When the TV show "Hogan's Heroes" premiered on CBS in 1965, it faced criticism that it was making light of World War 2 and was being insensitive to those who suffered under the Nazis.
But the fact that the cast included several actors who actually had suffered under the Nazis brought some credibility to what the show was trying to achieve.
I've listed those actors and their stories in the photo below.
Side notes:
- When Werner Klemperer was approached to play Colonel Klink, he agreed to do it only if the writers made Klink an idiot.
- The scar on Leon Askin's (General Burkhalter) face came from being beaten while in the custody of the SS. And, as a little boy, he performed in front of Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria-Hungary.
- John Banner (Schultz) posed for U.S. Military recruiting posters during the war.
- Robert Clary (LeBeau) was the youngest of 14 children, and is the only major cast member still living.
Historia Obscurum
