They must not only evade the German officers who run the camp but also the "ferrets," who are constantly on guard for any suspicious activity. The men face a bewildering number of reversals of fortune, starting over each time a little wiser about what it takes to outfox the Germans. Their task is formidable, to dig their way out of the camp in a network of tunnels while creating themselves the papers, clothing and simulated weapons they will need to escape through occupied territory. Led by a fearless Englishman named Roger Bushell, the inmates of Stalag Luft III, both British and American, come together to plan a mass escape from their Nazi captors. Brickhill´s novel reflects more of the actual process of planning and executing the escape, the painstaking detail and the incredible will behind a remarkable act of heroism. Through the 1963 film adaptation, starring Steve McQueen, the story has become well-known. They are British and American prisoners of war in a Nazi stalag (or POW camp), determined to burrow their way to escape and make the dangerous dash for freedom across occupied Europe. The suspense and the excitement are so intoxicating in Paul Brickhill´s 1950 novel The Great Escape that it is easy to forget what a frightening, life-and-death struggle its characters have undertaken.
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