General von Platzen

Generalmajor Heinrich von Platzen is a fictional character who appeared in the Hogan's Heroes episode, The Late Inspector General. He was played by John Dehner.

Generalmajor von Platzen is a Heer general-grade officer, who served as an Inspector General for German POW camps. In the episode, he first appears in the outer office of Klink's office, after Corporal Langenscheidt has informed Colonel Klink of his and his staff's arrival. Von Platzen is met by Klink, and Colonel Hogan, who both exits Klink's inner office. He tells Klink that he is impressed by what he has seen so far of Stalag 13, while he is looking at Klink's secretary's, Helga. He then hears Hogan's complaint about the bad food that the prisoners are being given to eat. The complaint only impresses him more, as he informs Klink that not hearing a complaint from the prisoners about the food would has made him think that something is wrong. Von Platzen then tells Klink that he has passed his first test.

He then exits the Kommandant's office with Klink, Hogan and his staff. He then hears, along with everyone else within the camp's compound, a series of loud explosions. Von Platzen went to ground, and thought that the explosions are being caused by a B-17 raid on the camp, which is a mistaken assumption on his part as it is actually a cover for an "escape" attempt by Sergeant Olsen, as part of the prisoner's operation to destroy an ammunition train. The escape attempt that is ended by Hogan, when he opens up the back doors to Schnitzer's truck, thus releasing both the guard dogs inside it and a surprized Olsen, who is shortly sent to the cooler for 30 days confinement, while the other prisoners has their exercise priviliages revoked for several days, and Klink plans to have the camp searched for more explosives.

After the incident, while inside Klink's office, von Platzen looks through a record book, while informing Klink that he has a bad service record until he is made Kommandant of Stalag 13. After listening to Hogan's stories about how mean Klink is, he informs Klink and Hogan about the going ons at the other prison camps. He then tells Klink that he would be transferring Klink, but to Berlin, where he would be put in charge of all of the prison camps in Germany. He then informs a happy Klink that he could bring along his personal staff, actually meaning Helga. Von Platzen then tells Hogan that it is because of his comments about Klink's brutality that are the reasons for Klink being promoted, which didn't make Hogan happy, as he and his men had made Klink look too good.

Later in the episode, von Platzen, with Klink and Schultz and his staff following, enters Barracks 2, to allow Klink to review the prisoners for one last time before he would be sent to Berlin. When he reaches Newkirk, he feels the Englishman fiddling around with his clothes. After Newkirk moves back, he searches his clothes to see if anything is missing, and soon discovers that his monocle is indeed missing. He then finds it in Klink's hand. After taking the monocle back, he, along with Schultz and Klink, then hears an English voice coming out of a radio that is being played somewhere inside the barracks. As Klink orders Schultz to start looking for the radio, von Platzen discovers that his wallet is now missing, which is soon found to Klink's inside his coat, also thanks to Newkirk. A now angry von Platzen then exits Barracks 2, followed by a confused Klink and Schultz and his staff. Halfway to the Kommandant's office, as they are watched by the prisoners, von Platzen falls through the ground, thus discovering unused tunnel 4. As the prisoners laugh, he tells Klink that he can now forget about the promotion and transfer.

After being pulled out of the collapsed tunnel, he heads for Klink's office, followed by Klink and his staff. Later, as he leaves Klink's office, while ignoring Klink's pleas for mercy, he demands that his staff car be brought to him, so that he could leave the camp. As a nervous Klink, now fearing that he'll be transferred to the Russian Front, looks on, von Platzen's staff car arrives and he enters it. An explosion is then heard, and smoke exits the front of the car, von Platzen exits the car. After all of the German has fallen onto the ground, Klink orders a reluctant Schultz to nervously investigates the car. Schultz discovers that it is only a smoke bomb, but he also discovers that the car's engine is gone. Von Platzen then gets up, and demands that another staff car be brought around for him and that the driver drives him to the train station so that he could go back to Berlin. As he continues to ignore Klink's pleads, Hogan, who has just joined them, points towards an approaching car. Von Platzen quickly enters the vehicle and is soon being driven out of the camp and towards the nearby train station, not realizing that the soldiers in the front part of the staff car are actually two of Hogan's men in disguise.

At the end of the episode, Klink talks with Hogan, believing that he would soon be headed for the Berlin, to be executed. Hogan suggests that he wishes that the train that von Platzen is riding in would explode. Klink does so and an explosion is soon heard. It is the train that von Platzen is taking back to Berlin, thus saving Klink, as the General is assumed to have been killed in the explosion that is caused by Hogan's men.