1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:04,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm 2 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:14,720 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. As a 3 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:19,319 Speaker 1: hint of sun peaked through the two Gothic spires of 4 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 1: the Cologne Cathedral, the sound of a man's footsteps broke 5 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: the quiet of the sleeping early morning city streets. Though 6 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 1: the cathedral remained in the man's sights, his destination was 7 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:39,080 Speaker 1: not the salvation of the church. Rather, he was headed 8 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:43,879 Speaker 1: toward a home for the damned, the nearby Cologne Prison. 9 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 1: Being a prison guard wasn't the most glamorous job in 10 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:52,280 Speaker 1: the world. In fact, it probably would be more accurate 11 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: to call it bleak. But in the years following the 12 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: Great War, a job was a job, and there was 13 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: little room for them. This man to complain. By June 14 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:08,000 Speaker 1: of nineteen twenty seven, the fresh wounds left behind by 15 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 1: World War One had mostly healed, though it wasn't difficult 16 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:17,399 Speaker 1: to remember just a few years earlier, in nineteen twenty three, 17 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:22,320 Speaker 1: when the German financial market had all but imploded, with 18 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:27,960 Speaker 1: runaway inflation so rampant that some families resorted to burning 19 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 1: their German marks as kindling to keep warm in the winter. 20 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:35,720 Speaker 1: While those desperate enough to still use the currency for 21 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:40,399 Speaker 1: its intended purpose raced to the markets on payday in 22 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:44,479 Speaker 1: hopes of gathering enough scraps of food before the prices 23 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:50,840 Speaker 1: would inevitably rise again. Luckily, in the near decade since 24 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 1: the war ended, Germany's financial straits had seemingly resolved. But 25 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:02,320 Speaker 1: scars like that don't heal over. The sheer number of 26 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: men behind the prison bars, each face haunted by crimes, 27 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 1: likely committed out of poverty and desperation, were in all 28 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:17,239 Speaker 1: too real reminder of that. After clocking in, the guard 29 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:22,080 Speaker 1: went about his typical rounds, observing the inmates with the 30 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: same detached air that he had become accustomed to as 31 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:31,080 Speaker 1: a guard. Every day. He walked past everyone from petty 32 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:35,360 Speaker 1: criminals to violent offenders. But the guard's job wasn't to 33 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: judge them for their crimes. The court saw to that. 34 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:45,240 Speaker 1: Of course, that didn't stop prison guards from talking amongst themselves. 35 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 1: And while this prison held dozens of men, each with 36 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 1: their own stories to tell since January of that year, 37 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 1: there was only one inmate that the guards were interested 38 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:03,320 Speaker 1: in talking about. From the outside, this man wasn't who 39 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:07,680 Speaker 1: you'd expect to be a hardened criminal. He had soft, 40 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:12,679 Speaker 1: delicate features. His skin was pale and smooth, unmarred by 41 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: the calluses and wrinkles that so often signified a life 42 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 1: of hard labor or poverty. But more than this prisoner's 43 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: appearance was the way he chose to spend his days. 44 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,640 Speaker 1: He may have ventured into the mess hall at meal times, 45 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:32,800 Speaker 1: may have even taken to the fresh air when it 46 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,480 Speaker 1: was allowed, But what this man did with his free 47 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 1: time in his cell was the primary source of his 48 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: air of mystique. More often than not, when guards walked 49 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: past this man's cell, they saw him hunched over on 50 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: his cot or over a table with ink stained fingers, 51 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 1: scribbling frantically over pages that he never seemed to tire 52 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: of filling. In the months since this man came to 53 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: the prison, his quarters had become littered with crumpled pieces 54 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 1: of parchment and stacks of loose leaf paper decorated with 55 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 1: his musings. And perhaps the most unsettling aspect was the 56 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:20,720 Speaker 1: fact that, even after six months in prison, he hardly 57 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 1: showed any signs of slowing down his writings. In the 58 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 1: years after the Great War, men had gone to absurdly 59 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 1: desperate measures to keep themselves and their families afloat in 60 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: the bereft New German Republic. But the rumors that swirled 61 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:45,359 Speaker 1: around the prison about this exceedingly prolific man in his 62 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:50,040 Speaker 1: cell topped all those stories of all those prisoners that 63 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 1: came before him. Until six months ago, no one had 64 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 