World War II · Film · 1953
Stalag 17
When two escapers are shot, the American sergeants of Barracks 4 are sure a spy is living among them, and they all suspect the cynical hustler who trades openly with the guards.
Where it happened
Follow the story across 1 places.
Stop 1: Stalag XVII-B, Gneixendorf near Krems
Key location
Between rat races, a homemade still and a hidden radio, Sefton sets out to unmask the informer before the barracks kills him for it.
What really happened
Stalag XVII-B, near Krems on the Danube in Austria, held more than 4,000 American airmen, mostly bomber crew sergeants shot down over Europe, alongside prisoners of other nations in separate compounds. Cold, hunger and boredom shaped daily life, and the Germans did plant informers among prisoners in some camps.
The film adapts the Broadway play by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski, both former prisoners of the camp, and William Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor. In April 1945 the guards marched the prisoners west to Braunau am Inn, where US troops liberated them in early May.
Where to watch
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Full details
- Original title
- Stalag 17
- Directed by
- Billy Wilder
- Countries
- United States
- Languages
- English, German
- Released
- 1953
- Period
- –
- Theaters of war
- Western Europe
- Themes
- Prisoners of war
