Oscar Schnitzer

From Hogan's Heroes

Oscar Schnitzer is a recurring fictional character who is the local vet who is also the handler for the guard dogs that are used at Stalag 13, appearing in several episodes of the 1960s situation comedy, Hogan's Heroes. He was played by Walter Janowitz.

[edit] Known Character History

Not much is known about either Oscar Schnitzer's personal history or his family background other than that at least his 80 years old father is still alive and that he has a niece named Heidi, which means that he possibly has at least one brother, if he isn't married. Oscar is the handler of the camp's guard dogs and that his main job is to come to the camp at least once a week in his truck and to replace the dogs that are kept at the camp with a new group so that they wouldn't get too friendly with the prisoners. But, although it is never fully explained during the series, he is actually sympathetic to the Allies cause, and that he works with the underground so that the dogs that he take with him to the camp are actually friendly to Colonel Hogan and the other prisoners, on occassions allowing the prisoners to use their in-camp kennel as part of their tunnel system. Also, he has on occassions secretly brought in food, equipment and supplies into the camp, Have taken prisoners out of the camp, via his truck, so that they can perform their missions, or has transported to or from the camp escaped prisoners, rescued pilots or other people who want to escape from Germany. He would also bring in secret messages from the underground to Hogan, as well as take back to them his responses or those that are sent directly from London.

[edit] Post-World War II

Not much is known about the final fate of Oscar Schnitzer.