How Monopoly Helped POWs Escape in World War II – Clip from “Under the Boardwalk”

6 Comments

1. It's a great story, but it compromises the neutrality of the Red Cross. Care packages could go through to POWs because all sides saw them as a non-combatant organization. If The Germans ever caught on and forbid the delivery of parcels, that would have had a much greater negative effect on all prisoners than the positives of accessing escape tools for a few. Prisoners relied on the care packages to avoid starvation.

2. Wow! Image how much one of those escaped monopoly sets would be worth today!!!!

3. What is more important was the role of the Game of Monopoly during WW2 to the POWs in camps.
   Late 1942 specially selected versions of the Game were distributed by a Fake company to the Red Cross to hide where they came from to keep the Red Cross out of the loop. They had a colour marker on top of the box i.e. for Prisoners of War in Stalag VB etc. Inside there was a map pertaining to the area they were imprisoned hidden in the game made of either Silk or Rayon as to not make noise when unravelled. Inside the small metal toys, one had a Compass and again depending upon where your were in my father's case he had real 500 French Francs hidden in the Monopoly Money. German Stalag guards never checked the games boxs as they trusted the Red Cross and what could possibly be inside a small light game?
   My father escaped Stalag VB in the middle of 1942 and went on to fight the enemy for years later on in Resistance Groups. He also became one of Polands top assassin. If you wish to read more on this Game in detail google the book ' To Live Well is to Hide Well ' or go to AMAZON.

4. It’s like getting the “get out free” card

5. Correction, very interesting.

6. And none of the game were ever confiscated, out of spite, by the guardians, and the ploy was never discovered?

   Hmm…

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