception the this was "The Enemy Below" which was based on the Book by D.A. Rainer. My understanding is that the Book has a different End than the Movie, and that the United States Navy wouldn't Cooperate with Fox Studios unless the Ending was made more Amicable and less 'Tragic' than D.A. Rainer had originally written. A few years ago, I tried to Check-out the Book through our State Library System. Although One or more Copies Existed in the System at that time, they were listed as "Not Available for Circulation" (IIRC). In the Dialogue You reference, the British Officer is basically Defending the God Given Gift of Hope that the Officer SHALL try to Manage while they remain in Captivity, because He, like the others He Leads want but One Thing and That is to Return Home and Resume Service to God, King, and Country. For the German Veterans of the First Great War, a Memory of the Inscription upon the Buckle of the German Army Uniform remained quiet Fresh and Vivid... and I don't know if that Inscription made it into the Belt Buckles of the Reich's Heer... The Inscription in English reads: "God is With Us". ... and the Veterans of Both Sides that Served during Both Wars Understood that There be but One God Over Both Sides... ... which was a Concept that the Nazis, the Followers of Mussolini, and the Japanese Forces Influenced by Tojo refused to Accept and Submit to. Bruno Biava ⚓
Enlisted men were not expected to make escape attempts, though some did. They were expected to work, though in theory at least not on anything militarily beneficial to the enemy. Quite a lot of enlisted POWs worked on farms.
there is method to that madness, because they are the best and placing them all in one place, it stops them from teaching other POW's their tricks or methods for tunnelling/escaping and causing an even larger problem down the road
So how do Germans feel when they look at these films it's always Germans in films that get the bad rap if that makes sense line up the locals and shot them 😯 hello from Royal hill Tara county Meath Ireland☺
Even video games do they show das boot or any ww2 on German TV reckon first world wars goes back to totenberg forest Romans were slaughtered by Germania😈
My neighbor was shot down over Germany ran a machine gun on a B17, he was shipped to a Prisoner of War camp Northern Germany run by Prussian officers, that treated the men with dignity, though there were sadistic guards over them. As the war was coming to an end they moved the prisoners in the winter, by hiking hundreds of miles, through snow sleeping in barns at night. Dysentery, lice was rampant & with wakened condition most did not survive. The Germans did not want to meet the Russian army first, so that was the main goal in moving. When they were finally liberated by the allies, the sadistic guards were pointed out, walked a short distance & were executed such is war, the pendulum swings both ways, the Prussian officers were treated with full respect you get what you sow. Clay, did mention that his barracks was built about 3 ft. off ground so any tunneling was impossible, great movie!
Important to note the 2 things Von Luger was subtly trying to do here by discouraging escapes - he knew that escaping officers were likely to be murdered by the Gestapo, so he’s trying to protect them from that fate, and that if there was a breakout he would be punished by the high command - both of which happen at the end of the film
Colonel Von Luger reminds me of my grandfather. A civilian, he was 4-F and spent World War II building airfields. Yet very Germanic and looked a lot like Von Luger.
From 1:50 I see the commandant remember that he’s an officer of the Luftwaffe & military profession. Pressed to answer like a Party Man, his body languages changes to military propriety. A haunting premonition of rhyme he reads the list of those shot straying to escape. Two brilliant, mid-rank, yet superb, actors giving fantastic performances. These two must have relished it.
even knowing the plot of this film, the idea of putting "All the bad eggs in one basket" in terms of escape-prone prisoners and problem prisoners all in one camp, kinda feels like they were ASKING for this level of escape to occur when these men put their expertise and wit together. the one thing that prisoners have, is time to think, plot, and plan. and put together all the best escape artists and of course they're gonna swap ideas and plan together.
What i love about this scene in fact the entire film is just the very strong framing of the actors. No crazy camera moves. Each actor just makes their point and the framing reinforces it. Movies were shot differently then.
It took me a long time to realize the joke the poor Germans unknowingly played on themselves by gathering to many POWs set on escaping custody in one place.
“A Staff-Officer, *personally selected for Zee Task* by *Za High Command* -“ Substitute-in *Steve McQueen* for The RAF Officer : *“Geez, what in The Hell Did You DO…!? Knock-up The Herr Reichsmarshall’s Kid-Sister..??”* Even when he makes that crack about *Officers ignoring Their Duty,* he’s *STILL* needling him, albeit in a much more polite, airquote “Civilised” manner - this guy clearly made some majorly costly military mistake or politically charged error of Judgement, otherwise he would not BE here as Commandant, carrying out this shameful and degrading low-grade shitcan-detail of guarding The Hostages under impossible conditions, using an unworkable and restrictive Rule Book (I.e., The Geneva Convention), knowing full-well that the S.S. Divisions running the military-industrial slave-Labour camp complex have no such binding restrictions to effective performance of their assigned duties.
