Case file 002 · Loevestein · 1621
Hugo Grotius and the Book-Chest Escape
How a life prisoner turned a routine shipment of books into a route out of Loevestein Castle
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History’s greatest escapes, reconstructed.
Original historical narratives combine documented evidence, archival imagery and explanatory reconstruction to show how remarkable escapes worked—and where the record remains uncertain.
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Explore the evidence behind 303 historical escapes.
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303 escapes.
303 different problems.
Tunnels, disguises, keys, deception, outside assistance, engineering and hidden transport each solved a different kind of confinement.
Case file 004 · Stalag Luft III · 1944
The Great Escape from Stalag Luft III
How 76 Allied airmen escaped through Harry — and why 50 recaptured prisoners were murdered
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Case file 005 · Pretoria · 1979
Escape from Pretoria: The 1979 Political Prison Break
How Tim Jenkin, Stephen Lee and Alex Moumbaris used handmade keys, deception and a final act of improvisation to escape Pretoria Local Prison.
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Case file 007 · Venice · 1756
Casanova's Escape from the Leads
How Giacomo Casanova and Marino Balbi escaped through the roof of Venice's Doge's Palace
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Case file 009 · Loch Leven · 1568
Mary, Queen of Scots: Escape from Loch Leven, 1568
How a stolen gate key, an insider and a waiting boat freed Scotland's deposed queen from an island castle.
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Case file 011 · Crown Point · 1934
How John Dillinger Escaped Crown Point Jail in 1934
An imitation pistol, captured keys, real machine guns, and the stolen car that turned a county jailbreak into a federal case.
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Famous Prison Escapes
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Penal Colony & Transportation
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World War II POW Escapes
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Tunnel Escapes Through History
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Escapes from Slavery: Self-Emancipation, Rescue, and Resistance
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Berlin Wall and East German Escape Methods
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