Hogan's Heroes, for all that it's a comedy, still has moments of acknowledging that they're in the middle of a war.
- In one notable episode, Hogan attempts to seduce a female SS officer for information. She then confesses that she has no way out of her job without dying and is probably going to get shot soon anyway, ending with a pitiable "Help me...". Then it turns out she's going to the exact place where Hogan knows Allied forces are going to bomb and he can't tell her a word of it even to save her life. She eventually doesn't go, but still.. the look on their faces.
- Downplayed a little when it turns out she was testing Hogan. Newkirk winds up in a very similar situation in "Is there a Traitor in the House?" and reacts the same way.
- Another is when General Burkhalter steals a painting from the Louvre and brings it smugly to Stalag 13. LeBeau, enraged at this further pillaging of his country, sneaks into Klink's office and steals the painting. When he removes it from its frame and holds it up in front of him, the surge of sorrow and anger causes him to start crying.
- LeBeau has a couple of those, usually whenever a German shows up with a bunch of stolen French art. He's absolutely beside himself when a general shows up with a truckload of stolen museum pieces. He's even more outraged when Newkirk and Kinch don't react as heavily to the theft.
- Made even worse when you realize that LeBeau's actor lived through that experience, as his ability to sing and dance is all that kept him alive in a concentration camp. He had to deal with the Nazis stealing everything great from his country, and couldn't do anything to stop it.
- LeBeau has a couple of those, usually whenever a German shows up with a bunch of stolen French art. He's absolutely beside himself when a general shows up with a truckload of stolen museum pieces. He's even more outraged when Newkirk and Kinch don't react as heavily to the theft.
- LeBeau being shot in the cold opening of "That's No Lady, That's My Spy." Newkirk turns deadly serious and says, softly, "Colonel, my lil' mate's been hit." Luckily, the bullet only grazed him. LeBeau just fainted from seeing blood.
- In "Sticky Wicket Newkirk", Newkirk gets caught in civilian clothing outside of camp, and Klink orders him transferred to another Stalag. Hogan breaks the news to the rest of the crew, and when Newkirk comes in to get his gear, everyone is visibly choked up.
- In "The Sergeant's Analyst", Schultz is caught napping in the barracks and is ordered to the Russian front by Burkhalter. Klink first tries to defend him but then chickens out and starts calling Schultz a stupid useless guard. Its very hard not to feel for Schultz who's trying not to cry in that scene.
- "The Great Impersonation" has the heartbreak and worry on Hogan and Kinch's faces when Kinch comes up the tunnel without Carter, LeBeau, and Newkirk.
- "D-Day at Stalag 13" has one in the form of General Von Scheider and his wife Lilli, who happens to be an Allied spy that had been abandoned by her bosses after her marriage. Hogan has orders to secure her escape to London. Though she hides it well, Lilli makes it clear that she is not really okay with leaving her husband, despite everything. Meanwhile the General is absolutely heartbroken when he realizes that she is gone.Lilli: Do you know what happens to a woman in three years? He loves me, you know.
- "Operation Briefcase" has the Heroes helping with sending a briefcase bomb to the Resistance. Not only the soldier that is to give them the briefcase is wounded during his entry to Germany and later dies on the tunnels under Stalag 13, it is also implied that the bomb was the one used for Operation Valkyrie
. - For the series itself; after the cancellation, the set was loaned out to the production of "Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SS", an exploitative porn film set in a Nazi POW camp - which was bad enough as the series never got a proper ending, but the loan was on the condition that the final scene of the film completely destroy the set, to save the studio the cost of demolishing it themselves.
- From the album, “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” is sung in character as Newkirk helping Carter write a letter to a girl he loves. It quickly becomes clear that Newkirk is reminiscing about someone he misses, and his voice falters on the final line, unable to continue.Carter: Were you ever in Berkeley Square?Newkirk: Once, Andrew. Just once.
- Also from the album, “The Last Time I Saw Paris.” Though there’s no dialogue indicating that it’s sung in character, it’s not hard to imagine LeBeau feeling homesick and heartbroken that his homeland is under Nazi control. Particularly the sorrowful delivery of the last few lines:The last time I saw Paris, her heart was warm and gayNo matter how they change her, I'll remember her that way.
