THE GREAT ESCAPE & the PlM

* Far as I can tell, the kommandant is fictional. *It shouldn't be hard to learn who the commander of Stalag Luft III (?) was at the time of TGE, but remember that the movie is historically flawed. *No Americans were involved. *History Channel dealt with it (apparently accurately for a change) in one of the "History v. Hollywood" segments.
* *Also, Steve McQueen's captured "BMW" motorcycle is a Triumph, I believe...

You are correct about no Americans being involved. *I have a hard time with Hollywood taking liberties with History to suite their needs. *The same can be said of the film U571. *I actually sent a flamer to the local rag stating my point

Also an interesting note: most of the escapees in The Great Escape were foreigners serving with the R.A.F. (Poles, Czechs, Dutchmen, Norwegians, etc.) Only one Dutchman and two Norwegians managed to get to England. The Dutchman, S/Ldr Bram van der Stok, was also the most decorated Dutch soldier of WW2 (receiving numerous awards for gallantry and merit, both Dutch and Allied). He was also one of the few Dutch aces from WW2: 3 confirmed and 7 unconfirmed kills. At the end of the war he was O.C. of the only Dutch fighter squadron (322 'Polly Gray' Squadron). After the war he moved to the U.S. and served there as a Honorary Commodore and M.D. in the U.S.G.C.

Another Dutchman involved in the Great Escape was L/Cdr Heije Schaper of the Dutch Naval Air Services. He was a recipient of the Military William's Order (1940) and the DFC. Later he became Adjudant-General to HM Queen Wilhelmina and the ONLY 4-star general the Dutch Air Force ever had (apart from the Sovereigns). (Un?)Fortunately for him he never made it out of the tunnel.

Both Dutchmen were not mentioned in the movie. Neither were any of the Norwegians.