1: ever heard the name Harry Domila. But after his arrest, 65 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:04,800 Speaker 1: the prison guards in Cologne lingered just a moment longer 66 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:09,240 Speaker 1: outside of his cell, each day, craning their necks to 67 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:12,600 Speaker 1: get a glance at the men who fooled a nation 68 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 1: into thinking that he was the recently deposed Prince Wilhelm 69 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: of Prussia, the man who conned himself into some of 70 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:27,799 Speaker 1: the most exclusive rooms and parties in Germany with nothing 71 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:31,600 Speaker 1: more than the clothes on his back and the lies 72 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:38,279 Speaker 1: through his teeth. Before nineteen twenty seven, Harry Damila was 73 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:42,240 Speaker 1: a nobody. But as that sixth month came to a 74 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:47,080 Speaker 1: close and Damila stared down at the array of pages 75 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: that littered the floor of his cell, a small smile 76 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:56,160 Speaker 1: likely crept onto his face as he no doubt felt 77 00:05:56,279 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 1: the eyes of the omnipresent guards on his back. After 78 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: so long parading in the shadow of someone else, the 79 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: eyes of the world were finally turning to him, and 80 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:14,880 Speaker 1: as he took in the mass of pages that made 81 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:19,960 Speaker 1: up the now completed first draft of his memoir, he 82 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:24,279 Speaker 1: was confident that the world would be unable to ever 83 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 1: forget him. I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is noble Blood. 84 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:40,120 Speaker 1: On February sixth, nineteen twenty seven, The New York Times 85 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:46,599 Speaker 1: was decorated with an iconic headline, false German prince lived 86 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:51,839 Speaker 1: a gay life for many weeks. The subhead added, Harry Domila, 87 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:57,719 Speaker 1: soldier and vagabond received honors paid only to royalty. Now, 88 00:06:57,839 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 1: even if the term had yet to be invented, I 89 00:07:00,839 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 1: know a clickbait title when I see one, But in 90 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:08,480 Speaker 1: the case of this article, the stranger than fiction premise 91 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:12,280 Speaker 1: is more than just a hollow headline meant to grab 92 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: the reader's attention. Notable quotes include Damala attending quote fencing 93 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:22,800 Speaker 1: parties given in his honor every day and champagne suppers 94 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:26,440 Speaker 1: every night, as well as his meeting the Mayor of 95 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 1: Gotha and when asked whether he should be addressed as 96 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 1: your Oyal Highness or your Imperial Highness, allegedly he said, 97 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: with a wave of the hand call me Wilhelm if 98 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 1: you like. It is every journalist's dream, a true Aladdin, 99 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:50,240 Speaker 1: Prince Ali, a Babwa parading across Germany, only instead of 100 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:55,240 Speaker 1: a magic, all powerful genie. The only resources at Damala's 101 00:07:55,320 --> 00:08:00,360 Speaker 1: disposal were his charm, good looks and an abundant lack 102 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:05,400 Speaker 1: of quite literally anything else to lose. But the subtext 103 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 1: underneath the entire article boils down to one question, how 104 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:14,440 Speaker 1: did he do it? How did one man fool the 105 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:18,440 Speaker 1: upper echelons of an entire nation into lavishing him with 106 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:25,080 Speaker 1: gifts and Champagne suppers without a penny to his name. Well, 107 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:29,640 Speaker 1: in order to fully understand just how Harry Domelup pulled 108 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:33,920 Speaker 1: off his royal deception, we need to take a brief 109 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 1: step back and talk about what Germany looked like in 110 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 1: the aftermath of World War One. When the war ended 111 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:54,080 Speaker 1: in November nineteen eighteen, the German people were in a 112 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:58,120 Speaker 1: state of flux. The country they knew as the German 113 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 1: Empire dissolved in the wake of the November Revolution, a 114 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:07,920 Speaker 1: period of civil unrest from November nineteen eighteen until August 115 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:13,719 Speaker 1: nineteen nineteen, when pressures between the working classes and aristocratic 116 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:18,880 Speaker 1: elite came to a head following Germany's devastating losses in 117 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:23,440 Speaker 1: the war. From the ashes of the German Empire came 118 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:29,560 Speaker 1: the German Republic, a new democratic parliamentary republic, which in 119 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:35,160 Speaker 1: turn cemented the end of the nation's monarchy in addition 120 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: to a new form of government. The end of World 121 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:42,880 Speaker 1: War One brought forth the Treaty of Versailles, which, in 122 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:46,920 Speaker 1: the absolute simplest of terms, for the sake of this episode, 123 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:52,839 Speaker 1: blamed Germany for instigating the war and sought financial compensation 124 00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:57,040 Speaker 1: to the Allied powers for the damages that it caused. 