Escape Plan

Audio dramatisation adapted from the memoirs of POW, Phylactis Aristokleous.

"Before we were transferred to the forest east of Kalamata, the idea of escape struck me and as I spotted a young couple. I called out to them, “Do you have any spare clothes so we can get out of this line?” The young man didn’t respond, but the girl pointed to the trench and shouted, “Hide behind there, and I’ll go home to fetch some for you!” Without wasting a moment, I jumped into the hiding spot. I saw a soldier from my village, Nikolaos. He was marching in place instead of moving forward with the rest of the prisoners, while the German guards passed by one after the other. Nikolaos wouldn’t move, and I urged him to continue walking with the others. Sobbing uncontrollably, he responded, "I want to come too, but I’m scared". I encouraged him to escape somewhere else. He kept marching in place as the line of captives advanced. Frustrated by his cowardice, I clenched my teeth. “This fool will get noticed by the guard in his attempt to get into the hiding place and will be shot—and worse, he could give me away too, with unpredictable consequences. And if, by ill fate, he was shot, I would consider myself responsible for his death.”  

With this thought, I leapt back into the line of prisoners, and started swearing at “Master Nikolas”, venting my frustration at how he had ruined my escape plan."