Klemperer Klinks

A Jew playing a Nazi? That’s just what Werner Klemperer wanted to do.

He did it more than once, too. We think of him as his role as Colonel Klink on Hogan’s Heroes, though it’s difficult to think of the incompetent commandant as a true-blue follower of the Führer. He’s more interested in status via the military, so the “heils” are simply part of the job.

However, Klemperer played a far more nefarious leader in the Reich. Here’s the story from newspapers of March 19, 1961.

Son of German Jew Gets Eichmann Role
By KAY WAYMIRE
Hearst Headline Service
HOLLYWOOD, March 18—Even in improbable Hollywood, Actor Werner Klemperer seemed the least likely to get the role of Adolph Eichmann, the Nazi whose mission was the extermination of the Jew.
He is the half-Jewish son of conductor, Otto Klemperer, who escaped from Germany as Hitler rose to power, and lost everything save his family and his great talent.
There were three things, however, that helped Actor Klemperer win the title role, in "Operation Eichmann."
He is a seasoned actor; he bears a striking resemblance to Eichmann and he wanted the part.
SOUGHT ROLE
"I went after the role," Klemperer explained as a make-up man proceeded to “age” him for scenes of Eichmann's later years.
"It is, of course, an actor's challenge. Then, too, I wanted to be a part of a picture that could serve as a reminder of the horrifying world we lived in — a world that mustn't be permitted ever again.
"A good picture about the real Eichmann and his times could serve as a lesson for school children in today's Germany. I understand that in many classrooms there, that portion of German history being conveniently skipped.
REMEMBERS PREJUDICE
As a child in Berlin, Klemperer remembers the schoolyard jibes he suffered. He remembers, too, being uprooted from his homeland in 1933, when his father took the family—Werner, his mother and sister—first to Switzerland and then Vienna.
The elder Klemperer came here to become conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Two years later, he was joined by the rest of the family. Outwardly, Werner grew up an American youth — was graduated from University High School, the Pasadena, served a hitch in the Army. He’s married, has a son, Mark, 1, and lives in a Tudor cottage in Westwood.
DEEP ANGER
But his reaction to the Nazis in general and Eichmann in particular is far deeper and more personal anger than most Americans feel. His blue eyes turn cold when be speaks of the man who now awaits trial in Israel for the murder of millions.
"Above all, I want to play Eichmann as he really was — and is," said Klemperer. "I see him as a thinking human being who was fully conscious of what he was doing.

Hogan’s Heroes debuted in the fall of 1965. CBS made fun of the show in its on-air promos featuring Stan Freberg and Bob Crane talking about how a POW camp is loads of laughs. It was loads of satire instead. Klemperer’s Klink wasn’t truly bad; he never harmed or even threatened the prisoners. He was the embodiment of Allied propaganda during the war—that the Nazis were inept and would ultimately lose. And they lost in every episode.

Here’s a syndicated story from March 4, 1966. The first three paragraphs are an ignorable attempt at humour, the rest is Klemperer commenting about his role and career.

Character Actor Likes His Colonel Klink Role
By HARVEY PACK
NEW YORK — The first time a soldier sees his top sergeant out of uniform he does a double-take as if seeing the man for the first time. In fact, a good sergeant can use his civvies as a cloak of anonymity because he is so closely identified with the military in the eyes of his men.
And so it was with that miserable Nazi Werner Klemperer who came to New York, put on a fashionable sport jacket and slacks and tried to pass himself off as a California tourist looking over the sights in the big city. When I first entered the restaurant he completely fooled me with his cunning smile and continental charm.
But like every German spy he made one mistake which instantly gave him away — he ordered a German beer. I was fumbling in my pocket for a nickel to call the FBI (who needed a dime during the war) when the waiter arrived with the German beer we had both ordered and suddenly I was too thirsty to make the arrest. Werner professionally epitomizes the arrogant Nazi but, like most actors who have made their mark in the business as villains, he is an extremely likable man. He was first choice for the role of Adolph Eichmann in "Operation Eichmann,” his Nazi war criminal in "Judgment at Nurenberg,” was a masterpiece and his portrayal of Col. Wilhelm Klink, commandant of the prison which houses CBS’ "Hogan’s Heroes,” is the pivotal role in a series which pokes fun at something which many Americans still do not consider a laughing matter.
Klink Is Real
“Klink is a real person,” explained Werner, “although I do not consider Sgt. Schultz, his assistant, to be real. Where Schultz is a beautifully played comedy caricature. Klink must be believable even while being constantly duped by the prisoners. It's quite simple . . . if both the Germans were pure comedians there would be nothing laughable about the clever antics of Hogan and his men.”
Naturally, this theatrical Nazi was born in Germany where he lived the good life since his family had money. But like so many of our celebrated film members of the Master Race, he left the Fuehrer’s leadership in the early 1930s when his Jewish father wisely sensed the inevitable future under the Third Reich. Wemer's father is the noted conductor Otto Klemperer who, as head of the Berlin State Opera, was able to leave Germany and come to America with a world famous reputation and an assignment as conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
‘‘You know what the first thing I remember about America was?” asked Werner who was barely a teen ager at the time. ‘‘We left the ship in New York and I was fascinated by the big globs of gum stuck between the cracks on the sidewalk. It’s funny . . . but I’ve never forgotten that.”
No Ambition To Conduct
It took a tutor only three months to teach Werner and his sister Lotte enough English for them to qualify as students at University High School in Los Angeles. After graduation Werner enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse, although he admits he still wasn’t sure whether he wanted to be an actor.
I asked the famed conductor’s son if he had ever considered following in his father’s footsteps. When he denied such ambition I tried to learn why he spent two hours on the plane coming east listening to classical music with his eyes closed while waving his hands in the air pretending to be the great Otto Klemperer.
"Who told you that,” he laughed. "It must have been Robert Clary.” I was forced to admit Werner had made a good guess since Clary, one of Hogan’s men and a close off-stage friend of Col. Klink’s had revealed Werner's secret ambition.
“Of course I am well versed in classical music having been around it all my life. But one does not simply say . . . ‘I want to be a conductor’ and then pick up a baton and conduct. You know whether you have such talent in you, and I never for a moment honestly considered such a career.”
For Werner a trip to New York to publicize the show was a real bonanza since he started his acting career in the big town and loved every inch of it. “I shall waste no time while I’m here sleeping,” he explained.
“Last night my wife went to bed at one a.m. and I told her there’s plenty of time to sleep in California. I love good conversation and somehow I think it’s easier to find conversationalists here than on the coast, particularly if you don’t want to talk about the business.”
Klemperer loves being associated with a comedy, particularly since it’s a hit, and he looks forward to each working day as most of the regulars in the cast are the kind of people whose company he enjoys. Since Klink is something of an anti-villain, Werner is not hated by the show’s fans and he even gets his share of comedy lines in the scripts.
The strength of Werner’s characterization was emphasized for me that evening when I ordered my 9-year-old daughter to do her homework or no television. “You better watch your step,” she shouted as I pushed her toward her desk, "or I'll have you sent to the Russian front.”

Klemperer was respected by his peers, nominated for an Emmy in each of the six seasons the show was on the air. He won twice. He was later nominated for a Tony for a revival of Cabaret. Klemperer was 80 when he passed away in 2000.