125 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:02,560 Speaker 1: The ensuing financial strain on an already war torn Germany 126 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:07,400 Speaker 1: caused the newly founded Republic to stumble into one of 127 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 1: the worst financial crisses in history, having gone into debt 128 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:16,400 Speaker 1: to pay for their war efforts. Germany's loss in the 129 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:21,640 Speaker 1: war already had them at a substantial financial deficit, but 130 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:25,960 Speaker 1: with the reparations the Allies saddled them with paying, Germany 131 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:31,760 Speaker 1: was put into even more unimaginable debt, ultimately sending the 132 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 1: country into such a drastic case of hyper inflation that, 133 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:40,440 Speaker 1: in some reports, a loaf of bread that had cost 134 00:10:40,559 --> 00:10:44,640 Speaker 1: one hundred and sixty marks in nineteen twenty two, rose 135 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:48,760 Speaker 1: to over two hundred billion by the fall of nineteen 136 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:53,760 Speaker 1: twenty three. This tenuous state of affairs in the newly 137 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:59,840 Speaker 1: founded German Republic left its citizens destitute in a country 138 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:04,800 Speaker 1: already floundering with its national identity. For the working class, 139 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:11,000 Speaker 1: whose fixed salaries were suddenly worthless, survival was their primary concern, 140 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:16,320 Speaker 1: But the former aristocratic elite were forced to reckon with 141 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:20,680 Speaker 1: a new Germany, one which no longer put its stock 142 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:24,520 Speaker 1: in the monarchy or cared much about the status of 143 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:35,240 Speaker 1: high society. Which brings us to our favorite prolific prison 144 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:40,880 Speaker 1: inmate and fraudulent German Prince, Harry Damila. Though I feel 145 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:44,040 Speaker 1: I can't continue this story without mentioning the fact that, 146 00:11:44,679 --> 00:11:48,680 Speaker 1: apart from the previously mentioned New York Times article from 147 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:53,520 Speaker 1: February nineteen twenty seven, most of what we know about 148 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:58,440 Speaker 1: Damila's life comes from those pages that lay scattered across 149 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:02,960 Speaker 1: his prison cell. They would eventually be compiled into his 150 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:08,760 Speaker 1: best selling memoir titled A Sham Prince, The Life and 151 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:12,640 Speaker 1: Adventures of Harry Damila, as written by himself in prison 152 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:18,760 Speaker 1: at Cologne January to June nineteen twenty seven. As you 153 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:22,000 Speaker 1: would expect from a man who decided to write a 154 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 1: memoir after being imprisoned for parading around impersonating a former 155 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:31,920 Speaker 1: German prince. This guy had an excessive amount of what 156 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:36,360 Speaker 1: I think we can call main character syndrome, the type 157 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:39,800 Speaker 1: of person who feels it starting to rain and decides 158 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 1: that it must be the universe unfairly singling them out 159 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:47,600 Speaker 1: for some cosmic misdeed, rather than you know that it's 160 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:51,600 Speaker 1: just reigning out. That being said, should you ever find 161 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 1: yourself in possession of a copy of this memoir, it 162 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:59,480 Speaker 1: is no doubt an interesting read. Damila is a compelling, 163 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:05,240 Speaker 1: though at times painfully self indulgent, storyteller who manages to 164 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:10,440 Speaker 1: paint his many, many personal anecdotes with the sides that 165 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:15,280 Speaker 1: give us insight into these stark differences between the working 166 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:21,800 Speaker 1: and aristocratic classes in post World War One Germany. At 167 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:26,160 Speaker 1: the same time, though the book is obviously an interesting text, 168 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:29,600 Speaker 1: I would, by no stretch of the imagination call this 169 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:33,480 Speaker 1: an unbiased account of the event that took place, So 170 00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 1: bear that in mind. Whether Damila is begging for help 171 00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:42,720 Speaker 1: on the streets of Berlin or tricking German aristocracy into 172 00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:47,559 Speaker 1: believing him to be former nobility. Damila predictably paints himself 173 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:51,520 Speaker 1: as the hero of his story, and why shouldn't he. 174 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:56,560 Speaker 1: It's his memoir, his story. But as far as delving 175 00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:59,960 Speaker 1: into the historical accuracy of it all, I just want 176 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:04,120 Speaker 1: to reiterate that in the case of Harry Damila, there 177 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:09,800 Speaker 1: really are no quote unquote accurate historical accounts to go by. 178 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:13,960 Speaker 1: That isn't to say he's outright lying about his exploits, 179 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:16,840 Speaker 1: but when going through his work, I find it's more 180 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:20,680 Speaker 1: worthwhile to view his story through a more critical lens, 181 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:24,800 Speaker 1: one that takes into account the fledgling sense of German 182 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:28,920 Speaker 1: identity that citizens struggle to take hold of in their 183 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:34,360 Speaker 1: newly founded republic following their losses in World War One. Okay, 184 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 1: