This was a sitcom that began airing in 1965 and starred Bob Crane as American Col. Hogan, prisoner in a POW camp that has an adjective hardly ever used with such an environment - "wacky". The POWs also include the British (Richard Dawson as Newkirk) and the French (Robert Clary as LeBeau),. There's even some racial diversity with Ivan Dixon as Kinchloe. But no Russians! I guess in retrospect, and especially during the Cold War and at the height of the Vietnam War, those Russians were not as much our allies as originally thought.
The Germans are shown as completely incompetent and servile, and thus the POWs of Stalag 13 just come and go at their leisure on espionage missions for the Allies, with nobody the wiser.
This would probably cause an uproar today, but I think laughing at the Germans and making them look ridiculous is pretty effective. The show was abruptly cancelled in 1971, as "All In the Family" started TV steering away from light innocent fare - and believe it or not, this show was that! - and turning to harder hitting more socially relevant material.
The Germans are shown as completely incompetent and servile, and thus the POWs of Stalag 13 just come and go at their leisure on espionage missions for the Allies, with nobody the wiser.
This would probably cause an uproar today, but I think laughing at the Germans and making them look ridiculous is pretty effective. The show was abruptly cancelled in 1971, as "All In the Family" started TV steering away from light innocent fare - and believe it or not, this show was that! - and turning to harder hitting more socially relevant material.