Not really a softie judging by his medals, but they used almost every scene he was in to show that he wasn't a Nazi and that he despised the SS and Gestapo, just like the real colonel he was based on.
@@rolfagten857 He wasn't soft just because he wasn't a Nazi. If anything, it took more of a spine to not be a shameless sycophant who stood up to the SS and Gestapo when he could. In the movie or in real life, the colonel likely could have been a Luftwaffe general if he would've joined the Nazi Party and pretended to buy into their ideology to advance his career. When he was asked if he would summarily execute POWs if Hitler gave him the order, he said: "If I should receive such a dreadful order I would refuse to obey. I prefer in this case to be executed myself for military insubordination and would not try to save my miserable life by obeying." A coward, or someone soft would have just followed the order without question. I don't see a willingness to commit war crimes as being tough.
That's why it's such a great movie; Gotta make it entertaining. And with it not even 20 years after the war, I'm sure it was still very fresh for many in their minds
@@roquefortfiles Those that were there mostly weren't in the same population in the camp to begin with. Also, can you imagine how hard it would have gone on three Americans (from their fellow POWs) if they actually held a private moonshine operation that not only used resources, created product for consumption that could have been used strategically for bribing guards or as fuel or for weapons, but they disrupt security protocol with their surprise party, get one of the tunnels discovered, waste months of work & resources that went into that tunnel, and get one of their fellow POWs killed?
@@robertballasty395 I don't know how accurate the Moonshine party is to what actually took place. Considering all the American's were moved out of the camp at one point. I know one of the tunnels was discovered but there are some things that were added for artistic license. The details of the how the tunnels were constructed is entirely accurate. They had a guy who was there as a technical advisor. Huge fan of this film. I like this era of film making very much. The shot compositions are very still and epic.
This is what I would have personally said to Col. Luger in this scene: "Yes, you're right, Herr Oberst. You DO have a lovely, civilized place here that treats us humanely and gives us some genuine, creature-comforts. In fact, I suppose that as far as 'camps' go, it comes therefore as a pleasant surprise to be imprisoned in a place that practices such a high degree of human civility-------ESPECIALLY given the fact that it is demonstrated in the middle of a blood-soaked, global war. Come to think of it........it's lucky that I wasn't born Jewish. Isn't it........Herr OBERST? Yessir........VERY lucky. May I take a brief tour of your wonderfully humane camp, now? The sooner we get started, then the sooner we can be back here, by jove, for a cup of tea! Smashing idea!"
Hannes Messemer was in the film for only 10 minutes, yet he made every millisecond count with his great line delivery and body language. He deserved an Oscar nomination at the very least.
His portrayal was quite convincing. With his well tailored uniform and military bearing he looks the part, before he so much as speaks a word.
@Brian Home account Seriously? ... I knew that most Great German Actors had Experience in Captivity of one sort or another, but I never knew that about Herr Messner...
Can You Elaborate on Your Reply? Dates of Service, Unit and Rank when Captured... and how He Survived and was Returned Home to Germany would be a Wonderful Thing to Learn and very Inspiring...
Please tell us More about Herr Messner.
Bruno Biava ⚓
@@brunobiava4833 I'd recommend looking him up and reading all about it.
@Bruno Biava if you find that info, please post a link. I came up empty.
interestingly he served on the Eastern front ,was captured and managed to escape
from Soviet captivity @@PadraigTomas
His delivery of "Captain this is close to insanity" with that hand motion is one of my favorite moments in the film.
*Group Captain😂😂
Colonel von Luger, originally as Oberst(Colonel) Friedrich-Wilhelm von Lindeiner-Wildau of the Luftwaffe (12 December 1880 - 22 May 1963), Commandant of the Luft Stalag III, the only POW camp Commandant that dares to disobey an order of bloodshed on the prisoners as far as we know, anti-Nazism himself, earned respect from both the allied senior officers and his own staff, this man of honor is a legend.
I love examples of good and decent men fighting under an evil flag.
If I understand correctly von Luger was not removed from command for the Great Escape, but for black market activities. He also participated in reunions with Stalag 3 prisoners. Also his replacement was supposed a sympathetic officer. Contributed to the memorial for the murdered prisoners.
Both of R.A.F and Luftwaffe have an awesome uniform
1:30 I thought it was very amusing when Col. Von Luger started tossing the files on his desk. It just shows how frustrated he was while trying to maintain his composure.
