Great Escape Tunnel Set for Excavation

It's called "George," the lesser-known tunnel of the Great Escape, and historians hope to uncover World War II equipment or personal effects when engineers excavate it. Prisoners of war dug “Tom,” “Dick,” and “Harry” for the famous 1944 escape attempt from the Nazi camp, and those who didn’t make it out on that night—not realizing that 50 of the 76 escapees were killed by the Gestapo—later dug “George” for their own attempt, the Telegraph reports.

The tunnel, however, was never used because the prisoners were forced to march from the camp in German-occupied Poland back into Germany. A veteran identified the entrance to the tunnel last year, on the grounds of the prison camp Stalag Luft III. Teams will begin excavating in the spring, and may excavate the Harry tunnel as well.
(More escape stories.)