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Jens Einar Müller (30 November 1917 - 30 March 1999) was a Norwegian pilot trained in Little Norway in Canada and POW in the German POW camp called Stalag Luft III.^[1]

Background

Müller was born in Shanghai, China, the son of Norwegian engineer Ejnar Jønsberg Müller (1872-1943) and British actress Daisy Constance Russell (1891-1978). Jens Müller had one brother, the Norwegian movie director Nils R. Müller. The brothers grew up in Aker, Norway. Müller had already received a pilot's license at age eighteen in 1935. Müller was studying in Zurich when WWII broke out. In May 1940 he arrived in England.

Career

By 1942 he was an officer in the Norwegian 331 Squadron at North Weald in England. On 19 June 1942, after completing a so called "Roadsted" mission, his Spitfire Mark V (tail number AR298) was shot down by a German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 just off the Belgian coast after running out of ammunition. He escaped the plane by parachute and in his inflatable dinghy managed to paddle unseen to shore after 66 hours. However, he was caught by a German sentry almost immediately.^[2]

In what later became known as the "Great Escape," he was among the 76 prisoners of war who managed to escape from the camp. Accompanied by Per Bergsland, he caught a train to Stettin in Germany (now: Szczecin, Poland), where they intended to meet one of Roger Bushell's contacts in a local brothel. While there, however, they got in contact with a Swede who offered to aid their escape, telling them to wait down at the pier. After some time they realized the ship had left. They spent half the night in a boxcar, slept the next at an inn, and the next evening on returning to the harbour met two Swedish sailors who helped smuggle them past harbour authorities.

The ship arrived in Gothenburg, where the two Norwegian pilots quickly sought out the British consulate. They were sent by train to Stockholm and were flown to Scotland from Bromma airport. From there they were sent by train to London and shortly afterwards to Little Norway in Canada.^[3]

Out of the 76 POWs who escaped, only three made it to neutral countries and freedom. The third successful escapee was the Dutchman Bram van der Stok, who escaped to Spain with the help of the Dutch resistance.^[4]

The remaining 73 escapees were recaptured. Adolf Hitler wanted to have them all shot, but Heinrich Himmler (or possibly Hermann Göring) persuaded him not to do this. Instead, fifty of the escapees were shot dead to make an example. This was a serious breach of the Geneva Convention which constituted a war crime. The remaining 23 recaptured prisoners were held in the custody of the Gestapo before being sent off to other camps. Of these, 17 were returned to Stalag Luft III, four were sent to Sachsenhausen, and two to Colditz Castle.^[5]

After the war, Müller worked for Det Norske Luftfartsselskap (DNL), one of the companies that merged to become Scandinavian Airlines System. He retired in 1977.

Sources

Jens Müller wrote a book about his war time experiences titled Tre kom tilbake (Gyldendal, 1946).

References

^ The Three That Got Away (NOVA)
^ RAF 331 squadron history (Royal Air Force)
^ List of personel associated with Little Norway (Edvard Omholt-Jensen "The Spirit of Little Norway" Atheneum. 1986)
^ Obituary - Bram van der Stok. 1 July 1993 (Daily Telegraph)
^ The Reprisal (History in Film)

External links

"Last survivor of Great Escape camp dies at 87" - Obituary of Tim Thomas

Template:Persondata

[1] The Three That Got Away (NOVA)

[2] RAF 331 squadron history (Royal Air Force)

[3] List of personel associated with Little Norway (Edvard Omholt-Jensen "The Spirit of Little Norway" Atheneum. 1986)

[4] Obituary - Bram van der Stok. 1 July 1993 (Daily Telegraph)

