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To Europe With Kids presents Movie Monday as a weekly feature to recommend films that might expose children and their families to any small bit of European history, folklore, scenery, or animated imagery as entertainment, perhaps new knowledge, or just a couple of hours of electronic babysitting.
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If you've never watched an episode of
Hogan's Heroes, you might not believe me; but it really
is a well-written, witty, entertaining show. I actually loved watching it as a girl
(I know, I know, we just didn't have a lot to choose from on TV back then) for the comedy and the intrigue and, of course, my serious crush on
Colonel Hogan. The show is still broadcast in syndication on various television stations and my 12 year old son has been hooked on it for over a year now. Most boys his age are enamored with war (hence the popularity of video games as
Modern Warfare
,
Call of Duty, and
Battlefield Modern Combat
) so he really enjoys the World War II setting of the show. He's actually learned a bit from it - now familiar with the Luftwaffe, Allied forces, the Russian front, the Geneva Convention,
Mein Kampf, Stalin, the BBC, and Stalingrad, he actually takes an interest in the war memorials and plaques found ubiquitously throughout Europe.
 |
Typical World War II memorial plaque.
Dinkelsbühl, Germany |
The show is designed to appeal to kids, what with the wisecracking, amiable Hogan and the blustering, inept Colonel Klink. None of the prisoners are ever in serious danger, let alone shot; buildings, trains and cars blow up all the time but rarely does someone die. It's a classic military sitcom, like
M*A*S*H, only it takes place in a German POW camp. (There have been misconceptions that the show is about a Jewish concentration camp, but that is incorrect. Four of the actors with major Nazi roles in the show - Klink, Sgt. Schultz, Mjr. Hochstetter, and Gen. Burkhalter - were actually Jews, three of whom had fled Nazi Germany, and they demanded that there never be any Nazi sympathy in the program.)
Anyway, the most impressive aspect of the show is its production value and the performances of the actors. Werner Klemperer (Colonel Klink) received six Emmy nominations for supporting actor on
Hogan's Heroes, winning twice. Richard Dawson (who plays Cpl. Newkirk) is adorably funny with his charming Cockney accent
(it helps if you can forget his later creepy tenure as the kissing host of Family Feud). The international crew of prisoners running their elaborate American intelligence operations provide great comedy with just enough absurdity to truly make
Hogan's Heroes fun to watch.
Other Movie Monday posts:
They also contribute to the bigger Euro Fund. I have an account where I deposit birthday money or Christmas money that I get, or cash I earn from odd jobs. (Like participating in focus groups, or Panda Research, or whatever – I love that kind of mad money!) But how my son and daughter participate is, if they see a coupon in the newspaper and cut it out for me, or spot a sale item or a store discount that I can use, I deposit the value of the coupon or discount into the Euro Fund. This adds up rather quickly and the kids get a lot of satisfaction knowing they are helping to reach our goal. It becomes a family motivated effort that's fun at the same time.
's novel about a Dutch boy and his family. In the story, the Brinkers live simply and happily until an accident injures the father and Hans finds himself responsible for supporting his family. He struggles with odd jobs, and when he discovers a surgeon who can help his father recover he realizes he must do something to earn the money to fund the treatment. Hans and his younger sister travel to Amsterdam to compete in the annual ice skating race to win the prize money, but are at a disadvantage because they only have wooden skates, not fine silver skates like the privileged city youth have. The movie's exploration of class differences, family relationships, and determination is well-done for a film of its era.
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