While I would agree that there is humor in almost every situation, and certainly there were humorous events throughout WW II POW camps, the premise of POW life being one big happy time is absurd. And though all humor, no matter how macabre, has some basis in reality, this show doesn't fit that bill.
I have a number of relatives and friends who were POWs in German Stalags. They all say that while the Germans did not torture them as they did concentration camp inmates, nor were they barbaric like the Japanese to military (and all other) prisoners; POW life was grueling, and bleak. There was little to eat, the barracks were cold and time passed ever so slowly. Lack of news from home about loved ones and family caused great anxiety. The memories of air battles and being shot down prior to capture were traumatic.
There was nothing fun about POW life, nothing. Despite its popularity, this series was an insult to both Americans and Germans. And the series' star, Robert Crane, turned out to be a sexual predator in real life who was murdered under mysterious circumstances related to his aberrant lifestyle. Hogan the POW was Crane the POS.
A bad dream would be washing up on a desert island and finding only two videos; Gilligan's Island and Hogan's Heroes.
I have a number of relatives and friends who were POWs in German Stalags. They all say that while the Germans did not torture them as they did concentration camp inmates, nor were they barbaric like the Japanese to military (and all other) prisoners; POW life was grueling, and bleak. There was little to eat, the barracks were cold and time passed ever so slowly. Lack of news from home about loved ones and family caused great anxiety. The memories of air battles and being shot down prior to capture were traumatic.
There was nothing fun about POW life, nothing. Despite its popularity, this series was an insult to both Americans and Germans. And the series' star, Robert Crane, turned out to be a sexual predator in real life who was murdered under mysterious circumstances related to his aberrant lifestyle. Hogan the POW was Crane the POS.
A bad dream would be washing up on a desert island and finding only two videos; Gilligan's Island and Hogan's Heroes.