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Hogan's HeroesHogan's Heroes was a television sitcom that ran on the CBS television network from 1965 to 1971. Starring Bob Crane as Colonel Robert Hogan, the show was set at Stalag 13, a German prisoner of war camp for Western Allied prisoners during World War II. In the plot, Stalag 13 was a "Luftstalag", run by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) for Allied Air Force personnel. The producers of the show greatly stretched reality, as in allowing a black prisoner to be barracked with whites, something that the Nazis would never have allowed in real life. Plot The show's improbable premise was that the Allied prisoners of war at Stalag 13 were using the camp as a base of operations for sabotaging the German war effort and assisting the Allies. The prisoners operated a secret network of tunnels that led outside the camp, and had radio contact with Allied command. They were aided by the fact that the camp commandant was the bumbling Colonel Klink (played by Werner Klemperer), who proudly proclaimed that "no one has ever escaped from Stalag 13", not knowing that his prisoners routinely came and went as they pleased via a secret tunnel (perhaps inspired by that depicted in The Great Escape). Possible inspiration for series Many have also seen the interaction between the prisoners as being at least somewhat inspired by a serious motion picture about a World War II German POW camp, Stalag 17. This movie even had a Sergeant Schultz, who appeared genial but was actually in league with the traitor among the prisoners. The German Officers Klink was a patriotic German and old-line German Air Force officer as well as a social climber. Klink was not a Nazi Party member or malicious or evil, and was in fact likeable in his own way. Because he was so easily manipulated by Hogan and his fellow prisoners, the worst thing that could have happened for the prisoners was for Klink to be transferred away; this in fact was the source of an occasional plot line. Hogan was also aided by Klink's bumbling and highly incompetent guard Sergeant Schultz (played by the portly John Banner), a basically good-hearted man who, when confronted with possible shenanigans by the prisoners that he would rather not believe, would simply repeat to himself "I know nothing! Nothing!" and "I see nothing! Nothing!" One rule in the show which was insisted upon by Klemperer was that Hogan would always win (Klemperer was of Jewish extraction). Although this was never explicitly referred to in the series, both Colonel Klink and Sergeant Schultz wore uniforms that implied they both had illustrious World War I careers; Schultz wore the Iron Cross, Germany's highest decoration, for bravery in the trenches, and Klink wore the Pour le Merite ("Blue Max"), awarded to aces. In one episode, they were discussing what they would do after the war. Schultz said he would go back to the toy company. Klink was impressed when it was the largest toy company in Germany, so asked, "Do you think the boss would have you back?" and was was flabbergasted when Schultz said, "Why not? I am the boss!" Other members of the German military were more threatening. General Burkhalter (Leon Askin) frequently tired of Klink's incompetence and often threatened to send Klink to the Russian Front, mentioned repeatedly throughout the show as the worst thing that could happen to a German soldier. "Klink, you will be court-martialed, shot, and sent to the Russian front," he once told Klink. Complicating Burkhalter's life—Klink and Burkhalter apparently had known each other for years—was that his sister Gertrude thought Klink would make a good husband. Klink, however, did not like her. Perhaps even more menacing was evil Major Hochstetter (Howard Caine) of the Gestapo, who was a Nazi and never understood why Hogan would simply barge into Klink's office and hang out there as if he had a privileged role rather than simply being a prisoner of war. "Who is this man?" Hochstetter would demand. Klink was justifiably afraid of him, but Burkhalter, who was not easily intimidated, was not. Plot holes? The show made no attempt to resolve the language problem of the Germans and the Allies. All the German characters in the show simply spoke English with a German accent, although they used certain stock German phrases like "Heil Hitler". Because many of the plots involved prisoners impersonating German military, it appears that all of the prisoners spoke perfect unaccented German, and that none of the guards found this to be remarkable. Also, Corporals LeBeau and Newkirk were often disrespectful of Seargent Carter, addressing him by