with the historical context and memoir disclaimers out of the way, 185 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:50,320 Speaker 1: let's get into the good parts the story. In nineteen 186 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:54,560 Speaker 1: oh four, Harry Damola was born into a small agricultural 187 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:58,320 Speaker 1: town on the border of the Russian Empire. Today, the 188 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:02,200 Speaker 1: area known as Corland resides within the country of Latvia, 189 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:05,280 Speaker 1: but as Damala came of age in the midst of 190 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:10,720 Speaker 1: World War I, the area in and surrounding Courland essentially 191 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:15,360 Speaker 1: made up the Eastern Front, seemingly surrounded by war at 192 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:20,240 Speaker 1: every turn. At fourteen years old, Damala joined the Free Corps, 193 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:25,440 Speaker 1: a private militia group fighting under the German Empire against 194 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:30,160 Speaker 1: Baltic rebels. Ousted from his home in the fallout of 195 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:34,360 Speaker 1: the Bolshevik Revolution, Damila found a new place to call 196 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 1: home among the ranks of other Free Corps soldiers. It 197 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: was during this time when he spent his nights huddled 198 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:48,560 Speaker 1: around campfires with other young men, telling stories that Damala claims, 199 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:53,200 Speaker 1: quote it was here I learned all about lying and bragging, 200 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:57,440 Speaker 1: the sort of lying and bragging that hurts nobody, and 201 00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:01,720 Speaker 1: which would only take in somewhat even more stupid than 202 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:07,320 Speaker 1: oneself end quote. Of course, simple lies that have no 203 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:11,920 Speaker 1: consequences except for those stupid enough to fall for them. 204 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:15,960 Speaker 1: It's a wonder Damla didn't succumb to altitude sickness from 205 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,239 Speaker 1: the height at which he stood atop his own pedestal. 206 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 1: But I digress. When the war ended, the Free Corp 207 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:28,120 Speaker 1: dismissed Damla on account of his being underage and now 208 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:31,400 Speaker 1: without a home left to go back to, he set 209 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:36,320 Speaker 1: off for Germany to start a new life. Unfortunately for him, 210 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 1: without German citizenship or any papers at all to identify himself. 211 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:47,640 Speaker 1: Damlo is left with few to know resources at his disposal. 212 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:51,240 Speaker 1: Should he try to get work, he would be turned 213 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:55,960 Speaker 1: away for not having German papers. Then, unable to make 214 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:59,720 Speaker 1: a livable wage, he was forced to starve on the 215 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:04,680 Speaker 1: sleeping in train stations to keep warm until police would 216 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:09,480 Speaker 1: arrest him and subsequently detain him for not having papers 217 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:13,679 Speaker 1: proving his identity. Eventually he would be released and the 218 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:18,680 Speaker 1: cycle would start over again. During these years, he would 219 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 1: run into a motley crew of interesting characters that sort 220 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:26,000 Speaker 1: of seem like they're out of an edgy Dickens novel 221 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:30,880 Speaker 1: from a cocaine addict named Wolf who took Domila under 222 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:33,240 Speaker 1: his wing and taught him how to survive on the 223 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:38,080 Speaker 1: streets of Berlin. To a man who called himself Baron Luderates, 224 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:42,000 Speaker 1: who was, in fact, in case you hadn't guessed, not 225 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:46,240 Speaker 1: a baron at all. The man who Damala described as 226 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:50,840 Speaker 1: quote looking like a scarecrow with worn shoes and an 227 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:55,280 Speaker 1: eclectic wardrobe that hung limply off his frame, seemed to 228 00:17:55,280 --> 00:18:00,760 Speaker 1: make his living selling pamphlets, and after attempting to sell 229 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:04,639 Speaker 1: Domila some of his wares, the two shared a meal together, 230 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:08,720 Speaker 1: after which the man came clean about his true identity. 231 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:13,600 Speaker 1: Quote my name is simply Luderates. But since old Baron 232 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:18,000 Speaker 1: von Rothschild addressed me in Vienna as her baron, I 233 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:21,639 Speaker 1: am a baron who's going to stop me? Titles of 234 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:24,880 Speaker 1: nobility have been abolished by the constitution of the right, 235 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:29,840 Speaker 1: So I am a baron end quote. Initially Domila laughed 236 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:34,240 Speaker 1: at his odd counterpart, but throughout the meal the quote 237 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:39,320 Speaker 1: baron had taken to calling him her graff, insisting you 238 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:43,639 Speaker 1: look like a count ergo you are one. And while 239 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:49,960 Speaker 1: the quote Baron's words had first made Domila scoff, after 240 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:54,520 Speaker 1: their meal, Damila's laughter seemed to die on his lips. 241 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:59,920 Speaker 1: In his own words, quote was he so wrong? After all? Should? 