Our end-of-the-evening routine these days is to gather around the TV for a couple episodes of Hogan’s Heroes – I have all six seasons on DVD with me here. Did you know TV Guide declared it in the top five of the worst TV shows ever? (Because they see it as the trivialization of the suffering of real life POWs). All five of us here think TV Guide hasn’t a clue the important role of humor as a divine gift in suffering and salve for national healing. The show, quite understandably, was not broadcast in here in Germany over German TV until 1992. We feel a little bit as it we have brought contraband into the country.
Mostly, we all love Sergeant Schultz (aka John Banner 1910-1973). And here’s more reason to love him (I found this on Wikipedia). This little bit of background info has makes each episode a little more meaningful.
Banner was born in Vienna, Austria. Because of his Jewish heritage, he was transported to a concentration camp before being released out of occupied Germany. Fortunately for him, Banner’s time in the concentration camp was during the early stages of Nazi rule, when Jewish extermination policies were not yet fully implemented.
In 1938, Banner, a trim 180 pounds, worked with an acting troupe in Switzerland and found he could not return to his native Austria because he was a Jew. He immigrated to the United States and, though unable to speak a word of English, was hired as a Master of Ceremonies. Banner learned his words phonetically and soon mastered the English language. From 1942 to 1945, Banner served in the U. S. Army Air Force.
Before Banner came to acting, he studied law for two semesters. His feature film credits include over 40 films and his first was Pacific Blackout. He was usually cast as a Nazi spy because of his accent and Teutonic features. This was especially difficult for Banner, as his family had been wiped out in Nazi concentration camps.
In the 1950’s Banner’s weight had gone up to 280 pounds, and he made over 70 television appearances in the next two decades, including Mr. Ed, The Lucy Show, Perry Mason, The Partridge Family, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (The Neptune Affair 1964). … He also had a small role in a color episode of Adventures of Superman, playing a somewhat hapless character that to some extent anticipated his Sgt. Schultz characterization. Banner was loved by all the cast of Hogan’s Heroes (as told by those still alive on the recently issued DVD sets) and without effort became the main character of every scene in which he played. He told TV Guide in 1967, “Schultz is not a Nazi. I see Schultz as the representative of some kind of goodness in any generation.”
Banner died of an abdominal hemorrhage on his 63rd birthday in Vienna in 1973. He was buried at the cemetery in Mauer. His grave can be found under Gruppe 57 Reihe 2 Nummer 26.
Sergeant Schultz was not a Nazi, he was a Jew whose entire family was wiped out in Nazi concentration camps. I would have loved to meet him and ask him if he thinks he played a leading role in trivializing the suffering of the Jews. What do you think he might say?
Ways & Means 
28 comments
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Jul 18, 2009 at 4:24 pm
theultrarev
Thanks for that.
Oct 9, 2010 at 1:18 am
Julia
Have just been watching a Hogan’s Heroes rerun and decided to do some research on John Banner. Could find no real information about his personal life after his migration to the States. Was he married? Did he have children? I do hope he experienced some joy given his own family losses during the war and the joy he has brought others as Sgt Schulz long after his death. Thank you John. There is a place in my heart for you.
Feb 20, 2011 at 3:27 pm
vonBeavis
A comment on your two-year old mention of John Banner and Hogan’s Heroes. The show deserved to be one of the five worst of all times, and I can’t watch it nowadays because of the laugh track, plus it did trivialize the dark and cruel 3rd Reich and life in a Stalag. My wife was on a show at the same time HH was running, and I have a difficult time with the laugh track on that, too.
Having said that, I loved the show as a kid.
Not only was Banner Jewish, but many of the cast playing Germans were Jews: Klink, Burkhalter, Hofsteder. Robert Clarey, who played LeBeau, was not only Jewish but also a concentration camp survivor, and there is inconclusive evidence that Banner was held briefly before migrating to the US, and that his family perished in camps. I was at the spot listed as his gravesite in Freihof Mauer a week ago, and there is no evidence he is buried there. The only recurring reference is from the same source, that of a couple who’ve written about 7k entries for Findagrave.com. Why would a Jew be buried in Catholic cemetery? Why would his family remove the headstone and rent out the space to another family? Why had the grave been freshly dug up just before my visit? I wrote Clarey about Banner to solve these mysteries, and I’ll keep looking for the answers while I’m stationed in Germany.
What do I think Banner would’ve said? He’d have said: “I was an actor and it was a steady gig that paid the bills.”
As a teaching point or for preaching, IMO perhaps HH wasn’t the best choice. Two comments in two years, and now mine makes three.
Sep 25, 2018 at 6:58 pm
Speechless
According to findagrave, his gravestone was removed, but he’s still buried there. So if it’s true they rented out his space, that’s pretty creepy. I’m thinking, because he was famous, people probably vandalized his gravesite. So it was removed.
