<P> Outdoor scenes were filmed on the 40 Acres Backlot in Culver City, California . The set was destroyed in 1974 while the final scene of Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS was filmed . The theme music was composed by Jerry Fielding, who added lyrics to the theme for Hogan's Heroes Sing The Best of World War II--an album featuring Dixon, Clary, Dawson, and Hovis singing World War II songs . The song also appeared on the album Bob Crane, His Drums and Orchestra, Play the Funny Side of TV . </P> <P> The actors who played the four major German roles--Werner Klemperer (Klink), John Banner (Schultz), Leon Askin (Burkhalter), and Howard Caine (Hochstetter)--were Jewish . Furthermore, Klemperer, Banner, Askin, and Robert Clary (LeBeau) were Jews who had fled the Nazis during World War II . Clary says in the recorded commentary on the DVD version of episode "Art for Hogan's Sake" that he spent three years in a concentration camp, that his parents and other family members were killed there, and that he has an identity tattoo from the camp on his arm ("A-5714"). Likewise John Banner had been held in a (pre-war) concentration camp and his family was killed during the war . Leon Askin was also in a pre-war French internment camp and his parents were killed at Treblinka . Howard Caine, who was also Jewish (his birth name was Cohen), was American, and Jewish actors Harold Gould and Harold J. Stone made multiple appearances playing German generals . As a teenager, Klemperer fled Hitler's Germany with his family in 1933 . During the show's production, he insisted that Hogan always win against his Nazi captors or else he would not take the part of Klink . He defended his playing a Luftwaffe Officer by claiming, "I am an actor . If I can play Richard III, I can play a Nazi ." Banner attempted to sum up the paradox of his role by saying, "Who can play Nazis better than us Jews?" Klemperer, Banner, Caine, Gould, and Askin play stereotypical World War II Germans, and all had served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II--Banner and Askin in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Caine in the U.S. Navy, Gould with the U.S. Army, and Klemperer in a U.S. Army Entertainment Unit . </P> <P> German film distributor KirchGruppe acquired broadcasting rights to the show but initially did not air it out of fear that it would offend viewers . In 1992, episodes were shown on German television for the first time, but the program failed to connect with viewers due to issues with lip syncing . However, after the dialogue was rewritten to make the characters look even more foolish (which ensured that the viewers understood the characters were caricatures), the show became successful . An unseen original character was additionally introduced in "Kalinke", Klink's cleaning lady and perennial mistress; Klink described her as performing most of her cleaning duties in the nude . </P> <P> Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski, the writers of the 1951 play Stalag 17, a World War II prisoner - of - war story turned into a 1953 feature film by Paramount Pictures, sued Bing Crosby Productions, the show's producer, for infringement . Their lawsuit was unsuccessful . While the jury found in favor of the plaintiffs, the federal judge overruled them . The judge found "striking difference in the dramatic mood of the two works ." </P>

What was the inspiration for hogan's heroes