I really liked the fact that even though they were on opposite sides, they respected each other as gentlemen. I also respect the fact that the smart play for the British officers would have been to have quietly waited the war out...but they were officers and gentlemen and did their duty even though it cost them their lives.
Yes, you' re right but, in this case, the massive escape was a Bushell's personal revenge for the treatment he had received by Gestapo when he was captured in Praga during his last evasion in June, 1942. The question is: was he guilty of the capture and death of fifty escapees, including himself, or that high risk was accepted and assumed by all those men like officers they were?
@@juanantoniochamorrobarrien9731 And an interesting question it is...and like all very interesting questions, it has no simple answer.
No sympathy for soldiers who try to escape from a Wermacht governed prison where they're being treated well according to the Geneva convention. They are deliberately putting a strain on German resources to recapture them, as explained in this scene, they're throwing the German's good will back in their face and have only themselves ot blame when the Gestapo get on their case and play hard. As a soldier in either world war you're lucky if you are captured by a nation with the resources and civlility to actually take prisoners. If I was them I'd be bloody thankful and take the attitude I've done enough for the war effort already. By going along with it at all instead of conscientious objecting, you're basically 'asking for it' anyway. War is death, and wouldn't happen if people were not mindless puppets.
Many did just that...
Prison, is a prison, is a prison. Human nature to want out of it.
I Remember Watching This On CBS Thursday & Friday Night At The Movies In Two Parts. Some Memories Never Fade. Thanks.
I remember being a kid and wondering why Ramsay would admit that they’re going to attempt to escape. Once I got a bit older, I realized he wasn’t telling Von Luger anything he didn’t already know, and this was all so they could come to an understanding as officers and gentlemen, albeit on opposite sides.
The medal round Von Luger’s neck is the Blue Max, awarded for shooting down 20 enemy aircraft. On his chest is the Iron Cross, one of Germany’s highest bravery awards. And the eagle directly above it means he earned the Iron Cross in WW1 and another one in WW2.
Hi
Thanks for the info
A true officer and gentleman. “Do you expect officers to forget their duty? No.” Perfect military man’s answer. In real life, Hitler wanted to murder the entire camp. High Command convinced him to settle for 50. The Commandant was arrested by the Gestapo and was scheduled for execution, but his friends in High Command kept moving him around from base to base, one step ahead of the goons. As war drew to a close, he was captured by the allies, and ended the war as a P.O.W himself.
Why would they relegate such a decorated officer to such a shitty assignment of a POW camp?
@@tommym321 That’s a great question. I googled the real person this character was based on, turns out he was a bigger hero with more bravery decorations than even the movie suggests. But he hated Nazism and refused to join the Nazi party, and tried to resign/retire (he was over 60) from the Luftwaffe which was refused. Commanding the POW camp was a compromise to keep him in military service without having to serve the Nazis directly.
If you think about it, Von Luger was one of the few decent German characters throughout this film. You can tell the colonel isn't the kind of man who would resort to cold-blooded murder and if it wasn't for him the POW's who escaped in the past would have been killed by the SS a long time ago. It's only because he lost command of the POW camp that Von Luger was helpless to save the men who were eventually captured towards the end of the movie.
+Eric Kinney Absolutely. I think you see it most clearly when Big X is delivered into Von Luger's custody and you can read on his face that he feels terrible for Bartlett.
BlackDeathViral03 Did you know that the SS/Gestapo’s biggest rival was the Abwehr (Military Intelligence)?
@BlackDeathViral03 im sure there many Germans who were terrified of Hitler. What could they do while under the eyes of German authorities? Very little.
Eric Kinney is that a Blue Max around Von Luger’s neck? Probably awarded during WWl.
@BlackDeathViral03 Then would you care to explain why so few tried to over throw Hitler when the Allies were at Germany doorstep? I know once the Western allies landed in France did some element of the German army tried to kill Hitler but what about towards the beginning of 1945? At that point, it was inevitable that Germany was going to lose the war. Why not attempt another major upraising to save whats left of Germany. Even if you dont know exactly what would happen next, might as well tried to surrender to the Western allies and by time to concentrate what remaining forces to the Eastern front. They all know to some extent that the Western allies were better than the Soviets.
Love the line ‘It is the sworn duty of all Officers to escape. If they can’t, it is their sworn duty to cause the enemy to use an inordinate number of troops to guard them, and their sworn duty to harass the enemy to the best of their ability.