[5] The Reprisal (History in Film)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 <!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Jens Müller in Stalag Luft III.jpg|right|thumb|200|Jens Müller in captivity as a POW at [[Stalag Luft III]].<BR>Photo courtesy [[Jonathan F. Vance]], [[Canada Research Chair]], [[The University of Western Ontario]].]] -->
-'''Jens Einar Müller''' (1917–1999) was a [[Norwegians|Norwegian]] pilot trained in [[Little Norway]] in [[Canada]] and [[POW]] in the [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[POW camp]] called [[Stalag Luft III]].
+'''Jens Einar Müller''' (30 November 1917 - 30 March 1999) was a [[Norwegians|Norwegian]] pilot trained in [[Little Norway]] in [[Canada]] and [[POW]] in the [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[POW camp]] called [[Stalag Luft III]].<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/greatescape/three.html ''The Three That Got Away'' (NOVA)]</ref>
-In 1942 he was an officer in the [[No. 331 Squadron RAF|Norwegian 331 Squadron]] at [[North Weald]] in [[England]]. On 19 June 1942, after completing a so called "[[Roadsted]]" mission, his [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire Mark V]] (tail number AR298) was shot down by a [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[Focke-Wulf Fw 190]] just off the [[Belgium|Belgian]] coast after running out of ammunition. He escaped the plane by parachute and in his inflatable [[dinghy]] managed to paddle unseen to shore after 66 hours. However, he was caught by a German sentry almost immediately.
+==Background==
+Müller was born in  [[Shanghai, China]], the son of  Norwegian engineer  Ejnar Jønsberg Müller (1872-1943) and British actress Daisy Constance Russell (1891-1978).  Jens Müller had one brother, the Norwegian movie director [[Nils R. Müller]]. The brothers grew up in [[Aker, Norway]]. Müller had already received a pilot's license at age eighteen in 1935. Müller was studying in [[Zurich]] when [[WWII]] broke out. In May 1940 he arrived in  [[England]].
+==Career==
+By 1942 he was an officer in the [[No. 331 Squadron RAF|Norwegian 331 Squadron]] at [[North Weald]] in [[England]]. On 19 June 1942, after completing a so called "[[Roadsted]]" mission, his [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire Mark V]] (tail number AR298) was shot down by a [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[Focke-Wulf Fw 190]] just off the [[Belgium|Belgian]] coast after running out of ammunition. He escaped the plane by parachute and in his inflatable [[dinghy]] managed to paddle unseen to shore after 66 hours. However, he was caught by a German sentry almost immediately.<ref> [http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/331squadron.cfm ''RAF 331 squadron history'' (Royal Air Force)]</ref>
-In what later became known as the "[[Stalag Luft III#The "Great Escape"|Great Escape]]," he was among the 76 prisoners of war who managed to escape from the camp.
+In what later became known as the "[[Stalag Luft III#The "Great Escape"|Great Escape]]," he was among the 76 prisoners of war who managed to escape from the camp.  Accompanied by [[Per Bergsland]], he caught a train to [[Szczecin|Stettin]] in Germany (now: Szczecin, Poland), where they intended to meet one of [[Roger Bushell]]'s contacts in a local [[brothel]]. While there, however, they got in contact with a [[Sweden|Swede]] who offered to aid their escape, telling them to wait down at the pier. After some time they realized the ship had left. They spent half the night in a boxcar, slept the next at an inn, and the next evening on returning to the harbour met two Swedish sailors who helped smuggle them past harbour authorities.
+The ship arrived in [[Gothenburg]], where the two Norwegian pilots quickly sought out the British consulate. They were sent by train to [[Stockholm]] and were flown to [[Scotland]] from [[Bromma]] airport. From there they were sent by train to [[London]] and shortly afterwards to [[Little Norway]] in [[Canada]].<ref>[http://www.profero.no/littlenorway/Personell_Little_Norway_1940-1945.pdf ''List of personel associated with Little Norway'' (Edvard Omholt-Jensen "The Spirit of Little Norway"  Atheneum. 1986)]</ref>
-Accompanied by [[Per Bergsland]], he caught a train to [[Szczecin|Stettin]] in Germany (now: Szczecin, Poland), where they intended to meet one of [[Roger Bushell]]'s contacts in a local [[brothel]]. While there, however, they got in contact with a [[Sweden|Swede]] who offered to aid their escape, telling them to wait down at the pier. After some time they realized the ship had left. They spent half the night in a boxcar, slept the next at an inn, and the next evening on returning to the harbour met two Swedish sailors who helped smuggle them past harbour authorities.