242 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,320 Speaker 1: Did I not have had a much easier time as 243 00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 1: a nobleman? Endote? You can probably guess what happened next. 244 00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:14,200 Speaker 1: After his introduction to Baron Ludertz, Damila began to adopt 245 00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:19,880 Speaker 1: his own self imposed honorary titles, often passing himself as 246 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:25,240 Speaker 1: Baron Korff during his travels. This worked with varying degrees 247 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:29,320 Speaker 1: of success, until after winning a lucky hand of cards, 248 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:34,240 Speaker 1: Damila decided to travel from Berlin to Heidelberg, and his 249 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:38,399 Speaker 1: career as a fraudulent noble took on a life of 250 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:50,960 Speaker 1: its own. A few decades before all of this, in 251 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:56,119 Speaker 1: nineteen o six, a con man named Wilhelm Voit famously 252 00:19:56,240 --> 00:20:00,040 Speaker 1: used a cobbled together military uniform and pretended to be 253 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:03,399 Speaker 1: a captain, And he actually got a number of soldiers 254 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:07,040 Speaker 1: behind him under his command, and he enacted a robbery 255 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:11,280 Speaker 1: under the guise of official duty. It was a famous case. 256 00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:16,240 Speaker 1: While Voight was arrested and imprisoned, he became something of 257 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:19,959 Speaker 1: a folk hero in Germany, as the quote captain of 258 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:25,240 Speaker 1: Copenick Kaiser Wilhelm Iond would actually pardon him. There was 259 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:29,040 Speaker 1: a silent movie made about Voight in nineteen twenty six, 260 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:34,040 Speaker 1: the year before Damila's impersonation, and you have to wonder 261 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:39,640 Speaker 1: whether maybe Damla either saw the movie or felt something 262 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:45,200 Speaker 1: in the air, the sense that maybe confidence could be key, 263 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:50,520 Speaker 1: and that pretending to be somebody powerful might actually make 264 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:57,600 Speaker 1: you powerful. Upon arriving in Heidelberg, Damala decided to wander 265 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:03,120 Speaker 1: the historic university town and introduce himself to the known 266 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:09,360 Speaker 1: aristocratic student social group, the Saxo Borussia. He'd known royals 267 00:21:09,359 --> 00:21:12,639 Speaker 1: from Courland who had taken part in the famous group, 268 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:18,040 Speaker 1: and upon finding them, he introduced himself as Prince Levin 269 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:24,640 Speaker 1: Lieutenant in the fourth Reichwach Cavalry Regiment Potsdam. The effect 270 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:29,240 Speaker 1: he had on the students was instantaneous. Members of the 271 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:33,640 Speaker 1: Saxo Barassia began tripping over themselves to buy him drinks, 272 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:37,360 Speaker 1: take him out to the most exclusive clubs and shows, 273 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:41,960 Speaker 1: and generally flaunt their wealth and status in front of 274 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:45,760 Speaker 1: a figure that represented a time and way of living 275 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:48,639 Speaker 1: that had been lost after the war, but which they 276 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:54,520 Speaker 1: still romanticized. For Domila, this was his first real taste 277 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:58,679 Speaker 1: into how the other half lived and how out of 278 00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:01,600 Speaker 1: touch they seemed to be with the plight of the 279 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:06,800 Speaker 1: working class. When passing a local soup kitchen at the university, 280 00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:10,720 Speaker 1: one member of the Saxo Borussia scoffed at the very 281 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:15,439 Speaker 1: thought of disenfranchised students being able to get free food. 282 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:19,800 Speaker 1: In return, Damila, with what I imagine to be a 283 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:25,760 Speaker 1: golden halo of purity and righteousness adorning his now saintly visage, 284 00:22:26,119 --> 00:22:30,600 Speaker 1: retorted quote, it must make you feel damned uncomfortable to 285 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:34,159 Speaker 1: live up there in such a fine core house without 286 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:37,280 Speaker 1: a care in the world, while your fellow students down 287 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:41,199 Speaker 1: here don't know how they are meant to keep themselves alive. 288 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:45,919 Speaker 1: The next day, according to Damila, he soon tired of 289 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:50,160 Speaker 1: the Saxo Barosia fawning over him and decided to turn 290 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:54,360 Speaker 1: over a new leaf, leaving his persona of Prince Levin 291 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:58,800 Speaker 1: behind in Heidelberg as he set out for Irfurt, only 292 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:03,719 Speaker 1: to check into his hotel hell there as Baron Korff. Apparently, 293 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:07,159 Speaker 1: the judgment he felt in regards to his counterparts in 294 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:11,320 Speaker 1: Heidelberg wasn't enough to fully convert back to a life 295 00:23:11,359 --> 00:23:16,119 Speaker 1: of being simply Harry Domila in any case, similar to 296 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:20,520 Speaker 1: his experience with the members of the Saxo Berusia, Damiala's 297 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:25,040 Speaker 1: noble alter ego soon took on a new life of 298 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:31,080 Speaker 1: its own, unrelated to his new identity. In airport, Domiala 299 00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:34,960 Speaker 1: happened upon an old friend who knew him as Harry, and, 300 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:37,639 Speaker 1: upon visiting him at the hotel where he was staying, 301 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:41,240 Speaker 1: asked him a question that would go on to shape 302 00:23:41,359 --> 00:23:46,600 Speaker 1: the rest of Domila's life. Quote, I say, Harry, do 303 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:49,399 Speaker 1: you know whom they are taking you for? Here? For 304 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:55,600 Speaker 1: Prince William of Prussia. Damila laughed in turn, telling him quote, 305 00:23:55,920 --> 00:24:01,520 Speaker 1: don't make silly jokes, my friend. But unbeknownst to rumors 306 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:06,679 Speaker 1: around the hotel had spread that quote, baron Korff was 307 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:09,840 Speaker 1: a fake name. But it was a fake name being 308 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:14,919 Speaker 1: used by Prince Wilhelm of Prussia in disguise, wishing to 309 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 1: keep a low profile during his travels. Of course, we 310 00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:24,360 Speaker 1: know Bhon Korff was actually a penniless nobody named Harry Damila. 