"Monopoly" in WWII (1 Viewer)

[W T Allison II]

What was "Monopoly"'s contribution to the Allies' war effort in WWII?

 

[Gideon]

Providing secret plans, maps, currency and tools for possible escape to allied POWs.

 

[W T Allison II]

yes, but how did they do it and when was this released to the public?

 

[trooper]

yes, but how did they do it and when was this released to the public?

Concealed within playing cards, gramophone records and sports equipment. Not revealed to the public until after the war. Unsure of exact date.

 

[W T Allison II]

Concealed within playing cards, gramophone records and sports equipment. Not revealed to the public until after the war. Unsure of exact date.

Hi Trooper and you are correct. The silk escape maps could be rolled into a tiny dot. A two piece screw together file, compass and foreign currency were included within the set marked with a small red dot on the free parking square. John Waddington, Ltd was the only firm that could make the silk maps and was the UK licensee for Monopoly. Games were allowed in Red Cross packages and the crews were told of this before their first combat flight. Of the 35,000 who escaped, an estimated one third was due to Monopoly. This secret remained so until 2007 because it might have been useful after WWII.

 

[Beaufighter]

Hi Trooper and you are correct. The silk escape maps could be rolled into a tiny dot. A two piece screw together file, compass and foreign currency were included within the set marked with a small red dot on the free parking square. John Waddington, Ltd was the only firm that could make the silk maps and was the UK licensee for Monopoly. Games were allowed in Red Cross packages and the crews were told of this before their first combat flight. Of the 35,000 who escaped, an estimated one third was due to Monopoly. This secret remained so until 2007 because it might have been useful after WWII.

Forum Squadron Members:
More interesting information to add...

In his article about Monopoly, Ben Macintyre states that the special sets of Monopoly were sent to prison camps via the Red Cross. Waddingtons produced many escape aids which were sent to the Nazi prison camps, but these were always sent via private, often fictitious, organisations like the Licensed Victuallers Prisoner Relief Fund. No escape aids were enclosed in the Red Cross parcels, so that the Germans would have no justification for stopping these much needed parcels from reaching the prisoners.

It is untrue that safe houses were shown on the maps, as there was a virtual certainty that some of the maps would fall into German hands — the Germans were not fools when it came to tracking down prisoners' ruses.

Great Stuff,
Marc