+Out of the 76 POWs who escaped, only three made it to [[Neutral country|neutral countries]] and freedom. The third successful escapee was the [[Netherlands|Dutchman]] [[Bram van der Stok]], who escaped to [[Spain]] with the help of the Dutch [[Resistance movement|resistance]].<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/air-force-obituaries/5648616/Bram-van-der-Stok.html ''Obituary - Bram van der Stok. 1 July 1993'' (Daily Telegraph)]</ref>
-The ship arrived in [[Gothenburg]], where the two Norwegian pilots quickly sought out the British consulate. They were sent by train to [[Stockholm]] and were flown to [[Scotland]] from [[Bromma]] airport. From there they were sent by train to [[London]] and shortly afterwards to [[Little Norway]] in Canada.
+The remaining 73 escapees were recaptured. [[Adolf Hitler]] wanted to have them all shot, but [[Heinrich Himmler]] (or possibly [[Hermann Göring]]) persuaded him not to do this. Instead, fifty of the escapees were shot dead to make an example. This was a serious breach of the [[Geneva Convention]] which constituted a [[war crime]]. The remaining 23 recaptured prisoners were held in the custody of the [[Gestapo]] before being sent off to other camps. Of these, 17 were returned to ''Stalag Luft III'', four were sent to [[Sachsenhausen (detention camp)|Sachsenhausen]], and two to [[Colditz Castle]].<ref>[http://www.historyinfilm.com/escape/real7.htm ''The Reprisal'' (History in Film)]</ref>
-Out of the 76 POWs who escaped, only three made it to [[Neutral country|neutral countries]] and freedom. The third successful escapee was the [[Netherlands|Dutchman]] [[Bram van der Stok]], who escaped to [[Spain]] with the help of the Dutch [[Resistance movement|resistance]].<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/air-force-obituaries/5648616/Bram-van-der-Stok.html Daily Telegraph: Obituary - Bram van der Stok. 1 July 1993]</ref>
-The remaining 73 escapees were recaptured. [[Adolf Hitler]] wanted to have them all shot, but [[Heinrich Himmler]] (or possibly [[Hermann Göring]]) persuaded him not to do this. Instead, fifty of the escapees were shot dead to make an example. This was a serious breach of the [[Geneva Convention]] which constituted a [[war crime]]. The remaining 23 recaptured prisoners were held in the custody of the [[Gestapo]] before being sent off to other camps. Of these, 17 were returned to ''Stalag Luft III'', four were sent to [[Sachsenhausen (detention camp)|Sachsenhausen]], and two to [[Colditz Castle]].
-Jens Müller wrote a book in Norwegian about his experiences titled ''Tre kom tilbake'' (''Three Returned'') ([[Gyldendal Norsk Forlag|Gyldendal]], 1946).
-Jens Müller had one brother, the Norwegian movie director [[Nils R. Müller]].
+After the war, Müller worked for [[Det Norske Luftfartsselskap]] (DNL), one of the companies that merged to become [[Scandinavian Airlines System]]. He retired in 1977.
 == See also ==
 * ''[[The Great Escape (film)|The Great Escape]]''
+==Sources==
+Jens Müller wrote a book  about his war time experiences titled ''Tre kom tilbake'' ([[Gyldendal Norsk Forlag|Gyldendal]], 1946).
 ==References==
 {{reflist}}
+==Related reading==
+*Carroll, Tim (2004) ''The Great Escaper'' (Mainstream Publishing)  ISBN 1-84018-904-5
+*Brickhill, Paul (1950) ''The Great Escape'' (W. W. Norton & Company) ISBN  978-0393325799
+*Burgess, Alan  (1990)   ''The Longest Tunnel'' (Bloomsbury Publishing) ISBN 0-7475-0589-6
+*Durand, Arthur A (1989)  ''Stalag Luft III'' (Patrick Stephens Ltd) ISBN 1-85260-248-1
+*Nerdrum, Johan (1986) ''Fugl fønix: En beretning om Det Norske Luftfartselskap'' (Gyldendal) ISBN 82-05-16663-3
 == External links ==
-* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/greatescape/three.html NOVA about The Three That Got Away.]
-* [http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/331squadron.cfm RAF 331 squadron history]
 * [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1078662/Last-survivor-Great-Escape-camp-dies-87.html "Last survivor of Great Escape camp dies at 87" - Obituary of Tim Thomas]
 {{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
 | NAME              = Muller, Jens
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 [[Category:1917 births]]
 [[Category:1999 deaths]]
+[[Category:People from Akershus]]
 [[Category:Norwegian World War II pilots]]
 [[Category:World War II prisoners of war held by Germany]]