Hans Kloss (fictional character)
Hans Kloss is a fictional World War II secret agent and the protagonist of the 1965–1967 series of 14 live Polish television theater plays titled Stawka większa niż życie (Direct Translation: A Stake Larger Than Life; DVD Movie Translation: Playing for High Stakes; Popular Translation: You Bet Your Life) and the 18-episode 1967–1968 television series of the same name. The TV series was, and still is, widely popular in Poland.
Fictional biography[edit]
He is actually a Pole named Stanisław Kolicki working for Soviet Intelligence, who impersonates a Nazi Abwehr officer, Hans Kloss, of whom he is a look-alike, in order to wreak havoc inside German intelligence services and armed forces. The switch is accomplished after the real Hans Kloss is arrested for spying behind the Soviet front lines. Following appropriate preparation the look-alike Kolicki is allowed to "escape" back through the front lines and return to Abwehr service. While there, he hurts the German intelligence efforts in various inventive ways. Throughout, he manages to make himself appear trustworthy and advances in German ranks, while at the same time making the Germans suspect each other of being defectors, traitors or agents themselves, often resulting in their execution. The main character starts his espionage work as a lieutenant, promoted after a dozen episodes to the rank of captain.
Kloss is played by Stanisław Mikulski, who became typecast following this role.
The various episodes of the series are unconnected, apart for advancing in time over the period of war; certain actors even return in different roles. The pilot (Wiem kim jesteś - I know who you are) explains the basic premise.
A recurring supporting character is Hermann Brunner, a Sicherheitsdienst officer, played by Emil Karewicz, whom the audience loved to hate. Although Brunner only appeared in 5 episodes out of 18, he usually stole the show. One of his "trademark" sayings was "I hate the sight of a man being beaten... unless I am the one doing the beating".
The series was inspired by Ukrainian Soviet book about fictional Soviet agent Heinrich von Goldring. Captain Kloss is generally thought to be a direct inspiration for the 1970 Soviet television series about Stierlitz[citation needed]. Of course, he is himself inspired by Konrad Wallenrod and James Bond, albeit much less directly.[citation needed]
Except for the pilot episode, the series does not reveal exactly which intelligence service Kloss is working for, as in the other episodes he receives his instructions from an unspecified Centrala or Central Control. Hence, the viewer is left to wonder whether it is the London-based Polish government in exile[citation needed] or some Soviet intelligence organisation, for example the GRU military intelligence. At the time the series was made, when Poland was still a Soviet satellite state, this deemphasizing of a possible Soviet connection made the character of Kloss more palatable to those Poles who resented Soviet domination, and hence preferred a fictional secret agent not associated with the disliked apparatus of Soviet Intelligence. In the 15th episode he is revealed to hold a rank of major in the Polish People's Army, and in the last episode appears in the Polish uniform accompanied by Soviet officers. Overall, the series was relatively free of communist propaganda, unlike some other series made at the time dealing with wartime events, and hence remains highly watchable today.
Although the settings are extremely precise, the series is pure entertainment and the main characters in it have no historical basis. His code name was J-23.
In GDR the series was shown under the title Sekunden Entscheiden (Seconds Decide), episode 13 wasn't presented.
Comic books[edit]
Adventures of Captain Kloss were adapted into 20 comic book albums by Mieczysław Wiśniewski. They are:
- Agent J-23
- Wsypa (The Big Bust)
- Ostatnia szansa (Last Chance)
- Kuzynka Edyta (Cousin Edith)
- Ściśle tajne (Top Secret)
- Hasło (The Password)
- Spotkanie z Ingrid (Rendez-Vous with Ingrid)
- Cafe Rose
- Wyrok (The Sentence)
- Kurierka z Londynu (The Courier from London)
- Partia domina (A Game of Dominoes)
- Noc w szpitalu (A Night at the Hospital)
- Podwójny nelson (Double Nelson)
- Żelazny krzyż (The Iron Cross)
- Tajemnica profesora Riedla (The Secret of Professor Riedl)
- Spotkanie na zamku (The Encounter at the Castle)
- Akcja "Liść Dębu" (Operation "Oak Leaf")
- Oblężenie (The Siege)
- "Gruppenfuhrer Wolf"
- W ostatniej chwili (At the last moment)
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hans Kloss Museum in Katowice. |
Museum[edit]
Hans Kloss Museum existed in Katowice in 2009.
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
- Stawka większa niż życie on IMDb Search this movie on
- Strona Klubu Miłośników Stawki
- Selections from Kapitan Kloss comic books
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