[5][page needed] These airmen had been shot down mainly over France, but also over Belgium and the Netherlands and were turned over to the Gestapo and secret police – by traitors within the French Resistance – while attempting to reach England along escape routes such as the Comet and Pat lines.
[6] A notable traitor within the French Resistance was Jacques Desoubrie, who was responsible for betraying a significant number of Allied airmen to the German authorities.
[2][4] Using this justification, 168 allied airmen from Great Britain, United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Jamaica were taken by train – in overcrowded cattle boxcars – from Fresnes Prison outside Paris, to Buchenwald concentration camp.
[15] To address the constant stress, long appells (roll calls), boredom, insecurity and apprehension, it was decided amongst the 168 airmen to hold formal meetings to give them a sense of purpose and order.
[3][page needed] Thus, the exclusive KLB Club came into existence with several chapters; Canada, United States, Great Britain, and Australia-New Zealand.
The winning design, put forward by Bob Taylor from Great Britain, showed a naked, winged foot, symbolising the airmen's barefoot condition while in the concentration camp.
[1][page needed] In the book 168 Jump Into Hell, the purpose of the KLB Club was described as being to perpetuate the comradeship already shown by the flying personnel of Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, United States and Canada, by the interchanging of pamphlets, ideas and visits.