Sep 18, 2014 at 2:59 pm
laura
I love this man.he still makes me laugh.i also have hogans heros dvd.he was the best character of all them.God Bless you john.&thank you for entertaining us wwith you know nothing!!!!
Nov 5, 2014 at 11:23 pm
Kenneth Barr
Earlier comments have identified the backgrounds of several of the Hogan’s cast. I can talk about Howard Caine, born Howard Cohen. He attended the same synagogue, West End (now Congregation Sharai Tefillah) in Manhattan. I met him in the 1980s when my family visited California and he invited us to his home. He always wondered why Hogan’s was treated as being in poor taste, given its cast. He told us stories of what the Klemperer, Banner and Ashkenazy (Askin) families endured and Robert Clary’s experiences at Buchenwald. Those who set themselves up as judge and jury without even bothering to know the facts should keep their uninformed opinions to themselves. Lampooning evil is one of the best ways of fighting it. That Hogan’s Heroes did rather effectively.
Nov 20, 2014 at 6:36 pm
JRSG
Werner Klemperer (Klink) was also Jewish and lost family in concentration camps.
The French actor who played Le Beau (sp?) was in a concentration camp and lost family members.
The blond lady who played Klink’s secretary also escaped the Nazis.
I think these actors enjoyed making fun of the Nazis. Yes it was a gig, they were actors. Ironic that so many of them really lived WW II and dealt with the Nazis.
Apr 27, 2015 at 12:02 pm
V.E.G.
He is a Hebrew by blood, Jewish by religion.
Aug 25, 2015 at 11:47 pm
Stewart
Hogans Heris was funny as hell. It was a great series and it’s such a shame all the politically correct bleeding heart left wing puff balls are running the world now.
Without humor the world will remain on edge.
Sep 17, 2023 at 2:41 am
Ed
When Nazi likes watching Hogan’s Heroes it’s because he doesn’t understand anything that’s going on.
Oct 15, 2015 at 9:53 pm
T baker
John Banner was famous for saying ‘Who better to play Nazis than us Jews?’ Also, Clary(concentration camp surviver) is the first to point out that the show did NOT ever trivialize the suffering of jews, it never touched on the subject at all. it was about a stalag, which were in general much different than concentration camps.
The reason Banner was buried in that cemetary was because it was actually famous for having very respected actors, musicians and such buried there. It is also a common practice in the area to “rent” graves and allow others to be buried there at a later time, which is why the grave is now marked with a different gravestone.
John Banner had a wife, who he spoke highly of, especially about her gourmet cooking.
I hope this helps.
Mar 17, 2016 at 12:03 pm
Malcolm “bigdee” Duncan
My father also hated this show for trivializing the suffering that actual POWS endured. He was a POW in various camps for over two years. He and his fellow POWs caught and ate rats to keep from starving. He went from weighing 158 pounds to 110 when he was finally liberated.
Jul 21, 2016 at 4:42 am
Katie
While I do not deny what your father experienced at all, not all POWs (on either side) were treated the same. My dad was a POW on a produce farm and he said they were relatively well treated, especially him since he knew a lot about farming, was Christian, ethnically German and spoke it fairly well as his grandparents were German born. While he never said it was a pleasant experience, he often said at the particular place where he was for 3 1/2 years the prisoners were reasonably well treated and the guards not horribly cruel and it was a farm so there was adequate food. Some camps were better than others and, of course, Hogan’s Heroes was a TV show and never pretended to accurately represent prison camps any more than the Brady Bunch portrayed the typical American family or Barney Miller typical cops.
Jul 21, 2016 at 4:29 am
Katie
Hogan’s Heroes intentionally NEVER touched on the issue of the Holocaust. It was a show about a POW camp, not a concentration camp. The characters were portrayed by actors who of their own free will played Nazis & were well paid for their jobs. Playing a role is simply that, it does not make you a sympathizer or in any way imply you are like or agree with your character. Actors play good guys and bad guys and certainly some actors turn down parts because they simply would not feel right playing them. Acting is a job just like whatever you do for a living. Obviously the Jewish actors on the show who portrayed Klink, Schultz, Burkhalter, Hochstetter and Lebeau were all comfortable playing those parts.
Oct 21, 2016 at 9:30 pm
Reb
My father in law was a pow held by the Germans. He flew bombers and was shot down on his last mission before rotating back to the US. He was held almost two years. He said it was no fun, but that they were well treated. He was injured in the crash, and he felt that his medical treatment was top notch and that the doctors took their duty to him very seriously.
