LONDON, March 31, (APP/AFP) – A survivor of the
fabled “Great Escape” from a World War II Nazi concentration camp was initially denied compensation after the British government ruled he had not suffered enough, declassified documents revealed Thursday.
Flight Lieutenant Bertram “Jimmy” James spent five months in solitary
confinement at Sachsenhausen camp in Germany, where he was held for a year
after being recaptured following his escape from Stalag Luft III in March 1944.
The Stalag Luft III breakout inspired the 1963 film “The Great
Escape” starring Steve McQueen.
The Federal Republic of Germany agreed in 1964 to pay the British
Government #1 million ($1.4 million, 1.26 million euros) to be distributed to victims of “Nazi persecution”.
James applied to the Foreign Office for compensation, but his claim
was rejected on the grounds that he was not a victim of persecution, according to declassified files from the National Archives published Thursday.