311 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:30,080 Speaker 1: But who was he to correct them? And so Damala 312 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:36,000 Speaker 1: chose to embrace his newly bestowed identity writing quote. Odd 313 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:40,480 Speaker 1: glances were directed toward me. It gave me quite a turn. 314 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:45,480 Speaker 1: Everything that I had of the simple Harry Damila dropped 315 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:50,119 Speaker 1: away from me. I felt so isolated, so grand, and 316 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:55,880 Speaker 1: seemed to be raised above all ordinary creeping mortals. As 317 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:59,680 Speaker 1: I'm sure you can tell, the abundance of attention wasn't 318 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:08,879 Speaker 1: at a going to his head. And it's here that 319 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:13,120 Speaker 1: I'd love to make just a small personal interlude. When 320 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:16,639 Speaker 1: I was still in college, I spent a summer interning 321 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:22,000 Speaker 1: at the television show on TBS Conan Conan O'Brien's talk show. 322 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:25,280 Speaker 1: It was filmed at the Warner Brothers lot, and at 323 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:29,120 Speaker 1: the same time Warner Brothers lot also had the show 324 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:34,080 Speaker 1: Pretty Little Liars filming. The lot also had tourists come 325 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:39,679 Speaker 1: on sort of extended golf carts weaving away around the 326 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:44,320 Speaker 1: lot with tour guides pointing out various things that were 327 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:49,600 Speaker 1: filming in stages. My fellow interns and I, young women 328 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:54,679 Speaker 1: in our late teens early twenties, loved the feeling of 329 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:57,639 Speaker 1: putting on baseball caps while we were walking to the 330 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:01,679 Speaker 1: commissary for lunch and shield holding our faces as the 331 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:05,840 Speaker 1: tour groups went by, hoping desperately that they would think 332 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:10,080 Speaker 1: that we, any random trio of young women in athe 333 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:14,360 Speaker 1: leisure with our faces hidden, were actually the Pretty Little Liars. 334 00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:20,000 Speaker 1: And people did snap pictures, and yes it was intoxicating. 335 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:24,760 Speaker 1: So this is just to say I understand, but for 336 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:28,720 Speaker 1: better or for worse. With Harry Damola, he was an 337 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:32,320 Speaker 1: Icarus and he decided that he wanted to continue to 338 00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:36,600 Speaker 1: fly in style. Wanting to get a wardrobe that fit 339 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:40,760 Speaker 1: his new princely persona, Damla left for a day trip 340 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:44,960 Speaker 1: to Berlin, only to lose his bag with money on 341 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:49,439 Speaker 1: the train ride there. Upon going to the station master 342 00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:53,040 Speaker 1: for help. He was almost immediately cast off with little 343 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:56,440 Speaker 1: patience from the man behind the counter and given a 344 00:26:56,520 --> 00:27:01,679 Speaker 1: form to fill out. Damala smugly wrote Prince Wilhelm of 345 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:05,560 Speaker 1: Prussia when asked for his name, and he watched the 346 00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:09,840 Speaker 1: station master's eyes nearly bulge out of his head when 347 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:15,119 Speaker 1: he realized his mistake. After leaving the train station with 348 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:19,960 Speaker 1: the station master's personal wallet gifted to him and what 349 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:23,399 Speaker 1: I imagined to be a jaunty skip in his step, not 350 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:28,520 Speaker 1: unlike Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, Damila later found his 351 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:33,880 Speaker 1: own purse in his pants pocket. How very convenient. When 352 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:36,920 Speaker 1: he was set to return to Rfort, the station master 353 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:40,840 Speaker 1: had organized a personal escort for him, and I feel 354 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:43,760 Speaker 1: like I should note this is just the beginning of 355 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:48,040 Speaker 1: the ridiculous hijinks Domla would revel in in his all 356 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:58,879 Speaker 1: too brief tenure as Prince Wilhelm. From that trip on, 357 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:03,840 Speaker 1: Damila would be treated to luxury suites, box seats at 358 00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:07,920 Speaker 1: the opera, which he would critique as being overacted by 359 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:12,280 Speaker 1: performers too awestruck at his presence to do their job well, 360 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:16,879 Speaker 1: and taken out to such lavish dinners and parties he 361 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:21,560 Speaker 1: could barely go a step without unwonted attention. There's not 362 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:24,720 Speaker 1: nearly enough time for me to go into even half 363 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:28,880 Speaker 1: of the