He said that in general they were fed adequately. By the end of the war, that was different – not enough food to go around. But the prisoners were fed first, and got more to eat than the guards. He actually had a lot of respect for the rank and file German soldiers (not Nazis – they were evil)
My FIL always said that he was eternally grateful that he was held by the Germans and not the Japenese, who had zero regard for the western standards of conduct in war. He would have killed himself before allowing the Japenese to capture him.
My dad wasn’t a POW, but he fought in Europe. He said the same about the Germans. A lot of decent people caught in the middle of something horrific. He was in the process of being transferred to the Asian theater when Japan surrendered.
They both loved Hogans Heroes. The Nazis weren’t just a historical footnote to men who fought the war. They enjoyed mocking the bad guys.
People need to lighten up. When the show aired, we were only 20 years removed from a very traumatic period in history and the wounds were still raw. Humor is healing.
Nov 8, 2016 at 5:47 am
Ben Vad
The show had nothing to do with extermination but was based on pow’s playing with a gang of naive German Wehrmacht soldiers. If you haven’t realized yet all of the Germans with speaking parts and Le Beau (was in a concentration camp in reality) were all played by Jews, and created by Bernard Fein & Albert S. Ruddy who were also Jews.
Nov 22, 2016 at 9:26 pm
empoprises
In a way, the show’s silliness was its own reaction to the horrors of war.
= = =
Klemperer was also concerned about the notion of a funny Nazi.
He “was worried that the commandant would come out as a winner,” said Bernie Ilson, the actor’s longtime publicist. “He insisted in all the shows that he come out as the loser. He was sensitive about that.”
= = =
http://articles.latimes.com/2000/dec/08/local/me-62884
Dec 15, 2016 at 10:33 am
Chacham
I have two degrees from Jewish universities. One in Israel where I lived for years. My wife was a sergeant in the Israeli Air Force. Both of her parents are holocaust survivors. We both watch Hogan’s Heros together. It is very funny. We know that it is intended to be a comedy and in no way represents real life. Those who do not like it are free to dislike it. My wife’s parents may have disliked it. Both of her parents passed away in Israel. I have no memory of it being shown there and there might of been a good reason. We watch it now after seeing all the episodes twice of Barney Miller which runs in the same time slot on another channel.
Those who object to it are entitled to their opinion. I am not insecure in my Jewish identity. I like the show!
Mar 21, 2017 at 9:27 am
June coburg
It did not trivialise it. It was never mentioned because at that point nobody knew it was happening. My mother even said they never knew about the concentration camps until the end of the war when she saw the news at the cinema. Yes there were rumours but nothing would have been known in the pow camps. Werner Klemperer said he played the part of klink so long as klink was defeated in every story. It did just that. He enjoyed making fools of the Nazis as did the rest of the Jewish actors.
Apr 11, 2017 at 2:33 pm
Mike Davy
Sgt.Schultz was always my favorite in Hogans Heroes.I would have loved to sit and have a beer with old Schultzie and watched some sides with him.He seemed like a great person to me when I was growing up.
Jun 2, 2017 at 8:34 pm
Tim Way
I watch Hogan’s Heroes every night still on METV from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM central time. Schultz makes the show in my opinion. How can you not love this character?
Feb 10, 2018 at 5:24 am
Ed sabol
I know nothing.
Sep 25, 2018 at 6:59 pm
Speechless
HA! Exactly!!! He’d have loved your comment.
Mar 8, 2018 at 8:28 pm
Joan Moran
I loved and enjoyed every one on this show. ❤
Aug 2, 2018 at 6:48 am
Mary
Quite the contrary, i always saw Hogan’s Hero’s as a way of poking fun at the Nazis, highlighting them as buffoons, and incompetents. It underscored to me, and pointed out the fact that the U.S. and her allies were in actuality, smarter.
Aug 2, 2018 at 6:48 am
Mary
Quite the contrary, i always saw Hogan’s Hero’s as a way of poking fun at the Nazis, highlighting them as buffoons, and incompetents. It underscored to me, and pointed out the fact that the U.S. and her allies were in actuality, smarter.
Aug 5, 2023 at 8:04 pm
John Farrell
Great piece. I agree with everything you’ve said. Very foolish and clueless of TV guide to not be able to recognize that Hogand Heroes was parody- it made the Nazis look like clowns. Shultz ( John banner ) was a phenomenal actor! He made the show. I enjoyed the show as a child, but I really appreciated it it more as an adult.
Aug 5, 2023 at 8:10 pm
John Farrell
Some people here are confusing Jewish concentration- ( extermination camps) with POW camps. Although POW camps were far from cozy, one cannot compare them to the extermination camps. Hogans heroes had nothing to do with Jewish concentration camps. Also as some may know, Robert Clary suffered in concentration camps for over 3 years. He never spoke about it, until he was in his 60s. An amazing man he was, and an amazing story he tells about his camp experiences.