Hogan's Heroes

Hogan'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 "Luft Stalag", located near the village of Hammelburg, 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.

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 Schröder 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.

Related Topics:
Political - July 2003 - Italian - Prime minister - Media - Silvio Berlusconi - European Parliament - Strasbourg - France - Martin Schultz - Conflicts of interest - Billionaire - Chancellor - Gerhard Schröder

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