Historical Question - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Tiger32 · 05-02-2002, 11:22 PM

I know this may be a little bit of a touchy question, but I am interested in the historical accuracy of Hogan Heroes. President Truman did not integrate the Armed Forces until 1948, which was after World War II. Before that Blacks and Whites served in separate units. Given that dynamic, and given the racist feelings of the Nazis towards blacks, would it have been unlikely that Ivan Dixon's character, would have been placed in the same POW camp with the others?

ficlopri · 05-15-2002, 01:40 AM

Hard to say if Kinch (Ivan Dixon) should be in a seperte barracks from the white Allied POW's. Probably not. The Luftwaffe treated everyone of their prisoners alike.

AlphaSigOU · 05-23-2003, 12:01 AM

Generally, POWs were segregated by rank in camps specifically for enlisted or officers, regardless of color; it's quite possible that blacks were segregated into separate barracks.

Flying crews were usually sent to separate camps; Hermann Goering (a former WWI ace pilot before he became a Nazi) still treated fellow airmen with chivalry and respect. Stalag Luft III (near what is now Zagan, Poland) was the place where the famous 'Great Escape' occurred.

As far as uniforms were concerned, they were historically accurate. Klink being an Oberst (colonel) in the Luftwaffe, probably a former WWI pilot recalled back to service; Schultz being a Hauptfeldwebel (first sergeant). On the other hand, Major Hofstetter (it's a hell of a lot easier to say 'Major' than Sturmbannfuehrer (his actual SS rank)) wears the black SS dress uniform, which was rarely used during the war.

Now... running a resistance and sabotage operation deep inside a POW camp -- it wouldn't have taken long for the German 'ferrets' (the camp guards specializing in detecting POW escapes) to have found out the whole operation and declaring them spies under the Geneva Convention, which guaranteed a firing squad. Escape methods from POW camps were somewhat novel, but not as ludicrous as depicted in HH.

05-02-2002, 11:22 PM	#1
Tiger32 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 14, 2002 Posts: 624	Historical Question I know this may be a little bit of a touchy question, but I am interested in the historical accuracy of Hogan Heroes. President Truman did not integrate the Armed Forces until 1948, which was after World War II. Before that Blacks and Whites served in separate units. Given that dynamic, and given the racist feelings of the Nazis towards blacks, would it have been unlikely that Ivan Dixon's character, would have been placed in the same POW camp with the others?

05-15-2002, 01:40 AM	#2
ficlopri Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 27, 2001 Location: Methuen, Ma.USA Posts: 659	Hard to say if Kinch (Ivan Dixon) should be in a seperte barracks from the white Allied POW's. Probably not. The Luftwaffe treated everyone of their prisoners alike.

05-23-2003, 12:01 AM	#3
AlphaSigOU Member Forum Cub Join Date: May 22, 2003 Posts: 2	Generally, POWs were segregated by rank in camps specifically for enlisted or officers, regardless of color; it's quite possible that blacks were segregated into separate barracks. Flying crews were usually sent to separate camps; Hermann Goering (a former WWI ace pilot before he became a Nazi) still treated fellow airmen with chivalry and respect. Stalag Luft III (near what is now Zagan, Poland) was the place where the famous 'Great Escape' occurred. As far as uniforms were concerned, they were historically accurate. Klink being an Oberst (colonel) in the Luftwaffe, probably a former WWI pilot recalled back to service; Schultz being a Hauptfeldwebel (first sergeant). On the other hand, Major Hofstetter (it's a hell of a lot easier to say 'Major' than Sturmbannfuehrer (his actual SS rank)) wears the black SS dress uniform, which was rarely used during the war. Now... running a resistance and sabotage operation deep inside a POW camp -- it wouldn't have taken long for the German 'ferrets' (the camp guards specializing in detecting POW escapes) to have found out the whole operation and declaring them spies under the Geneva Convention, which guaranteed a firing squad. Escape methods from POW camps were somewhat novel, but not as ludicrous as depicted in HH.