The auction of 'The Great Escape' Rolex watch from the Nazi camp is for Rs. 1.47 crores

- Emsen ordered the watch from Switzerland via Red Cross

New delhi date. 10 June 2022, Friday

A Rolex watch worn by a British prisoner who made a "great escape" from a Nazi concentration camp during World War II has been auctioned off. The watch was auctioned off in New York on Thursday. The watch was the highest bidder at 1,89,000 (over Rs 1.47 crore).

It is worth mentioning that Adolf Hitler's party was abbreviated as Nazi Party and Germany of that time was called Nazi Germany.

The secret behind the clock:

On March 24, 1944, a group of Allied Forces soldiers escaped from a Nazi prisoner camp. One of the planners was a soldier named Gerald Eamson, and he had the watch. There was also a 1963 film based on the incident, starring Steve McQueen, entitled The Great Escape.

Clocks ordered at Prison Camp:

Christie's, the auction company that organized the watch's auction, said Emsen had ordered the watch from Switzerland through the Red Cross and that the Red Cross had delivered the watch to a prison camp. The camp is located near the city of Jagan in present-day Poland. The auction house said the watch with the black glazed dial was the most helpful in helping the prisoners escape, as it helped Emsen figure out how long it would take the prisoners to slip through the tunnel. Along with this, Emsen also got to know the time of guard patrolling.

What happened to the escaped prisoners?

The escape plan involved about 200 prisoners. Emerson was ranked 172nd in the line of escaped prisoners. However, only 76 people were able to escape. Emerson was released from prison after the war ended in 1945.

This has been auctioned off before

Emes wore the watch until his death in 2003. The watch was previously auctioned in the UK in 2013. With this watch the buyer gets membership of Royce Air Force CT and Goldfish. The club is reserved for those pilots and crew who survived a crash land at sea.