Sgt Schultz with Krag ?

[Kernel Crittenden]

In the real world the Germans segregated their POW camps by rank. All officers in one camp. All sergeants in another. All enlisted in a camp by themselves. They'd never keep all the ranks mixed together like HH. The German military was very class and status conscious. Even captured officers weren't expect to mix with the riff-raff lower ranks.

 

[NYlakesider]

"Klink" /Klemperer

Not well known but he was talented at other things than acting!
After the series, Klemperer had an impressive musical career as a conductor. He was also an accomplished concert violinist.

 

[30-30remchester]

HH was supposed to have been a comedy (albeit a strange topic for one), not a realistic depiction of life in a Nazi POW camp, so considerations of historical accuracy and continuity were not particularly important. At the time, the fact that it became so popular given its theme was very surprising. I suppose life in a German POW camp as depicted in "Stalag 17" or "the Great Escape" was more accurate. Long ago in the mid-1960s I worked with an ex-GI who had been interned in a WWII German POW camp. He was still bitter over it and hated anything or anyone German. I don't know, but I suspect he was not a fan of HH. Nonetheless, life as a POW in a German camp was pure luxury as compared to conditions in a Japanese POW camp. Very few American POWs ever got out of those alive. On the other hand, German POWs held in American POW camps in the US had a relatively soft life, and many of them even wanted to stay in the US after the war.

You are quite correct about the differences. About 1% American prisoners died while in German custody. Those allies in Japanese prison camps had a 50% death rate. My uncle survived the Bataan Death March, the Hell Ships, and forced labor camps in Japan. A friend was shot down over France as a crew member of a B-24. He was held in a German POW camp for 18 months. The commandant of the camp spoke good English and was a kind man if rules were followed. After the war my friend retuned to his home outside of Aspen. Within a few years he got a letter from his former captor, asking if my friend would sponsor him to immigrate to the US. When the commandant arrived he became a wealthy businessman and my friend actually went to work for him. My friend always said, "that man kept me captive for 2 years in Germany and 24 years in Aspen".

 

[cmort666]

Truth be told, it's not that much of a stretch.

The Germans were GROSSLY ill-equipped to arm their forces during the war, and used everything from French Unique .32acp pistols to Czech tanks (Pzkpfw38(t)). And they all got a code number for each type.

The most common weapon of the Volksturm at the end of the war was the Italian Mannlicher-Carcano.

 

[cmort666]

In one episode Klink leads guards outside the gate. There is a close-up of him and he is carrying a Luger. When he returns, there is another close up of him and he has a P-38 in his hand.

Scene continuity is often more of an aspiration than an achievement.

In the movie "Eldorado", Robert Mitchum's handgun keeps morphing from an SAA into a Smith M&P and back again.

 

[the ringo kid]

Watching "Hogan's Heroes" and it appears to me that Sgt.
Schultz is carrying a Krag rifle. I don't know much about the
Krag, and understand that this is a comedy, but just curious
if that would be possible?

Entirely possible. PW camp guards were mostly ''2nd class'' troops or either convalescing soldiers who..upon recovering from wounds, would be sent back to their regular units.

When the Germans overran countries, they took the captured weapons with them. Case in point, when they overran the Czechs, they incorporated their tanks into their panzer units. The Germans expertly used captured French and Russian artillery, vehicles and small arms. Most Luftwaffe troops had other than German weapons because of being thought 2nd class. However, many '2nd class'' soldiers were issued STG 44s and G-43s.

Most Luftwaffe field divisions were third rate at best but, a few units did make good accounts of themselves and gave bloody noses to the enemy they faced, mainly Russians.

 

[the ringo kid]

Yes, I believe you are correct. As I recall, both the characters who portrayed Sgt. Schultz and Col. Klink were actually in real life German born Jews. They agreed to play their respective characters on the "Hogan's Heroes" show only if they played inept German (not Nazi) soldiers, and they refused to use Nazi weapons as well. No problem about the non-Nazi parts as the Luftwaffe ran the POW camps. I don't recall ever seeing Col. Klink with any weapon, but I remember with shock the first time I realized Sgt. Schultz was carrying a Krag rather than the Kar-98 rifle.

I used to love that show when I was a kid.

Regards,

Dave

Klink did on occasion, carry a Luger, an mp-40, and at least once, a Mauser 98. Schultz carried both Krags and Mausers.

