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Escape and evasion lines (World War II)

Escape and evasion lines in World War II assisted people to escape European countries occupied by Nazi Germany. The focus of most escape lines was helping British and American airmen shot down over occupied Europe evade capture and escape to neutral Spain, Switzerland, or Sweden from where they could return to the United Kingdom. Escape lines also helped other people fleeing persecution.

Typically, downed airmen were found, fed, clothed, given false identity papers, and hidden in attics, cellars, and people's homes by a network of volunteers who worked with the escape lines. Airmen were then accompanied by guides, also volunteers, to neutral counties. The most common routes were from Belgium and northern France to Spain. Travel through occupied France was mostly by train, followed by a crossing on foot of the Pyrenees mountains into Spain. Once in Spain the airmen were usually assisted by British diplomats to travel to Gibraltar and then flown back to the United Kingdom.

Approximately 2,000 British and 3,000 American airmen were helped to evade German capture during the war. Airmen were assisted by many different escape lines, some of them large and organized, others informal and ephemeral. The work of the escape lines was labor intensive. The Royal Air Forces Escaping Society estimated that a total of 14,000 volunteers worked with the many escape and evasion lines by 1945. Many others helped on an occasional basis, and the total number of people who, on one or more occasions helped downed airmen during the war, may have reached 100,000. Perhaps one-half of the volunteer helpers were women, often young women, even teenagers. Several of the most important escape lines were headed by women.

The work of helpers of escape lines was dangerous. Given the large number of helpers scattered over large areas, escape lines were relatively easy for the Germans to infiltrate. Thousands of helpers were arrested and more than five hundred died in concentration camps or were executed.

Initially, escape lines were self-financed by individuals in occupied countries. However, two UK clandestine organizations, mostly MI9 but also Section DF of the Special Operations Executive, financed the large escape lines and the U.S. clandestine organization MIS-X helped prisoners of war (POWs) escape from German POW camps.

Escape lines

 * Belgian National Movement
 * Bordeaux-Loupiac Escape Network
 * Bourgogne Line
 * Chauny Line
 * Comet Line
 * Denmark Escape Line
 * Dutch-Paris Line
 * Groupe Hoornaert-Dirix
 * Hornoy-le-Bourg Line
 * Francois Line
 * Françoise Line
 * Marie Claire Line
 * Marie-Odile Line
 * Oaktree Mission
 * Operation Marathon
 * Operation Sherwood
 * Pat O'Leary Line (Pat Line, O'Leary Line, PAO Line)
 * Possum Line
 * Service EVA
 * Shelburne Line
 * Vic Line