On October 16, 1906, Wilhelm Voigt, an impoverished 57-year-old shoemaker with a lengthy criminal record, executed one of the most audacious imposter crimes in European history. Having spent much of his life in prison, Voigt was unable to secure a residence permit due to strict Prussian police laws. Desperate to obtain passport documents to leave the region, he devised a plan that exploited the unquestioning obedience of the military in Imperial Germany.
Voigt purchased parts of a secondhand Prussian captain's uniform from various second-hand shops. Dressed as a military officer, he approached two squads of Prussian soldiers in Berlin, presented vague orders, and commanded them to follow him to the nearby town of Köpenick. Upon arrival, Voigt led the soldiers into the local town hall, arrested the mayor and municipal treasurer, and seized 4,000 marks from the municipal safe.
He then instructed his soldiers to hold the captive officials for deportation to Berlin while he slipped into civilian clothing and escaped with the money. The affair made Voigt an international folk hero and exposed the absurdity of blind militaristic deference.