Houdini's Secret War: Teaching Soldiers to Escape

When America entered World War I in 1917, the world's most famous escape artist did something unexpected: he stopped escaping. Harry Houdini, at the peak of his career, walked away from sold-out shows to do something far more important—teach American soldiers how to survive.

For over a year, Houdini traveled from training camp to training camp across the country, sharing secrets he'd guarded his entire career. In packed classes at New York's Hippodrome and military bases nationwide, he taught "doughboys" heading to the Western Front how to pick locks, escape from ropes and chains, and—crucially—how to get out of German handcuffs if captured.

Giving Away the Tricks

This wasn't just patriotic theater. Houdini was literally giving away his livelihood. The techniques he'd spent decades perfecting, the secrets that made him famous, were now being scribbled into notebooks by young men who might need them in a German POW camp. He showed them how to hide lock picks, how to work restraints with minimal movement, how to stay calm under pressure.

But handcuffs were just the beginning. Drawing from his most dangerous performances, Houdini taught survival skills for soldiers facing the brutal reality of naval warfare. He demonstrated how to escape from a sinking ship—knowledge gained from his own underwater escapes where he'd nearly drowned multiple times. These weren't magic tricks; they were life-or-death skills.

The Cost of Service

The financial sacrifice was staggering. Houdini walked away from an estimated $50,000 in lost earnings (equivalent to over $1 million today) by leaving the performance circuit. But he wasn't done contributing. When he wasn't teaching, he was selling—specifically, Liberty Bonds to fund the war effort.

Houdini proved to be as talented at fundraising as he was at escaping. His star power and tireless touring helped raise over $1 million in war bonds. He performed at military camps for free, entertaining troops and their families, boosting morale when the nation needed it most.

A Different Kind of Escape Artist

What makes this story remarkable isn't just what Houdini did—it's what he didn't do. He could have performed for the troops and called it patriotism. He could have sold bonds without sacrificing his income. Instead, he chose the harder path: teaching skills that might actually save lives, even if it meant giving away the mystique that made him a legend.

The classes were so successful they became his full-time job for over a year. Camp after camp, Houdini motivated soldiers with more than tricks—he gave them tools. Some of those young men likely used his techniques in German captivity. We'll never know how many escaped because of what the great Houdini taught them.

When the war ended, Houdini returned to performing, his secrets now scattered across Europe in the minds of American servicemen. He'd traded magic for something more valuable: hope that if the worst happened, they might find their way home.