# Hogan's Heros question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 9, 2001, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heros-question/71809 "2001-07-09T11:30:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ac91a4/32.png) [@Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knighted_Vorpal_Sword)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heros-question/71809/1 "2001-07-09T11:30:03Z")
Why did **Colonel** Klink have to take orders from **Major** Hochsteder? Doesn’t Klink outrank him? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heros-question/71809/2 "2001-07-09T11:34:17Z")
Major Hochsteder was Gestapo. Klink had rank, but Hochsteder was acting in the name of his organisation. And, Hochsteder could have made Klink… _unhappy_. Major Hochsteder was Gestapo. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heros-question/71809/3 "2001-07-09T13:29:37Z")
**Bosda** is right. Even General Burkhalter was wary of Major Hochstetter. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heros-question/71809/4 "2001-07-09T15:01:56Z")
Klink could have pulled rank on Hochstetter, but then he would have ended up on the Russian front. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heros-question/71809/5 "2001-07-09T15:06:44Z")
My Hogan’s Heroes question is: How in the name of the Lord did that show get green lighted? I’m not arguing whether it was good or not or funny, but initially, some producer had to walk into an office and say: I’ve got a great idea for a show…it’s a comedy version of Stalag 17, Nazis! Internment Camps! The Nazis are fun lovable teddy bears! It’s gold, baby, gold! jarbaby ---
**Author:** ![justinh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@justinh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justinh)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heros-question/71809/6 "2001-07-09T15:49:49Z")
IIRC the germans complained about it. And of course you know about Robert Clary and Klink’s actor. ---
**Author:** ![Abe\_Babe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3ab097/32.png) [@Abe\_Babe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abe_Babe)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heros-question/71809/7 "2001-07-09T16:55:17Z")
I recall reading a few years ago about how they were introducing the show in Germany. They made completely farsical (sp?). Every time a German did the “Heil” salute, the dubbing had them saying “The sunflowers grow this high.” Sorry I don’t have a cite. BTW, I knew that Werner Klemperer’s family escaped from Germany in the 30’s and that his contract with the production company said that the Germans could never come out on top. What is the deal with Robert Clary ---
**Author:** ![red\_dragon60](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@red\_dragon60](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/red_dragon60)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heros-question/71809/8 "2001-07-09T17:08:21Z")
When it was dubbed, the Germans loved it. I remember it in the paper. They could laugh at their stupid past. Btw, remember when Hogan had Klink play “into the wild blue yonder”? Klink Werner Klemperer was (RIP) a concert violinist, and led a German or Austrian orchestra after the show ended. ---
**Author:** ![don\_willard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@don\_willard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_willard)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heros-question/71809/9 "2001-07-09T17:12:59Z")
I heard that Werner Klemperer the world-famed conductor was the FATHER of the actor who played Klink, not the actor who played Klink himself. ---
**Author:** ![BF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5ac83/32.png) [@BF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BF)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heros-question/71809/10 "2001-07-09T17:49:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by don willard \* > \*\*I heard that Werner Klemperer the world-famed conductor was the FATHER of the actor who played Klink, not the actor who played Klink himself. \*\* Otto Klemperer was the renowned composer/conductor. His son, Werner, played Col. Klink. Werner was an accomplished musician in his own right. BTW, during the early 90’s, Hogan’s Heroes was the number 1 rated syndicated television show in Germany. ---
**Author:** ![justinh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@justinh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justinh)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heros-question/71809/11 "2001-07-09T18:18:56Z")
Robert Clary was in a concentration camp as a child. ---
**Author:** ![Heath\_Doolin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Heath\_Doolin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heath_Doolin)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heros-question/71809/12 "2001-07-09T19:48:54Z")
And just for personal statement Werner was beloved by a lot of people and looked back with relish on his Klink years. Someone I knew told me he met him one day in his later years and he could still do the “Hooooogan!” like he had stopped playing Klink yesterday. A fine actor and good human being ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heros-question/71809/13 "2001-07-09T20:16:57Z")
And John Banner, who played Sgt. Schultz, fled Austria after the Nazis took it over. ---
**Author:** ![3waygeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e95f7d/32.png) [@3waygeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3waygeek)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heros-question/71809/14 "2001-07-09T22:46:59Z")
**jarbabyj** wrote: > [@](#): > > How in the name of the Lord did that show get green lighted? I’m not arguing whether it was good or not or funny, but initially, some producer had to walk into an office and say: > > I’ve got a great idea for a show…it’s a comedy version of Stalag 17, Nazis! Internment Camps! The Nazis are fun lovable teddy bears! It’s gold, baby, gold! According to a commercial I saw on TV Land last week, the creators of the show originally set it in a civilian prison; they changed it to a POW camp to make the prisoners more sympathetic characters. No mention was made of _Stalag 17_. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hogans-heros-question/71809/15 "2001-07-10T14:10:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by 3waygeek \* > According to a commercial I saw on TV Land last week, the creators of the show originally set it in a civilian prison; they changed it to a POW camp to make the prisoners more sympathetic characters. No mention was made of _Stalag 17_. Sheesh. Then if I was the author of Stalag 17, I’d sue them for everything they had. jarbaby