Title	Exit
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Subjects - TGM	Evacuations Barbed wire Prisoners Fences
Education Tags	US.61 American Soldiers World War II
Subjects - LCSH	World War, 1939-1945 -- Europe; Prisoners of war; Diaries
Description	This page in Mitchener's diary shows the POWs departing the German prison camp. They have not been released, but rather, they are being relocated to another POW camp farther west because of the approaching Russians from the East. Mitchener has drawn a line of men leaving the camp. He writes, "Then at about 0100 A.M. a glimpse of freedom ---Exit - The long awaited 'opening' - Many advance notices - much publicized, eagerly expected, BUT only a four nite stand. Once more x-wire restricts."
Place	Zagan (Poland)
Date	1944-1945
Historical note	Mitchener was shot down and captured as a POW during World War II after a bombing mission in Germany. On the night of January 27, 1945, some of the men at Stalag Luft III were watching a Kriegie show, a Broadway comedy. One of the senior officers announced, "The goons have...given us 30 minutes to be at the front gate. Get your stuff together and line up." Hitler had ordered the Luftwaffe to evacuate the prison camps (including Stalag Luft III) that were about to be liberated by the Red Army.
Creator	Mitchener, Hardy A., 1919-1957
Collection name	Hardy A. Mitchener, Jr. Journal, 1944-1945
Accession #	THS 760
Owning Institution	Tennessee Historical Society
ID #	33600
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Digital type	IMAGE
Digital format	TIFF