Everyone Has a Brother-in-Law

Prisoners

 * Colonel Hogan - Bob Crane
 * Corporal Louis LeBeau - Robert Clary
 * Corporal Peter Newkirk - Richard Dawson
 * Sergeant James Kinchloe - Ivan Dixon
 * Sergeant Andrew Carter - Larry Hovis

Camp Personnel

 * Kommandant Wilhelm Klink - Werner Klemperer
 * Sergeant Hans Schultz - John Banner

Semi-Regulars

 * General Albert Burkhalter - Leon Askin

Guest Stars

 * Captain Kurtz - Cliff Norton
 * Eva - Mary Mitchel

Synopsis
Hogan's plot to destroy an ammunition train is foiled when Burkhalter's brother-in-law is installed as adjutant.

Plot Details
It is the dead of night, and LeBeau, Carter and Newkirk are busy rigging explosives to a train line. Their objective is to demolish a munitions train. All seems well as they finish their work and are ready for the train to arrive. However, they are greeted by Eva, a member of the Underground, who informs them that the train is still in the yard and won't be passing through for at least a week, before she leaves. The three Heroes resign themselves to this and decide to leave the explosives hidden under the track, considering it took the trio a considerable effort to rig them in the first place. Carter wires the detonator into a nearby emergency phone before they return to Stalag 13.

As they explain the situation to Hogan, the colonel decides to let the Underground take over the rest of the mission. However, he receives a message from London that the Gestapo has begun arresting suspects in Dusseldorf and that the Underground has been ordered to cease activity, though they will try to forward the train schedule.

Some time later, Newkirk is organising a "Jitterbug contest" for the prisoners in the rec hall, when Schultz appears and demands to know who gave them permission to do so. Newkirk bribes the greedy Schultz with 13 cigarettes in exchange for his "permission" just as General Burkhalter arrives in the camp, accompanied by a Wehrmacht captain. As it turns out, the man is Captain Kurtz, Burkhalter's brother-in-law who was recently posted to the Russian Front. After some discussion in Klink's office, Kurtz is installed as Klink's adjutant on Burkhalter's orders, though he admits that he does so due to his wife. Upon Burkhalter's assurance that Kurtz's placement is not an attempt to supplant his command, Klink welcomes his new adjutant with open arms, labelling the younger officer as being "harmless enough."

Kurtz, however, turns out to be a tough and capable officer, taking away the prisoners' privileges for LeBeau being unshaven during roll call, ordering surprise inspections and cancelling the jitterbug contest. In addition, he also sees to it that the prisoners are required to wear identification cards with their photographs on them at all times. Hogan's protests to Klink falls upon deaf ears, so he directly threatens that an escape will occur if the strict measures are not lifted. Klink however doubles the guards around the camp, now that he knows that an escape is to take place, and even thanks Hogan for the advanced notice.

The Heroes muse about their desperate situation in the barracks and are met by Kurtz who wants to speak to Hogan alone. He claims that his strict measures are purely to impress Klink, and to avoid being sent back to the Russian Front. He further states that he believes that Germany will lose the war and he wants to have a friend on the winning side and offers Hogan to let a prisoner escape as a gesture of good faith. Hogan agrees and Kurtz insists that he will arrange for part of the perimeter to be left unguarded the next night. Hogan assigns Newkirk to do the escaping, Newkirk makes his escape attempt, and walks right into the clutches of the camp guards and is immediately sentenced to 30 days in the cooler. Kurtz meets with Hogan the next day and claims that Klink had found out that he had tried to move the patrols away and therefore he had to arrest Newkirk or risk exposure. Hogan demands that Newkirk be freed from the cooler, which Kurtz agrees to arrange, but the Wehrmacht captain also insists that he only wants to get out of the war and suggests that Hogan might know someone who could help him, which Hogan denies.

The Heroes, in the tunnel, soon receive a message from the Underground that the munitions train they are after will leave Dusseldorf at seven o'clock tomorrow night, which by Kinch's calculations would arrive at their explosive laden track at 11:15. Hogan muses that Kurtz may be the key to pulling off the mission before he leaves to see him.

In their discussion, he reveals that he does in fact have a method of getting Kurtz out of Germany. He makes an offer that both he and Kurtz will leave camp, go to a rendezvous point and meet with Hogan's contact who will decide the next step, to which Kurtz agrees.

Kurtz however reveals everything that Hogan has told him to Klink, and asks that a squad of infantry follow him so that they could trap both Hogan and the Underground in one fell swoop.

Hogan and Kurtz leave the camp that night and stop near the mined train track. Kurtz questions where the contact is, and Hogan replies that they have to call, using the nearby phone at a predetermined time. As the train approaches, Hogan goes to use the phone, but Kurtz pulls a gun on Hogan, explains that it was a trap and that he was a loyal officer with no intention of leaving Germany. With everything seemingly in Kurtz's favor, he picks up the phone and sets off the explosives, destroying the munitions train. The shockwave of the explosion knocks Kurtz off his feet, giving Hogan time to collect the gun and take Kurtz prisoner.

Later in the barracks, Hogan gives a falsified explanation of events to Klink and Burkhalter, claiming that Kurtz had tried to deactivate the explosives on the track (which he claims that he and his men had nothing to do with) and he died in the explosion. Burkhalter takes solace in the fact that his brother-in-law died a hero's death and orders Klink to recommend Kurtz for an Iron Cross, which he will ensure is approved. As Burkhalter and Klink leave, the Heroes bring out Captain Kurtz who is alive and well. Hogan informs him that he will be transported to England to sit out the war in a P.O.W camp and then tells him that he's saving a punch in the nose for him when the war is finished before sending Kurtz on his way.

Story Notes

 * This is the fifty-sixth episode produced in the series, but is the fifty-fifth episode to be shown on television and is the twenty-third episode for the second season.
 * A ficitional character is mentioned in the story: Charles Dickens' Ebenezer Scrooge.
 * Captain Kurtz is General Burkhalter's brother-in-law. That would make him the brother of Burkhalter's wife Berta, making Kurtz her maiden name.
 * The entrance fee for the Jitterbug Dance Contest, that was cancelled by Captain Kurtz, was two cigarettes and the first prize was to be one pound of coffee.

Timeline Notes and Speculations

 * This appears to take place in late spring or early summer of 1943, given Burkhalter's references to the Russian Front. Burkhalter's assurance that things are going well in Russia is immediately contradicted by Klink, who points out that the Wehrmacht is suffering from a shortage of officers. This may tie into the subsequent German ramp-up in manpower that led up to the Battle of Kursk.
 * A key background event occurs just prior to the beginning of the episode. The Düsseldorf underground organization gets shaken down by the Gestapo, with mass arrests taking place. They are still happening as the episode opens.

Quotes

 * Burkhalter: Klink, this transfer is an order from the highest authority in the Third Reich.
 * Klink: The highest? The Führer?
 * Burkhalter: Higher than that... my wife.