his surname and abusing, him, while a real army would never tolerate anything but obedience and respect for a higher ranking officer. The same goes for Major Hochstetter's abuse of the higher ranking Colonel Klink. Some have stated that true enjoyment of this program requires suspension of disbelief. Jewish actors played most of the German parts Some of the actors, including Werner Klemperer, John Banner and Leon Askin (n Leo Ashkenazy) were Jews who had fled the Nazis during World War II. Robert Clary, who played the Frenchman LeBeau, and John Banner, who played Hans Schultz, had actually spent time in a Nazi concentration camp as children. The show also starred Richard Dawson, who later became famous as the host of Family Feud. Popularity Frequent pop culture references to the show are a testament to its popularity. For example, it is referred to in multiple episodes of The Simpsons. Years after its American debut, the show became popular in Germany. In response to both sensitivities over Nazism and German laws which prohibit Nazi symbolism, when German characters raised their arms and said "Heil Hitler" in the original version, the dubbed German version would bowdlerise that line into something ridiculous, such as "The wheat grows this high". The show is currently running in Germany, with a newly dubbed soundtrack without such bowdlerism. Criticisms While Hogan's Heroes was, and remains, a popular show, it has had many critics. Beyond the usual criticism of the show's quality, there were many who were disturbed by the portrayals of the Germans as funny and incompetent. Many felt this trivialized the evil of the Nazis and the war. But Klink was a career soldier, and many real-life members of the Luftwaffe and Wehrmacht, even among the officer corps, were historically not Nazis, and Klemperer certainly believed that the show portrayed Nazis badly enough; otherwise he would have pulled out. Leon Askin's parents died in a Nazi concentration camp, and as Robert Clary and John Banner were in concentration camps as well, it is unlikely they would have trivialized the Holocaust. Fan fiction Some writers of Hogan's Heroes fan fiction portray Klink and/or Schultz as being smarter than they appeared, and mildly in opposition to the worst of the Nazis. As examples, in one work, Schultz's family is portrayed as being part of the Confessing Church, an underground Protestant church that opposed the Nazis, but to which he obviously wouldn't want anyone to know he belonged. Some fans even hope for a feature film in the future. In other fan fiction, Klink is portrayed as being a master spy, his apparent bumbling incompetence being part of his cover. Regular cast and characters Series Pilot The series pilot was produced in black-and-white and not broadcast at the time. It differed from the regular series in several ways, the most obvious being that Klink was not a buffoon. He is stern and describes himself as being of Prussian stock and "different from the new order." Larry Hovis appears as a guest star, and not as Sergeant Carter. He plays a different POW who was recently captured. He escapes with the help of Hogan and his men, presumably on his way to England. Noam Pitlik is in another guest role. He plays a German spy pretending to be a new American POW. He learns the truth about Hogan's operations but Hogan feeds him false information, and tricks him into making a fool of himself. He is thus discredited, and dismissed. Pitlik makes several appearances on the series over the years, each time as a different character. Hogan's Heroes in the European Parliament? Hogan’s Heroes was peripherally but bizarrely involved in a political row in July 2003, involving Italian prime minister and media magnate Silvio Berlusconi. Berlusconi was speaking to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, when he was questioned by German Euro-MP Martin Schultz, about ongoing conflicts of interest. The outspoken billionaire lashed out: "Mr Schulz, I know there is a producer in Italy who is making a film on Nazi concentration camps. I will suggest you for the role of commandant. You'd be perfect." Uproar understandably followed, and German chancellor Gerhard Schrder demanded an apology (which was never given, although the two leaders exchanged a frosty phone conversation). Berlusconi later claimed he was referring to the Sergeant Schulz character from Hogan's Heroes, a series that was broadcast by one of his television channels. "There was a Sergeant Schultz who shouted a lot but in the end was a good sort, people were taking the mickey out of him all the time," Berlusconi said.
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