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or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts at IntoHistory.com. It's April 17, 1942, a Koenigstein fortress in Nazi Germany.

Hanging from a rope made of twine and torn bed sheets,

63-year-old Henri Girol lowers himself slowly down the cliff-like walls

of the fortress.

A fall from this height would surely be deadly, but Giraud forces himself to take it slowly,

and lowers himself inch by inch, hand over hand, toward the ground below.

Henri Giraud is a general in the French army, or at least he was, before he was captured by the Germans in May 1940, and sent here.

Koenigstein Fortress is meant to be escape-proof, but General Giroux has spent the last two years preparing his prison break.

He's been learning German, smuggling in material to make rope, memorizing maps of the surrounding area,

mailing ciphered letters to friends outside. Now the day has finally come. Sweat fills Jiro's eyes, blurring

his vision. He can't tell how much farther he has to go. And now the rope is cutting into his

hands, slick with blood. they start to lose their grip.

All at once, Giroux falls and lands on the ground only a few feet below.

General Giraud allows himself a moment to laugh, then catching his breath he gets to his

feet.

Climbing down the cliff is just the first part of his escape.

Far more danger lies ahead.

General Henri Giroux will have to use every bit of cunning he can muster to avoid

detection and complete his escape. The odds are against him.

...