In April of 2013, I had the privilege of attending a reunion of Stalag Luft III POWs in Washington, D.C. Stalag Luft III was a WWII prisoner-of-war camp for captured airmen located in the German province of Lower Silesia (now Poland). It is famous as the location where the real life “Great Escape” took place.
The reunions take place every few years at a location around the world. Although I went to hear my father-in-law give a speech, I decided to try to take portraits of the other airmen too, if they were willing. Only about twenty former officers were in attendance. The few others around the country who are still alive were too infirmed to attend. Their average age is around 92.
I had around two minutes with each of the men, and I found myself extremely moved by their stories of the hardships that they endured. Some of these officers were held captive for many years. In January 1945, as the Soviets neared, the prisoners were marched out of Luft III camp for a 50-mile hike in below-freezing temperatures and six inches of snow to another camp, from which they were liberated in April of 1945.