1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:08,080 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:11,479 Speaker 1: a show that proves it's never too late to make history. 4 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:16,239 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Bluzier, and in this episode we're talking about 5 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:19,279 Speaker 1: the criminal life of a con man who showed that 6 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: you may not be able to fight city Hall, but 7 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 1: you can rob it. The day was October nineteen o six. 8 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:39,080 Speaker 1: A German shoemaker named Friedrich Wilhelm Void impersonated an army 9 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:42,599 Speaker 1: officer and tricked a group of soldiers into helping him 10 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 1: commit a daring robbery. Void pulled off the caper by 11 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:52,640 Speaker 1: taking advantage of the German Army's unquestioning obedience to authority. 12 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:56,320 Speaker 1: By simply dressing the part of a commanding officer, he 13 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: got an entire squad of soldiers to help him raw 14 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: City Hall. The brazen heist was in Voit's first brush 15 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 1: with the law. His career in crime began in eighteen 16 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,759 Speaker 1: sixty three, when he was arrested for theft at age 17 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 1: fourteen and sentenced to two weeks in prison. When he 18 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: was released, he learned he had been expelled from school, 19 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: so he started working with his father as a shoemaker. 20 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,280 Speaker 1: He never lost his criminal streak, though, and would spend 21 00:01:28,319 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 1: the next three decades in and out of prison for burglary, forgery, 22 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: and petty theft. In total, Voits spent about twenty five 23 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 1: years in prison for his various crimes, fifteen of which 24 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:45,160 Speaker 1: he served for a failed attempt to rob the cashier's 25 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 1: office of a Prussian courthouse. At the end of this 26 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: long stretch behind bars, Voit was released in February of 27 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:57,440 Speaker 1: nineteen o six at the age of fifty seven. He 28 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:00,120 Speaker 1: moved in with his sister in a small town own 29 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 1: near Berlin and resumed working as a shoemaker. Unfortunately, his 30 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: reputation preceded him, and the police began to pressure him 31 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 1: to leave town. Voit pretended to oblige, telling everyone he 32 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: was moving to Hamburg, but he never did. Instead, he 33 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:21,359 Speaker 1: just kept a low profile and remained in town as 34 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: an unregistered resident, a criminal offense at the time. Living 35 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:30,000 Speaker 1: on the edge of society, it wasn't long before Voit 36 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:35,520 Speaker 1: hatched the plan that would ultimately make him famous or infamous. First, 37 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: he pieced together in officer's uniform, gathering each article of 38 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 1: clothing from a different shop. Then for about three months. 39 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:49,280 Speaker 1: Beginning in August, he wandered around Berlin in uniform and 40 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 1: tested his disguise by barking orders to any soldiers he 41 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: happened to come across. To his delight, they followed his 42 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: commands without question. Once he was satisfied that his ruse 43 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,239 Speaker 1: would work, Voyt took a train to a small town 44 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:09,960 Speaker 1: outside of Berlin and assembled a unit of about twenty 45 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:14,920 Speaker 1: German soldiers. Dressed in a captain's uniform, Voit ordered the 46 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: men to accompany him twenty miles to a town called Koupernick. 47 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:22,920 Speaker 1: He led the troops to city hall, there where he 48 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: declared that the town treasurer and the mayor were under 49 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:31,320 Speaker 1: arrest for suspected embezzlement. Without batting an eye, the soldiers 50 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:35,280 Speaker 1: stormed the building and took the confused officials into custody. 51 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: Then Voit entered the mayor's office and confiscated the cash box, 52 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 1: which contained an estimated four thousand marks. The phony captain 53 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: issued a receipt for the money before tucking it into 54 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:52,000 Speaker 1: his pocket, and then told the men to deliver their 55 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 1: captives to the chief of police in Berlin. Amidst the commotion, 56 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: Voyd managed to slip away with the money. He simply 57 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:05,760 Speaker 1: changed back into civilian clothes and disappeared. It was several 58 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: hours before the soldiers at the police station realized they'd 59 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:15,240 Speaker 1: been had. According to reports, Kaiser Wilhelm the second thought 60 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: the whole thing was pretty funny, as did the public. 61 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:22,920 Speaker 1: But the German army wasn't laughing. They launched a sweeping 62 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: man hunt to track Void down, and a few days 63 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:30,240 Speaker 1: later they caught him in Berlin. The daring con man 64 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:34,200 Speaker 1: was sentenced to four years for his crime, but the Kaiser, 65 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:37,600 Speaker 1: still a big fan, granted him a pardon after just 66 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 1: two years. When Void got out of prison, he was 67 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 1: thrilled to discover that he had become a folk hero 68 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: in Berlin. The local Wax museum even put up a 69 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:52,760 Speaker 1: sculpture of him wearing his captain's uniform. Not one to 70 00:04:52,839 --> 00:04:56,040 Speaker 1: let him money making scheme go to waste, Void headed 71 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:58,720 Speaker 1: straight to the museum to pose for pictures and sign 72 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 1: autographs for small fee. Of course, beyond photo ops, Void 73 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: also starred in a number of plays and variety shows 74 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:11,320 Speaker 1: about his exploits, and even published a book in nineteen 75 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 1: o nine called How I Became the Captain of Koupernick 76 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:19,279 Speaker 1: it reportedly sold quite well, not that Void really needed 77 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:22,920 Speaker 1: the money anymore. A wealthy widow in Berlin set him 78 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: up with a life pension, and the lovable crook had 79 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:29,760 Speaker 1: a standing invitation to eat for free anytime at a 80 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: local restaurant. In spite of himself and because of his crimes, 81 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:37,279 Speaker 1: Void had found a way to make an honest living 82 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:42,159 Speaker 1: after all. Today, more than a century later, Void is 83 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,640 Speaker 1: still a local legend. There's a statue of him in 84 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: his captain's uniform at the scene of the crime outside 85 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:53,480 Speaker 1: Koupernicks City Hall, and in two thousand six Germany issued 86 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 1: a postage stamp featuring an illustration of him, titled the 87 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:02,440 Speaker 1: Captain of Koupernick. There are aims that Kaiser Wilhelm described 88 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:07,640 Speaker 1: vod as an amiable scoundrel, and it seems that much 89 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:13,280 Speaker 1: of the German public still agrees. I'm Gabe Louisier and 90 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:17,000 Speaker 1: hopefully you now know a little more about history today 91 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. If you have a second and 92 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:23,680 Speaker 1: you're so inclined, you can follow the show on Twitter, 93 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 1: Facebook and Instagram at t d i HC Show, and 94 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:31,160 Speaker 1: if you have any feedback to share, you can send 95 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:34,160 Speaker 1: it my way at this day at i heart media 96 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:38,240 Speaker 1: dot com. Thanks to channel Or Mays for producing the show, 97 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 98 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:54,120 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another day in history class. For more 99 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:56,680 Speaker 1: podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 100 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:59,320 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.