Continuity mistake: After getting Crittendon to turn around, Hogan grabs his hat with his right hand. When the camera looks at Hogan, he's pulling his left hand back, holding his hat.
Continuity mistake: When Hogan is by the truck, Newkirk responds to his question about packages. Crittendon has his swagger stick under his arm, then it's suddenly in front if him in his hands.
Continuity mistake: In Hogan's quarters, as he and Critendon are talking, his arms are by his sides, and suddenly crossed. As Hogan goes to get his hat off Critendon's sword, his right hand is shown, then after the angle changes, his left hand draws back with the hat, and his right comes up to grab it.
Answer: The core POWs regularly escaped the prison camp but they made it their mission to conduct espionage and commit sabotage in the surrounding German territory. They also collaborated with different underground resistance groups and used a network of secret tunnels to help prisoners from other POW camps to escape, who then relayed vital information back to the Allied forces. Hogan and his men maintained the illusion that Stalag 13 had never had any prisoners escape in order to avoid their covert operations being shut down. Being that the prison camp is set in Germany during WWII, there were no American embassies.
raywest
Hogan has mentioned to different characters that they are actually stationed at Stalag 13 to help allied soldiers and prisoners from other Stalags to escape Germany.