The Honorable British and the Honorable Germans knew what Gallantry was and Kept to a Code of Conduct during both the Great War (WWI) and the Second Great War (WWII)... something often dismissed in American Cinema Production in the Era "The Great Escape" was made.
An Exception the this was "The Enemy Below" which was based on the Book by D.A. Rainer. My understanding is that the Book has a different End than the Movie, and that the United States Navy wouldn't Cooperate with Fox Studios unless the Ending was made more Amicable and less 'Tragic' than D.A. Rainer had originally written.
A few years ago, I tried to Check-out the Book through our State Library System. Although One or more Copies Existed in the System at that time, they were listed as "Not Available for Circulation" (IIRC).
In the Dialogue You reference, the British Officer is basically Defending the God Given Gift of Hope that the Officer SHALL try to Manage while they remain in Captivity, because He, like the others He Leads want but One Thing and That is to Return Home and Resume Service to God, King, and Country.
For the German Veterans of the First Great War, a Memory of the Inscription upon the Buckle of the German Army Uniform remained quiet Fresh and Vivid... and I don't know if that Inscription made it into the Belt Buckles of the Reich's Heer...
The Inscription in English reads:
"God is With Us".
... and the Veterans of Both Sides that Served during Both Wars Understood that There be but One God Over Both Sides...
... which was a Concept that the Nazis, the Followers of Mussolini, and the Japanese Forces Influenced by Tojo refused to Accept and Submit to.
Bruno Biava ⚓
Enlisted men were not expected to make escape attempts, though some did. They were expected to work, though in theory at least not on anything militarily beneficial to the enemy. Quite a lot of enlisted POWs worked on farms.
This scene is pure chivalry.
Goering himself had a soft spot for fellow fliers enemies though they be. He actually used his influence to protect them against the Gestapo and SS.
"We have put all our rotten eggs in one basket" - No Colonel, you've put all the best allied escape artists in one camp!
there is method to that madness, because they are the best and placing them all in one place, it stops them from teaching other POW's their tricks or methods for tunnelling/escaping and causing an even larger problem down the road
A perfect scene. Ramsey hesitates before taking the cigarette, but then realizes he might not see another for a while…. 😁
good movie ! I like the english speech of Luger (hannes Messemer) greetings from germany
So how do Germans feel when they look at these films it's always Germans in films that get the bad rap if that makes sense line up the locals and shot them 😯 hello from Royal hill Tara county Meath Ireland☺
Even video games do they show das boot or any ww2 on German TV reckon first world wars goes back to totenberg forest Romans were slaughtered by Germania😈
My neighbor was shot down over Germany ran a machine gun on a B17, he was shipped to a Prisoner of War camp Northern Germany run by Prussian officers, that treated the men with dignity, though there were sadistic guards over them. As the war was coming to an end they moved the prisoners in the winter, by hiking hundreds of miles, through snow sleeping in barns at night. Dysentery, lice was rampant & with wakened condition most did not survive. The Germans did not want to meet the Russian army first, so that was the main goal in moving. When they were finally liberated by the allies, the sadistic guards were pointed out, walked a short distance & were executed such is war, the pendulum swings both ways, the Prussian officers were treated with full respect you get what you sow. Clay, did mention that his barracks was built about 3 ft. off ground so any tunneling was impossible, great movie!
True fact, Hannes Messemer himself had been taken prisoner by the Russians. He became of the few that escaped and made it back to Germany.
Almost the colonel is not wanting the enemy to escape because he knows the outcome if they get caught
Important to note the 2 things Von Luger was subtly trying to do here by discouraging escapes - he knew that escaping officers were likely to be murdered by the Gestapo, so he’s trying to protect them from that fate, and that if there was a breakout he would be punished by the high command - both of which happen at the end of the film
At 1:38, I believe that's Hilts' file he has
*Captain Hilts. 😂😂😂
@@Michelle-ju6vs Jawohl.
Cooler!
Colonel Von Luger reminds me of my grandfather. A civilian, he was 4-F and spent World War II building airfields. Yet very Germanic and looked a lot like Von Luger.
I love the Voice from Luger is So amazing . In German a Little Bit More But still Amazing
From 1:50 I see the commandant remember that he’s an officer of the Luftwaffe & military profession. Pressed to answer like a Party Man, his body languages changes to military propriety.
A haunting premonition of rhyme he reads the list of those shot straying to escape.
Two brilliant, mid-rank, yet superb, actors giving fantastic performances.
These two must have relished it.
even knowing the plot of this film, the idea of putting "All the bad eggs in one basket" in terms of escape-prone prisoners and problem prisoners all in one camp, kinda feels like they were ASKING for this level of escape to occur when these men put their expertise and wit together. the one thing that prisoners have, is time to think, plot, and plan. and put together all the best escape artists and of course they're gonna swap ideas and plan together.