stories Domala felt necessary to put in his memoir, 364 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:31,960 Speaker 1: And if I'm being honest, only a quarter of them 365 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:36,000 Speaker 1: are really worth mentioning anyway. But there is one story 366 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:40,600 Speaker 1: I feel best encapsulates how exactly Domila was able to 367 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:43,960 Speaker 1: carry on his charade for as long as he did. 368 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:48,160 Speaker 1: One night, Doamala went out to dinner with the proprietor 369 00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:51,160 Speaker 1: of the hotel he was staying at. The man whom 370 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:55,760 Speaker 1: Domla calls the counselor, mentioned that he saw something weighing 371 00:28:55,920 --> 00:29:00,200 Speaker 1: on the young man's mind. Obviously, Domila couldn't answer with 372 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:03,040 Speaker 1: the truth that what was weighing on his mind was 373 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:05,960 Speaker 1: that he was a nobody parading as a prince and 374 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:10,400 Speaker 1: abusing everyone's good will for his own selfish gain. So 375 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:15,080 Speaker 1: when he didn't respond, the man continued, quote, the world 376 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:18,480 Speaker 1: lies open before you. Who knows how the future of 377 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:22,480 Speaker 1: our people will shape itself? Who knows what you may 378 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:26,280 Speaker 1: some day be called on to do. Many people see 379 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:30,560 Speaker 1: in you the future emperor and king. So you must 380 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:34,080 Speaker 1: learn to realize during the years of hoping and waiting 381 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:39,160 Speaker 1: what mistakes the old regime made. Remember the old national hymn, 382 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:43,960 Speaker 1: Neither horses nor men can keep secure the steep heights 383 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:49,680 Speaker 1: where princes stand end quote. The emotion with which Damila 384 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:53,760 Speaker 1: writes the old man speaking is likely the true reason 385 00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:57,240 Speaker 1: he was able to carry on his farce for as 386 00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:02,560 Speaker 1: long as he did. People want to believe it. Despite 387 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:06,920 Speaker 1: the high esteem Domla no doubt held himself in. I 388 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:10,120 Speaker 1: don't think his skill as an actor is what sold 389 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:15,280 Speaker 1: his persona as the deposed German prince. Really, I think 390 00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:19,400 Speaker 1: it had little to do with Domola at all. Inside 391 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:23,440 Speaker 1: by side comparisons between the two men. Other than being 392 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:28,520 Speaker 1: white and young and having generally slender builds, they're not 393 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:33,640 Speaker 1: really twins. But what Damila and Prince Wilhelm did have 394 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:37,440 Speaker 1: in common was what their presence meant to the people 395 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:41,880 Speaker 1: who met them. After the devastating losses of World War One, 396 00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:46,480 Speaker 1: the German Republic not only lost an entire generation of 397 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:51,200 Speaker 1: young men, but their sense of nationalism. They were eager 398 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:55,840 Speaker 1: for civil national pride wherever they could find it. The 399 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,920 Speaker 1: monarchy may have no longer served a purpose in the 400 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:03,880 Speaker 1: German government, but its presence remained a symbol of hope 401 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:10,840 Speaker 1: and pride, especially for upper class German citizens. While men 402 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:16,080 Speaker 1: like these self proclaimed baron ludates used noble titles as 403 00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:19,800 Speaker 1: a way to patchwork together respect in a time when 404 00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:24,520 Speaker 1: Germany's social hierarchy was in tatters, men like the Counselor 405 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:29,320 Speaker 1: saw the deposed monarchs as vestiges of a time when 406 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:33,400 Speaker 1: all of their lives had significance before the war and 407 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:38,160 Speaker 1: ultimate financial crisis all but stripped them of their finances 408 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:43,560 Speaker 1: and yes, social status. The truth was, Harry Damla likely 409 00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:48,000 Speaker 1: wasn't the best actor, nor did he look particularly close 410 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:51,760 Speaker 1: in relation to the Prince of Prussia. He did, however, 411 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:55,680 Speaker 1: give the people of the upper class a reason to 412 00:31:55,960 --> 00:32:00,440 Speaker 1: flaunt their wealth and status. Again. He reminded them of 413 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:06,520 Speaker 1: life before the war, before Germany had lost everything, and 414 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:10,600 Speaker 1: after losing his home, fighting in a war and ending 415 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:14,560 Speaker 1: up on the streets all before turning seventeen, who was 416 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:18,920 Speaker 1: Harry Damila to turn away the affections of those who 417 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:30,520 Speaker 1: were gullible enough to believe him. In the end, Damila's 418 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:35,480 Speaker 1: run as Prince Wilhelm of Prussia couldn't last forever. Eventually, 419 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:39,200 Speaker 1: the imposta prince got tired of the attention given to 420 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:42,520 Speaker 1: him in airport, and decided to leave for France to 421 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:47,080 Speaker 1: join the Foreign Legion in early nineteen twenty seven. Though 422 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:51,440 Speaker 1: the timing of his newfound apathy happened to coincide with 