A single line in the Washington Post spoke of a flagpole being raised at Fort Hunt, Virginia to commemorate a unit from WWII whose role remained classified. That seemed hard to believe. What could possibly still be secret after 60 years? This documentary reveals the flag’s hidden significance. At Fort Hunt a clandestine organization linked US Army intelligence to prisoners inside 32 German prisoner of war camps. Hidden messages smuggled inside humanitarian packages, cameras to create false ID’s and cribbage boards with hidden shortwave radios that picked up the BBC were all sent into the camps. The broadcaster relayed top secret messages in its 1am bulletin. This is the unknown story behind the Great Escape.
Behind The Scenes
Parts of the documentary were filmed in Poland at the site of POW camp Stalag Luft III. Re-enactments were also shot at a POW camp built in California. Utilizing the Freedom of Information Act files and debriefs were eventually released by the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency which helped provide needed context to the film.
