Escape is a form of resistance.
During World War I, prisoners of a German war camp spent nine months digging a tunnel 180 feet long, 2 feet wide and just 16 inches deep. Then, they had to travel 150 miles through German villages and countryside to find freedom in Holland.
In the summer of 1918, 10 men succeeded in their mission to escape Holzminden, better known as “Hellminden.” It was one of the most daring prison escapes ever recorded and inspired historical nonfiction author Neal Bascomb to pen “The Grand Escape: The Greatest Prison Breakout of the 20th Century.”
Iola Reads is offering free copies of the book for this year’s adult selection. The Iola Public Library is featuring displays of WWI memorabilia and letters home until Friday.
On Tuesday evening, a special presentation at the library offered a chance to crawl through a small “tunnel” designed to simulate the tight quarters those escapees would have faced. The library also showed a 45-minute documentary, “The First Great Escape.” Those who weren’t able to attend can check out a DVD copy of the documentary, which is also available to watch on YouTube.
HOLZMINDEN was a prisoner of war camp for captured Allied officers, particularly those who had a history of attempted breakouts from other German POW camps. 
Many were pilots. As a historian explained during the documentary, the men who became pilots were naturally daring and adventurous. The average life expectancy of a pilot was just 18 hours in the air.
When those men of action ended up in a place of inaction, such as a prison camp, they saw escape as an opportunity to continue to fight.
The Kaiser’s regime was brutal for prisoners, and conditions at Holzminden were particularly grim with 100 guards for 600 prisoners. It was overseen by the despicable Captain Karl Niemeyer.
Author Bascomb described Holzminden as “a prison within a prison within a prison,” designed as a series of enclosures “like nesting dolls” protected by armed guards and dogs.
A group of about 20 prisoners came up with a plan to dig a tunnel from one of the cell blocks to an area just past the outside wall.
They took turns, working in groups of three. The tunnel was so tight, there was no room to turn around. They had to crawl through it like a worm. The lead man would take primitive tools — a knife, a spoon — and dig. He filled a pan with dirt, then men at the entrance would pull a string to bring the pan out to empty the dirt.
After about a month, the men started to get blinding headaches. They realized the tunnel was too deep to allow oxygen, so they ingeniously crafted an air pump using a leather jacket and wooden planks. They would fill the jacket with air and push down, sending oxygen through one of the sleeves and a series of tin cans.
The roster of men involved changed over time as prisoners were transferred in and out of Holzminden. They received support by bribing guards and taking advantage of the help of orderlies and other staff. 
THE MEN nearly reached their target by Christmas. Their celebration was cut short, though, when a new guard was stationed near their planned exit point.
They’d already dug a 15-yard tunnel at great difficulty. Now, they had to decide if it was worth digging another 30 or so yards to reach a farmer’s field. The rye in the field would give them cover, but they would need to finish the tunnel before harvest in August.
They carried on.
Meanwhile, the men began to plan for the second phase of the escape. They would need civilian clothes to blend in with Germans as they traveled to Holland.
