continued between them. Eventually Devigny threw himself onto the rope and hauled himself over as fast as he could. Gimenez followed swiftly after, and the two edged along the outer wall until they came to a place where it was low enough to the ground to jump down.
Each man dropped with a dull, muffled thump. They were free. The prison had no uniform, so Devigny and Gimenez were able to mingle with workers on their way to the early morning shift at a nearby factory. By the time their empty cell and the dead body of the guard had been discovered, the two prisoners had both vanished into the nearby countryside.
After the escape
André Devigny escaped to Switzerland, and made his way to North Africa where he joined up with French army forces. After the war, French president General De Gaulle awarded him the prestigious Cross of Liberation medal, and appointed him to a senior post in the French secret service. In 1957, French director Robert Bresson made a film of the escape from Montluc. It was shot at the prison and the actors even used the same rope that Devigny and Gimenez had used. Devigny was hired as an advisor on the film. He retired in 1971, and died in 1999.
Gimenez, his companion in the escape, was not so lucky, and was recaptured. Although his fate is unknown, he was almost certainly executed.
The prison chief Klaus Barbie escaped to Bolivia after the war. He was arrested and brought back to Montluc in 1983. He was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment for war crimes, and died in prison in 1991.
Ten Locked Doors
(and how to unlock them)
A visitor to Tim Jenkinâs cell, at Pretoria Prison in South Africa, would have to pass through no less than ten doors to get to him. Walking through the outer yard they would first go through two doors at the ground floor entrance of the prison, then another inside the hallway. From there, a long corridor would take them through another three doors before they reached a prison guardâs office. Then, another corridor led to a door at the base of a stairwell to the first floor. Here they would pass through another door to another long corridor. This was where Jenkinâs cell was, along with all the other political prisoners in the jail. Even his cell had an inner and outer door to get through â and every single one of these doors was locked at night.
Any supporter of South Africaâs racist apartheid regime could sleep soundly at night knowing that Jenkin was locked up so securely. His âcrimeâ was being a member of the banned African National Congress Party (or ANC), which was fighting for the right for South Africa to be a democracy.
Jenkin had walked that very same route into the prison in June 1978. Now he was one and a half years into a 12 year sentence. Prison life was indescribably boring but it had its compensations. In the same corridor was Stephen Lee, another ANC member, and a friend of Jenkinâs since university. Both of them had been plotting an escape since they arrived. They soon discovered that most of their fellow prisoners were reconciled to their sentences and had abandoned any idea of escape. But not Alex Moumbaris. He had been there since 1973. When Jenkin mentioned they were wondering how to get out of the prison, Moumbaris told him that if any escape plans were being hatched, he âwould definitely like to be one of the chickensâ.
Plotting a daring escape made prison life less tedious for Jenkin. But Moumbaris was a mixed blessing. While most prisoners were polite and cooperative with the prison guards, he was usually hostile and insolent, and refused to keep his cell tidy. To Moumbaris, the guards were the representatives of a political regime he loathed, and he was not going to let them forget it.
But prisoners who behaved like this were singled out for close supervision, and watched far more suspiciously. Jenkin and Lee persuaded Moumbaris to change his ways and become a model prisoner. Sure enough, the
Each man dropped with a dull, muffled thump. They were free. The prison had no uniform, so Devigny and Gimenez were able to mingle with workers on their way to the early morning shift at a nearby factory. By the time their empty cell and the dead body of the guard had been discovered, the two prisoners had both vanished into the nearby countryside.
After the escape
André Devigny escaped to Switzerland, and made his way to North Africa where he joined up with French army forces. After the war, French president General De Gaulle awarded him the prestigious Cross of Liberation medal, and appointed him to a senior post in the French secret service. In 1957, French director Robert Bresson made a film of the escape from Montluc. It was shot at the prison and the actors even used the same rope that Devigny and Gimenez had used. Devigny was hired as an advisor on the film. He retired in 1971, and died in 1999.
Gimenez, his companion in the escape, was not so lucky, and was recaptured. Although his fate is unknown, he was almost certainly executed.
The prison chief Klaus Barbie escaped to Bolivia after the war. He was arrested and brought back to Montluc in 1983. He was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment for war crimes, and died in prison in 1991.
Ten Locked Doors
(and how to unlock them)
A visitor to Tim Jenkinâs cell, at Pretoria Prison in South Africa, would have to pass through no less than ten doors to get to him. Walking through the outer yard they would first go through two doors at the ground floor entrance of the prison, then another inside the hallway. From there, a long corridor would take them through another three doors before they reached a prison guardâs office. Then, another corridor led to a door at the base of a stairwell to the first floor. Here they would pass through another door to another long corridor. This was where Jenkinâs cell was, along with all the other political prisoners in the jail. Even his cell had an inner and outer door to get through â and every single one of these doors was locked at night.
Any supporter of South Africaâs racist apartheid regime could sleep soundly at night knowing that Jenkin was locked up so securely. His âcrimeâ was being a member of the banned African National Congress Party (or ANC), which was fighting for the right for South Africa to be a democracy.
Jenkin had walked that very same route into the prison in June 1978. Now he was one and a half years into a 12 year sentence. Prison life was indescribably boring but it had its compensations. In the same corridor was Stephen Lee, another ANC member, and a friend of Jenkinâs since university. Both of them had been plotting an escape since they arrived. They soon discovered that most of their fellow prisoners were reconciled to their sentences and had abandoned any idea of escape. But not Alex Moumbaris. He had been there since 1973. When Jenkin mentioned they were wondering how to get out of the prison, Moumbaris told him that if any escape plans were being hatched, he âwould definitely like to be one of the chickensâ.
Plotting a daring escape made prison life less tedious for Jenkin. But Moumbaris was a mixed blessing. While most prisoners were polite and cooperative with the prison guards, he was usually hostile and insolent, and refused to keep his cell tidy. To Moumbaris, the guards were the representatives of a political regime he loathed, and he was not going to let them forget it.
But prisoners who behaved like this were singled out for close supervision, and watched far more suspiciously. Jenkin and Lee persuaded Moumbaris to change his ways and become a model prisoner. Sure enough, the
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