Hogan's Heroes

Hogan's Heroes (1965)

96 mistakes since 27 May '17, 00:00

(22 votes)

Information Please - S2-E15

Factual error: The German agent pretending to be an American pilot is wearing a one piece flying suit from the 1960's when he is questioned by Hogan and the British escapee in the barracks. It even has the US Air Force logo on the sleeve, which didn't come into use until 1947, after the war.

stiiggy

Show generally

Factual error: In several episodes, the fence around the cooler is visible, and hanging on it, a sign saying "Eingang verboten" meaning "no entry." The correct German term would be "Zutritt verboten." In German, "Eingang" is the opening where you enter a building, not the act of entering one.

Doc

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Suggested correction: This is wrong. Translations all over show that the sign is not only correct, but images can be found of signs with the exact same wording in real places, with the English translation right under it.

My Favorite Prisoner - S4-E18

Plot hole: In several occasions throughout the story, e.g. S4E18, Hogan attends parties at Stalag 13 wearing an immaculate US dress uniform. Where did he get that? Dress uniforms are not part of the usual kit a bomber crew brings along with them on their missions.

Doc

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Suggested correction: Considering they have a tailor (Newkirk) and are air dropped everything from explosives to penicillin, a Class A dress uniform would hardly be a challenge to make or receive.

stiiggy

Klink: "Hogan, where did you get that uniform?!" - Hogan: "Oh, I had OSS airdrop it together with our latest shipment of explosives and ammunition. We brought it in through our tunnel last night and stored it there."

Doc

I got it from the Red Cross.

stiiggy

Only a few high ranking intelligence officers are aware of Hogan's mission. Hogan's activities would under normal circumstances be considered fraternisation. While it might be true that he could theoretically obtain a class A uniform via the red cross, doing so would brand him as a collaborator and traitor.

Doc

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Suggested correction: "Hogan's Heroes" is an American television show produced for an English speaking audience. The whole show is shot in English! Did you expect Schultz and Klink to speak German and LeBeau to speak French?

I have seen MANY instances in the show where German characters are speaking actual German phrases (many quite accurately, by the way) and ranks of fellow German soldiers. When the German characters are addressing English-speaking characters in this American-made show, you do expect them to speak German-accented English, however, when German-speaking characters speak German to each other, one expects them to use the proper address and vernacular Germans would use and not mix in other languages. In this case, the SS guard did not know a lick of English when he was questioning some prisoners who were out their barracks, but addresses Sergeant Schultz as "Sergeant" rather than "Feldwebel." Furthermore, why aren't little things like buckets of water used in the show are labeled, "Water" rather than the German "Wasser"? Why isn't the list of rules tacked onto the barracks say "Forbidden" rather than "Verboten"?

Scott215

The point is that when German characters are speaking to each other, it is assumed by the audience that they are speaking German and we are hearing an English translation for our convenience. In the world of the show, they are using the German term, but we hear the English equivalent.

Show generally

Character mistake: In several scenes all over the show (though not always!), characters use the command "Raus!" to send somebody away from somewhere. Raus, short for "heraus" literally means "out" in the sense of "out of a building", which would be "aus einem Gebäude heraus" in German. Used as a command, it always means "get out", never "get away from there" or "get lost", in other words, the addressee must be inside of somewhere to be ordered "Raus." One example would be Schultz sending the prisoners away from general Burkhalter's car in S05E13.

Doc

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Suggested correction: It doesn't take much research to debunk this claim. Also, John Banner, the actor that most often used the term in the show, was German-born and raised. I'm sure he would have spoken up if it were wrong.

Sorry, John Banner was born in Poland. He was not German.

Kevin l Habershaw

He was born in 1910 in the city once known as Stanislau, prior to being annexed by Poland in 1919. At the time of his birth, it was part of Austria-Hungary, and one of the official languages was German.

Bishop73

You're correct. I didn't read the IMDb page enough.

Kevin l Habershaw

Show generally

Character mistake: During the opening scene of every episode, Klink comes out of his office and salutes. Then it cuts to Sgt. Shultz who then salutes. The superior officer never salutes first, it's a sign of respect of rank. There is one exception for this in the American military where if the soldier is a Medal Of Honor recipient, the superior officer will usually salute first but is not required to.

terry s

The Gold Rush - S1-E18

Factual error: The guard outside Klink's office and the two Gestapo soldiers guarding the gold truck have MP38/40 and a Thompson submachine gun, but carry rifle ammunition pouches instead of the long ammo pouches that carried the 30-round magazines used by the MP38/40.

Scott215

The 43rd, a Moving Story - S1-E23

Character mistake: When Klink explains the route of the trucks carrying the red cross packages to Kühn, he for once uses a map actually showing Germany. Unfortunately, the places he points to start near Luxemburg and track all across Germany. The spot he places Hammelburg at would be near Poznan in Poland.

Doc

Klink for the Defense - S6-E19

Factual error: About 8 minutes into show, Major Hochstetter asks Schultz how long Colonel Hogan (an American) has been running the camp, and Schultz says 3 years last November. This is impossible. The US didn't get into the war until December, 1941, He would have to have been captured November '42 or earlier but the war was over by November 1945.

terry s

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Suggested correction: Not necessarily. Quite a few Americans served with the RAF before America declared war. The Eagle Squadron American volunteers fought at the Battle of Britain in 1940 for example.

stiiggy

Hogan was an American bomber pilot.

terry s

More quotes from Hogan's Heroes

Trivia: A sinister aspect of an otherwise lightheated comedy, but the fact is that Hogan and his men are war criminals. They engage in combat activities behind enemy lines when not in uniform, and worse, while wearing enemy uniforms. The Germans tried that during the Battle of the Bulge and those arrested were shot.

More trivia for Hogan's Heroes

The Antique - S5-E12

Question: When Hogan gives Klink $100 for the cuckoo clock, the bill handed over was a crisp American $100 note. How did Hogan get an American $100 note? At best, in this time period, he should only have Reich Marks. And how would he have 333 Marks, 33 pfennigs? Unless he had a side businesses going, this seems unlikely.

Movie Nut

Answer: It's a comedy, not a documentary.

stiiggy

Perhaps it was counterfeit. There are numerous episodes where they deal in counterfeit monies.

Chosen answer: Hogan and his men are running a spy ring out of the camp, they have access to supplies from outside. (In another episode, they have to convince a defecting German officer that they're legitimately working for the Allies by arranging a specific personal ad to run in the next day's London Times, so a new $100 bill is not beyond their capabilities).

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: Werner Klemperer fled Nazi Germany as a teenager. His two conditions for taking the role of Colonel Klink were that he had to be a bumbling idiot and he always had to lose. It would then be a character mistake that if Hogan offers him a fresh American hundred-dollar bill, he's not going to ask questions, he's going to take the deal. The fact that he's Commandant and could just confiscate the money from Hogan would never occur to him because, again, he's a bumbling idiot who, by the actor's contract, always has to lose.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: Rightfully, Hogan should not have any money at all. POW were stripped of all cash they carried. The intention was to make escape more difficult. The fact that Hogan has what is the equivalent of a third of the price of a KdF-Wagen (You'd probably know it as a Volkswagen Beetle) in cash should rightfully make Klink more than a litle suspicious.

More questions & answers from Hogan's Heroes

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