Did monopoly help allied pows escape from german prison camps?
Monopoly’s “Get out of jail free” card took on a whole new meaning after I learned how this board game helped Allied POWs escape from German prison camps.
Why did germany allow pows to play games?
As part of the Geneva Convention Germany allowed charities to send POWs games to play. The Germans thought that playing games would distract the POWs from trying to escape and make them easier to control. The ‘escape boards’ were given to fake charities to send out to German prison camps for the POWs.
Was monopoly a pow escape game?
The German soldiers were never suspicious of the monopoly games and they never discovered the hidden escape kits. This Monopoly game was produced in Leeds during WW2, although it is not a POW escape version. It features a card spinner and card and wood playing pieces, due to wartime restrictions on materials. © Leeds Museums and Galleries.
How many allied pows escaped from german prison camps?
A red dot in the corner of the Free Parking space. Get out of jail free By the end of the war, it’s estimated that more than 35,000 Allied POWs had escaped from German prison camps. And while there’s no way to set an exact figure on it, more than a few of those escapees certainly owe their breakout to the classic board game.
Did you know monopoly boards helped allied soldiers escape prison camps?
The game of monopoly has been around since the early 1900s. And it’s still popular now. It was made by Waddingtons in Leeds. But did you know that during WW2 monopoly boards helped thousands of Allied soldiers escape from German prison camps? This is a story of intrigue, deception, invention, bravery and adventure.
How did escape boards work?
The ‘escape boards’ were given to fake charities to send out to German prison camps for the POWs. Every soldier that was about to be sent on a mission was told about the escape kits in case they were captured. A special mark was used on each escape board to show which map was hidden in it.
Was monopoly smuggled into german prison camps?
Maps, files and compasses were hidden in Monopoly sets and smuggled into World War II German prison camps to help British prisoners of war escape, the game’s manufacturer, the John Waddington company of Leeds, England, says.
How many allied prisoners escaped in monopoly?
Of the 35,000 Allied prisoners who successfully escaped, it’s believed that perhaps 10,000 did so using Monopoly – an excellent use of its “Get Out of Jail Free” option. Best of all, the Germans never discovered the real nature of the games. Imagine the following scenario: you’re with the Allies during WWII.
How did monopoly help prisoners of war?
A 1985 Associated Press article, for example, reported that: Waddingtons, which received the license to distribute Monopoly in Britain in 1935 from Parker Brothers in the United States, got involved in aiding the prisoners of war because of its printing expertise. It printed maps for the military on durable silk.
How were escape kits smuggled to allied pows during ww2?
Escape kits were smuggled to some Allied POWs during World War II by being cleverly concealed in Monopoly game sets. Maps and other escape aids were smuggled to Allied POWs in Monopoly sets during World War II.
Why were monopoly games important in ww2?
In the winter of 1943, these Monopoly games helped save hundreds of POW lives at Stalag Luft 3 – a camp for captured Allied pilots on the outskirts of Berlin. Because the tide of war was turning against Germany, military commanders decided that the Stalag Luft 3 prison guards should be sent to join the fighting.
How efficient were german prisoners during ww2?
The Germans were efficient jailers, although they wrestled with the Allied prisoners’ proclivity for escaping throughout the war. Prisoners demonstrated great ingenuity (and courage) in both their methods of escape and their use of support systems, aided and abetted by offices and bureaus in London, Washington, and Geneva, and other sites.
Why did the stalag luft 3 kill the allied pows?
Because the tide of war was turning against Germany, military commanders decided that the Stalag Luft 3 prison guards should be sent to join the fighting. Since they couldn’t leave the Allied POWs unguarded, the S.S. (Hitler’s elite security police) planned to kill them all.
Did allied prisoners escape a nazi prison camp?
On March 25, 1944, hundreds of Allied prisoners launched a daring escape from a Nazi prison camp in Poland. Despite their efforts, not as many made it out as planned, and almost none of those who did made it to freedom. See more stories on Insider’s business page.
How many prisoners did the germans escape?
Alarms went off all around the camp, floodlights were turned on, and four prisoners were captured at the mouth of a tunnel. In the hours that followed, the Germans realized the full extent of the escape: 76 men had made it out in the largest escape attempt of the war. Almost all of them, however, wouldn’t make it to freedom.
How many pows escaped during ww2?
August 5, 1944 – Cowra breakout, Australia. 359 Japanese POWs escaped in one of the largest breakouts of the war. All who were not killed or did not commit suicide were caught. August 8, 1944 – Von Werra’s Swanwick digging partner, Luftwaffe Lieutenant Walter Manhard, successfully escaped from a Gravenhurst, Ontario, POW camp.
Did pows escape auschwitz?
POWs seldom found themselves on the sharp end of Germany’s worst prison camps, those used in the Holocaust. But some saw them in action and a brave few even helped victims to escape. Czesława Kwoka, child victim of Auschwitz, as shown in her prisoner identification photo taken in 1942 or 1943.
What happened to allied pows at the end of ww2?
German prisoners captured by the Red Army suffered greatly; approximately 91,000 were captured at end of Battle of Stalingrad but few returned home, being sent instead for work in labour camps. At the end of war, POWs are usually repatriated swiftly , which was relatively straightforward for Allied POWs in Germany.
How many prisoners escaped in ww2?
December 24, 1944 – Papago Park, United States. Twenty-five prisoners got out through a tunnel, but all were recaptured, U-boat commander Jürgen Wattenberg being the last on January 28, 1945. March 10, 1945 – Island Farm, Wales. 84 prisoners escaped. All but three were recaptured.
Did macgyvered monopoly boards help soldiers escape prison?
British historians estimate that the MacGyvered Monopoly boards could have helped thousands of captured soldiers escape from their prison camps. Talk about, yes, getting out of jail free. Even trivial changes to a trivial board game can shift the course of history.