1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,760 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio, 2 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:09,959 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: show that proves it's never too late to make history. 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:18,920 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Luzier and in this episode we're talking about 5 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:23,079 Speaker 1: French War hero on Riegiro, a sixty three year old 6 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: general who embarrassed his Nazi captors by escaping their escape 7 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:36,800 Speaker 1: proof prison. The day was April seventeenth, nineteen forty two. 8 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: French general on Rie Girou made a daring escape from 9 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:47,000 Speaker 1: a Nazi stronghold in Saxony, Germany. He had been imprisoned 10 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:51,200 Speaker 1: in the formidable Koenigstein Castle in May of nineteen forty 11 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: after being captured while defending France against the German invasion. 12 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 1: The wily general, a veteran of the First World War, 13 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: the next two years planning his escape. Then, on April seventeenth, 14 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: nineteen forty two, he climbed down the high castle walls 15 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 1: using a homemade rope and then hitched a ride on 16 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: a speeding train to freedom. Remarkably, this was not the 17 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:22,119 Speaker 1: first time that Henri Girou escaped German captivity. During the 18 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 1: first German invasion of France in nineteen fourteen, the thirty 19 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:28,920 Speaker 1: five year old soldier led a bayonet charge at the 20 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: Battle of Saint Quentin. He was wounded by German artillery 21 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:35,520 Speaker 1: and left for dead on the battlefield, only to be 22 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:40,200 Speaker 1: found alive and taken prisoner by the enemy. Despite his injuries, 23 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:43,960 Speaker 1: Giro managed to escape the Belgian prison camp just two 24 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: months later, thanks largely to the assistance of British nurse 25 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: Edith Cavell, who had set up an escape network for 26 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: wounded POWs. Donning a variety of disguises, including that of 27 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:59,200 Speaker 1: a butcher, a stable boy, and a laborer in a 28 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 1: traveling circuit, he slowly made his way to the Netherlands, 29 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 1: then on to England, and eventually back to France. After 30 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: the First World War, Girou continued to distinguish himself in 31 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:15,280 Speaker 1: combat with Moroccan rebels, earning his nation's highest order of merit, 32 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:18,920 Speaker 1: the Legion of Honour. From there, he held a series 33 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: of high profile military positions in France, eventually rising to 34 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 1: the rank of general. When the Second World War broke 35 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:29,520 Speaker 1: out in nineteen thirty nine, he once again took up 36 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: arms against the Germans to defend his homeland from invasion. 37 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,919 Speaker 1: In May of nineteen forty, General Girou was leading the 38 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 1: French seventh Army on a reconnaissance patrol in northern France 39 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 1: when they were suddenly ambushed by German infantry. Courageous to 40 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: a fault, Jirou made a mad dash for a machine 41 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 1: gun nest on the front lines, but was quickly surrounded 42 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:57,079 Speaker 1: and taken prisoner for a second time. By that point, 43 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: the general's reputation preceded him. The Nazis knew that they 44 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: wouldn't be able to hold him at just any prison, 45 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 1: so instead they took him to Koenigstein Fortress, a high 46 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 1: walled castle perched on a hilltop some eight hundred feet 47 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:16,239 Speaker 1: above the Elbe River. Many other high ranking French officers 48 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: were held there because the Nazis considered it inescapable, and 49 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:23,920 Speaker 1: with good reason. Prisoners would have to descend one hundred 50 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:27,079 Speaker 1: and fifty feet of walls and cliff face in order 51 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 1: to reach the ground, with a high chance of being 52 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:32,639 Speaker 1: caught in the act. Thanks to the guard's constant night 53 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:38,400 Speaker 1: time patrols, General Girou's high rank earned him more respect 54 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: from his captors than the average prisoner. He was allowed 55 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: to keep his uniform and was permitted to walk the 56 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:48,640 Speaker 1: grounds once a day under heavy surveillance. He reportedly used 57 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: these outings to gather material for his long term escape plan. 58 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 1: Every day he would casually collect strands of hemp from 59 00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:59,000 Speaker 1: the nearby fields, which he would then weave into a 60 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: long rope. Secret, of course, giro knew that escaping the 61 