Berkhalter Vs Hochstetter

the actor who played Hochstetter had another role on the show bfore they gave him that role.

I can vaguely answer your question, flapdoodle, about the two appearing together.

I definitely remember at least one episode, probably more like 4 or so when they were both in the same show. In one, Hochstetter was foiled by Burkhalter one-upping him when trying to execute some plan. I think the major threatened to phone Goerhing and was stopped when the general said he would just phone his personal friend, the Fuhrer.

I do agree that their roles, at times, could be interchangeable. But the differences in what they did and the way they did it made for two of the series funniest characters.

As a kid, I laughed and laughed at "Vhat iss this man doink here?" and just waited for the third time when he would just growl it out at Klink.

Burkhalter and Hochstetter appear together on season three's "Is There a Doctor in the House?", season four's "Will the Real Klink Please Stand Up Against the Wall?", "The Missing Klink", "The Purchasing Plan", season five's "Unfair Exchange","Six Lessons From Madame Legrange", and season six's "Klink for the Dedense".

can't speak to that... but in the 2nd Episode (after the B&W Pilot) there is a Gen. Hofstader, also of the Luftywaffe...

my guess is he was a Prototype for the Gestapo Major who would not appear until season 2 episode 22

Burkhalter and Hochstetter appeared together a few different times, and while they belong to different command structures (Luftwaffe vs. Gestapo) Burkhalter seems to hold more power than Hochstetter; Hochstetter seems to defer to Burkhalter when there is a conflict.

They play different roles in the show, though. Burkhalter is Klink's boss; that means Burkhalter can show up for just about any reason. He can be there to reprimand Klink, give him new instructions, or just demand that Klink show his sister a good time. Klink walks on eggshells any time Burkhalter is around, but a visit from Burkhalter isn't necessarily a problem.

Hochstetter is trouble every time he shows up, because his job is to root out saboteurs and traitors, and he suspects everyone, including both Klink and Hogan. Very often he won't leave until he has found someone to arrest, which means that Hogan and friends have to frame some loyal German for their acts of sabotage. Sucks to be them, but war is dirty business.

There was one episode ("The Missing Klink") where it was mentioned that the Allies have a super-spy named Nimrod who is responsible for the most devastating sabotage against Germany, and absolutely nobody has any clue who it is. Even Hogan and the boys know him only by reputation, and are duly impressed, but have no idea who he is or how he does what he does. In that episode, events are such that there are probably exactly three candidates for Nimrod: Burkhalter, Hochstetter, and Hilda. Not that the showrunners thought it through (I don't suppose they did anyway), but I like the idea that Burkhalter is Nimrod. He keeps Klink in charge of Stalag 13 thus allowing Hogan to do his thing, he is in a position to make sure as few people as possible know about the odd doings at Stalag 13, and as a general he's got the kind of access that would allow him to either act directly or support numerous teams like Hogan's, all very quietly. But there's no reason to think Hilda has that kind of access, and Hochstetter very much seems motivated to try to stop the sabotage that seems to keep happening within a few miles of Stalag 13.

Just a minor point of correction: Burkhalter was never in the Luftwaffe. I've never been able to understand why Burkhalter was over Klink as it made no sense. But then Hogan's Heroes didn't have to make sense.


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Keeping people straight since 1958. No need to thank me - I already know you are grateful.