 

[the ringo kid]

Other than the Krag rifle. I have always noted that ALL the Uniforms from the Wardrobe Dept. was SPOT ON PERIOD CORRECT. As a long time collector of WWII Military and specially German Military Metals. Which I started collecting while I was a Military Depend (son of a Army Sgt) stationed in Germany in 1961. The show even though a comedy was authentic to the time period. Even down to the names of the German Shepherd dogs all female names.
For a spoof WWII comedy there was a lot of thought in the production of the show.

I'm an imperial/WWII German collector too and probably have around 100 medals and badges and about 25 ribbon bars and several award docs. You are absolutely correct, they mostly used the real deals when it came to uniforms and awards. However, Klinks ribbon bar is a fake mockery of one. I love the real pichelhaub that sits on Klinks desk.

 

[JH1951]

A visual:
[URL=http://s948.photobucket.com/user/hbcjhec/media/Sergeant%20Schultz_zpsh5zzim10.jpg.html] [/URL]

 

[the ringo kid]

HH was supposed to have been a comedy (albeit a strange topic for one), not a realistic depiction of life in a Nazi POW camp, so considerations of historical accuracy and continuity were not particularly important. At the time, the fact that it became so popular given its theme was very surprising. I suppose life in a German POW camp as depicted in "Stalag 17" or "the Great Escape" was more accurate. Long ago in the mid-1960s I worked with an ex-GI who had been interned in a WWII German POW camp. He was still bitter over it and hated anything or anyone German. I don't know, but I suspect he was not a fan of HH. Nonetheless, life as a POW in a German camp was pure luxury as compared to conditions in a Japanese POW camp. Very few American POWs ever got out of those alive. On the other hand, German POWs held in American POW camps in the US had a relatively soft life, and many of them even wanted to stay in the US after the war.

At least two of the main characters in Stalag 17, had really been POWs in German camps. One was the "mailman '' and the other was the guy who kept saying: "I can't believe it'' and both wrote the originals script--which was actually a Broadway play.

The Great Escape had many German vets in it. Col von Luger, had been in a British PW camp in WWI. A Luftwaffe obergefrieter-played by Til Kiwi, had been an officer in a fallschirmjager unit who won the Knights Cross and was later captured. There were a couple others, but I can't think of their names off-hand?

Til Kiwi was his screen name, I can't think of his real name off-hand. Til Kiwi was the one who caught the first of the guys after coming out of the escape tunnel and Weh fired at Steve McQueen as he ran dodging into the woods.

 

[Double-O-Dave]

Klink did on occasion, carry a Luger, an mp-40, and at least once, a Mauser 98. Schultz carried both Krags and Mausers.

Well heck, what do you expect from me? After all, I know nothing! I see nothing! I hear nothing!

Regards,

Dave

 

[walnutred]

In my military book collection is a book in English printed by the Swiss Red Cross in 1949. The book is basically a summary of the efforts of the Swiss Red Cross to check up on POWs held by both sides during WW2. There are often references in HH, the Great Escape and other books and movies on the topic of WW2 POWs in Europe that mention Red Cross Packages.

One thing I learned that surprised me was I had always assumed that once the war was over everyone went home. When the book was published in 1949 the Swiss Red Cross was still checking on German POWs held by France. The POWS were being used ras road work crews. After the fall of the Soviet Union I read an account where the Russians admitted to keeping at least 10,000 US POWs they had "liberated" from German POW camps. These US troops died working Russian salt and coal mines after the war. The US authorities knew about this but were not willing to risk a war with Russia.

 

[Kernel Crittenden]

The Soviets were still hold as many as 15,000 German POWs as late as 1955. The Brits keep a bunch for at least a couple of years after the war was over. Evidently, there was a lot of stuff the German's broke that needed cleaned up.

 

[rwsmith]

General Burkhalter and others....

Yes, I believe you are correct. As I recall, both the characters who portrayed Sgt. Schultz and Col. Klink were actually in real life German born Jews. They agreed to play their respective characters on the "Hogan's Heroes" show only if they played inept German (not Nazi) soldiers, and they refused to use Nazi weapons as well. No problem about the non-Nazi parts as the Luftwaffe ran the POW camps. I don't recall ever seeing Col. Klink with any weapon, but I remember with shock the first time I realized Sgt. Schultz was carrying a Krag rather than the Kar-98 rifle.

I used to love that show when I was a kid.

Regards,

Dave

Berkhalter, Hochstetter and I'm sure several others were Jewish, too. Werner Klemperer said that he enjoyed making Nazis look stupid.