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: castle was just the first of many hurdles he'd have 62 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: to clear. Once free, he would then have to navigate 63 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 1: his way through enemy territory without drawing suspicion along the way. 64 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 1: To help with that, he used his abundance of free 65 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: time to become fluent in the German language. He also 66 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:25,880 Speaker 1: memorized the terrain surrounding the prison, and later got his 67 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: hands on a map so he could study potential routes 68 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: and pitfalls. During this time, Girou was permitted to write 69 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:36,560 Speaker 1: letters to his wife back in France, and although their 70 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: correspondence was carefully reviewed by his captors, he managed to 71 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:44,720 Speaker 1: include coded messages detailing his escape plan, which he then 72 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 1: shared with members of the French resistance. Giau provided a 73 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:52,560 Speaker 1: detailed description of the landscape leading up to the castle 74 00:04:52,839 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 1: and arranged to be met by an escort once he 75 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:58,719 Speaker 1: had cleared the cliff face. Because the prison was patrolled 76 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: only at night, he timed his escape for the early 77 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:06,080 Speaker 1: morning when the guards completed their shift, and so shortly 78 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 1: after dawn on April seventeenth, nineteen forty two, the sixty 79 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 1: three year old French general carefully descended from the narrow 80 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:17,920 Speaker 1: window of his cell. He climbed hand under hand down 81 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:20,799 Speaker 1: the length of rope heat fashioned during his two years 82 00:05:20,839 --> 00:05:24,440 Speaker 1: in captivity. He then made his way to the rendezvous point, 83 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: where he covered his conspicuous uniform with a raincoat and 84 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:33,279 Speaker 1: shaved off his signature mustache. When Girou's escort arrived, he 85 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: was led to a nearby train station, where he was 86 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:39,920 Speaker 1: able to secure passage by posing as a Swiss traveling salesman. 87 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:43,200 Speaker 1: He spent the next week and a half riding the 88 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:47,560 Speaker 1: rails and dodging the Gestapo, traveling a circuitous path that 89 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 1: eventually led him through Switzerland and into his native country. 90 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:55,279 Speaker 1: When Girou made it back to occupied France, he sent 91 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: his wife a cryptic telegram that read quote business concluded 92 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:05,520 Speaker 1: excellent health affectionately on ree. It was the same message, 93 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:08,640 Speaker 1: word for word that he had sent his wife after 94 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 1: his first escape way back in nineteen fourteen. After rejoining 95 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 1: the resistance, Girou assumed command of a division of the 96 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:21,240 Speaker 1: Free French Forces and went on to play a significant 97 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:25,200 Speaker 1: role in the reformation of the French army. He continued 98 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:28,919 Speaker 1: to fight alongside the Allied forces until retiring to private 99 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:32,360 Speaker 1: life after the liberation of France in nineteen forty four. 100 00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:37,039 Speaker 1: That same year, Giau became the target of an assassination 101 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:41,159 Speaker 1: attempt that had been ordered by Adolf Hitler himself. The 102 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:44,680 Speaker 1: furor was still outraged that the five star general had 103 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:48,080 Speaker 1: escaped his clutches, and, to add insult to injury, the 104 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 1: breakout had even taken place during Hitler's birthday weekend. The 105 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:56,360 Speaker 1: attempt on his life ultimately failed, and Girou went on 106 00:06:56,400 --> 00:07:01,360 Speaker 1: to live another five years. On March tenth, nineteen forty nine, 107 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:05,720 Speaker 1: he was awarded the prestigious Military Medal for his inspiring escape. 108 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:11,080 Speaker 1: Then the very next day he passed away peacefully in Dijon, France, 109 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:15,040 Speaker 1: at the age of seventy, the only military officer to 110 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 1: escaped from German captivity during both World Wars. I'm Gabe 111 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:26,720 Speaker 1: luesiay and hopefully you now know a little more about 112 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. If you'd like to 113 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 1: keep up with the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, 114 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:37,680 Speaker 1: and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and if you have 115 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 1: any comments or suggestions, feel free to send him my 116 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:45,480 Speaker 1: way by writing to This Day at iHeartMedia dot com. 117 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:48,520 Speaker 1: Thanks to Kasby Bias for producing the show, and thanks 118 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 1: to you for listening. I'll see you back here again 119 00:07:51,000 --> 00:08:08,760 Speaker 1: tomorrow for another day in History class.