We recommend to follow this themed route from Oloron-Sainte-Marie to Hecho in order to fully understand the personal stories depicted.

British and American airmen who crashed on French or Belgian territory, demobilised soldiers, those who refused to perform compulsory labour, civilians who could not bear defeat and Nazi occupation, Jews fleeing persecution: thousands of them crossed the mountains at the risk of their lives. 

The crossing of the Pyrenees was rarely undertaken alone, except by those living in border areas. It required a support network that was complex depending on the period and the distance to be covered. The risks were numerous from the outset. It was necessary to find a network, obtain false papers or passes, cross the demarcation line (until November 1942), and then reach a clandestine accommodation where they were taken care of by a smuggler.  In addition to the forced night march in the mountains, often in terrible weather, for safety reasons, and the constant fear of being misdirected or trapped by an attempt to infiltrate the escape network, there was the risk of being intercepted by a German patrols., This could lead to being executed on the spot or arrested and sent into deportation. 

Those who managed to cross into Spain were all imprisoned, either in prisons or, for the most part, in the Miranda de Ebro internment camp (Burgos). Once released, they travelled to North Africa to join the French or British armies, which, under American leadership, were preparing for various landings in Sicily, Italy, and Provence.

Some, notably with General Leclerc's French 2nd Armoured Division, took part in the Normandy landings, liberated Paris before crossing the Rhine and ending their journey in Berchtesgaden, Hitler's eagle's nest. A few marched in Berlin in 1945. 

Of the 21,000 escapees who managed to join the African Army, more than 9,000 died in the fighting to liberate Europe. This trail was designed to pay tribute to those who undertook this treacherous and dangerous journey.