ハンネスメッセマー氏は 良い俳優さんですね❗🇯🇵🇩🇪
A great scene among to professional soldiers.
What i love about this scene in fact the entire film is just the very strong framing of the actors. No crazy camera moves. Each actor just makes their point and the framing reinforces it. Movies were shot differently then.
0:47 the best quote
Sardonic humour at its very best.
Group Captain, this is close to insanity.
For us this is not a matter for levity
It took me a long time to realize the joke the poor Germans unknowingly played on themselves by gathering to many POWs set on escaping custody in one place.
What did he decide?
My school didnt even have a library
Love how Von Lugar slams the folders in anger onto the desk. So much they end up on the floor.
“A Staff-Officer, *personally selected for Zee Task* by *Za High Command* -“
Substitute-in *Steve McQueen* for The RAF Officer :
*“Geez, what in The Hell Did You DO…!? Knock-up The Herr Reichsmarshall’s Kid-Sister..??”*
Even when he makes that crack about *Officers ignoring Their Duty,* he’s *STILL* needling him, albeit in a much more polite, airquote “Civilised” manner - this guy clearly made some majorly costly military mistake or politically charged error of Judgement, otherwise he would not BE here as Commandant, carrying out this shameful and degrading low-grade shitcan-detail of guarding The Hostages under impossible conditions, using an unworkable and restrictive Rule Book (I.e., The Geneva Convention), knowing full-well that the S.S. Divisions running the military-industrial slave-Labour camp complex have no such binding restrictions to effective performance of their assigned duties.
GROSSARTIGER FILM
The German colonel was a bit of a softie.
💯 I think bartlett could see that😂
Not really a softie judging by his medals, but they used almost every scene he was in to show that he wasn't a Nazi and that he despised the SS and Gestapo, just like the real colonel he was based on.
Von Luger became soft after 1935, i think. @@andrewthompson5714
@@rolfagten857 He wasn't soft just because he wasn't a Nazi. If anything, it took more of a spine to not be a shameless sycophant who stood up to the SS and Gestapo when he could. In the movie or in real life, the colonel likely could have been a Luftwaffe general if he would've joined the Nazi Party and pretended to buy into their ideology to advance his career.
When he was asked if he would summarily execute POWs if Hitler gave him the order, he said:
"If I should receive such a dreadful order I would refuse to obey. I prefer in this case to be executed myself for military insubordination and would not try to save my miserable life by obeying."
A coward, or someone soft would have just followed the order without question. I don't see a willingness to commit war crimes as being tough.
And none the worse for that.
The movie was 80% Hollywood; entertaining but full of holes. Read about the realities of The Great Escape.
That's why it's such a great movie; Gotta make it entertaining. And with it not even 20 years after the war, I'm sure it was still very fresh for many in their minds
Movies aren't documentaries.
No American's participated in the escape. They had all been transferred out by the time the tunnel was ready.
@@roquefortfiles Those that were there mostly weren't in the same population in the camp to begin with.
Also, can you imagine how hard it would have gone on three Americans (from their fellow POWs) if they actually held a private moonshine operation that not only used resources, created product for consumption that could have been used strategically for bribing guards or as fuel or for weapons, but they disrupt security protocol with their surprise party, get one of the tunnels discovered, waste months of work & resources that went into that tunnel, and get one of their fellow POWs killed?
@@robertballasty395 I don't know how accurate the Moonshine party is to what actually took place. Considering all the American's were moved out of the camp at one point. I know one of the tunnels was discovered but there are some things that were added for artistic license. The details of the how the tunnels were constructed is entirely accurate. They had a guy who was there as a technical advisor. Huge fan of this film. I like this era of film making very much. The shot compositions are very still and epic.
This is what I would have personally said to Col. Luger in this scene:
"Yes, you're right, Herr Oberst. You DO have a lovely, civilized place here that treats us humanely and gives us some genuine, creature-comforts. In fact, I suppose that as far as 'camps' go, it comes therefore as a pleasant surprise to be imprisoned in a place that practices such a high degree of human civility-------ESPECIALLY given the fact that it is demonstrated in the middle of a blood-soaked, global war. Come to think of it........it's lucky that I wasn't born Jewish. Isn't it........Herr OBERST? Yessir........VERY lucky. May I take a brief tour of your wonderfully humane camp, now? The sooner we get started, then the sooner we can be back here, by jove, for a cup of tea! Smashing idea!"