423 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:56,160 Speaker 1: reports being made about the quote unquote Prince's adventures in 424 00:32:56,240 --> 00:33:00,960 Speaker 1: Heidelberg some weeks before, likely caused Damila to begin to 425 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:04,960 Speaker 1: feel the fragile walls he had constructed begin to close 426 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:08,320 Speaker 1: in on him. Before he even made it out of 427 00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:11,840 Speaker 1: the country, he was intercepted on the train to France 428 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:16,120 Speaker 1: and was apprehended by police for his crimes. From there, 429 00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:19,200 Speaker 1: he was transferred to the prison in Cologne, where he 430 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:22,560 Speaker 1: would spend seven months in a sell a waiting trial 431 00:33:23,040 --> 00:33:25,880 Speaker 1: and writing what would go on to become a best 432 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:31,120 Speaker 1: selling memoir. When his case finally made it before a judge, 433 00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:36,960 Speaker 1: the jury surprisingly acquitted Damola of all charges, with one 434 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:41,280 Speaker 1: source writing of their decision quote, While he had taken 435 00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:45,840 Speaker 1: advantage of prominent members of society, his scheme had been 436 00:33:45,960 --> 00:33:52,280 Speaker 1: mostly harmless end quote. Upon his release, Damila received his 437 00:33:52,480 --> 00:33:55,880 Speaker 1: first advance for his memoir, which would go on to 438 00:33:55,920 --> 00:34:00,840 Speaker 1: sell over two hundred thousand copies worldwide and be adapted 439 00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:04,880 Speaker 1: for both stage and screen. With that money, he would 440 00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:09,880 Speaker 1: send Crown Princess Cecil, Prince Wilhelm's mother a bouquet of 441 00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:14,000 Speaker 1: flowers with a note that read to her Imperial Highness, 442 00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:17,560 Speaker 1: the Crown Princess Cecil, I was honored to be taken 443 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:22,480 Speaker 1: for your son. Ultimately, Damala wouldn't stay in Germany for long, 444 00:34:23,239 --> 00:34:27,080 Speaker 1: with fascism on the rise in Berlin. Some sources claim 445 00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:31,760 Speaker 1: that Damala's homosexuality was the reason for his departure, though 446 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:35,560 Speaker 1: as I mentioned before, there are no real accurate sources. 447 00:34:35,640 --> 00:34:38,799 Speaker 1: When it comes to Harry Damila, I will say that 448 00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:42,799 Speaker 1: his memoir does go into detail about many of his 449 00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:47,040 Speaker 1: relationships with men, and while on the page they were platonic, 450 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:53,240 Speaker 1: there were significantly fewer, if any, anecdotes about any relationships 451 00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:58,120 Speaker 1: or friendships at all with women. Regardless, by nineteen thirty three, 452 00:34:58,520 --> 00:35:03,279 Speaker 1: Damila fled for the Erlands and eventually South America, where 453 00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:05,680 Speaker 1: he would live the rest of his life in relative 454 00:35:05,719 --> 00:35:11,880 Speaker 1: obscurity until his death in nineteen seventy nine. On paper, 455 00:35:12,360 --> 00:35:17,759 Speaker 1: Damila's life seems almost unbelievable. To have paraded around as 456 00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:22,359 Speaker 1: a deposed German prince for months and gotten away with 457 00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:26,200 Speaker 1: it it seems too good to be true. But in 458 00:35:26,239 --> 00:35:30,960 Speaker 1: the months the young Quote Prince spent pretending to be 459 00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:35,480 Speaker 1: something he wasn't, people who believed him were, to an extent, 460 00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:40,880 Speaker 1: participating in their own folly, falling over themselves to serve 461 00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:46,200 Speaker 1: a royal whose throne technically no longer existed. They were 462 00:35:46,280 --> 00:35:48,719 Speaker 1: just trying to have a taste of the life that 463 00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:53,000 Speaker 1: they had before their country had lost everything, to still 464 00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:59,040 Speaker 1: pretend that these structures of monarchy and privilege still mattered. Or, 465 00:35:59,239 --> 00:36:02,840 Speaker 1: in the words of Harry Damala, quote the sort of 466 00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:07,280 Speaker 1: lying and bragging that hurts nobody and which would only 467 00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:17,799 Speaker 1: take in someone even more stupid than oneself. That was 468 00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:22,240 Speaker 1: the unbelievable life of Harry Damala, the Fake Prince of Prussia. 469 00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:26,160 Speaker 1: But stick around after the sponsor break to hear a 470 00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:30,319 Speaker 1: little bit more about the stage and screen adaptations of 471 00:36:30,680 --> 00:36:42,719 Speaker 1: The Sham Prince. After his release from prison, Harry Damila's 472 00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:48,120 Speaker 1: memoir The Sham Prince became more than just an international bestseller. 473 00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:52,759 Speaker 1: Before long, playwright and filmmakers were eager to get their 474 00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:57,000 Speaker 1: hands on the story, and you better believe Damila wasn't 475 00:36:57,040 --> 00:36:59,840 Speaker 1: going to miss his chance to get into the spotlight 476 00:37:00,719 --> 00:37:04,279 Speaker 1: In December of nineteen twenty seven, just months after being 477 00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:08,640 Speaker 1: released from prison, Damla would star in the silent film 478 00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:13,800 Speaker 1: adaptation of his life's story titled The False Prince. A 479 00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:17,160 Speaker 1: quick note here, we have scoured the internet and haven't 480 00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:19,440 Speaker 1: been able to find it. So if you were listening 481 00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:23,400 Speaker 1: to this podcast and have ever come across that Silent film, 482 00:37:23,920 --> 00:37:26,240 Speaker 1: or if you ever do come across it in the future, 483 00:37:26,719 --> 00:37:30,839 Speaker 1: please let me know. If you take nothing else from 484 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:34,839 Speaker 1: this episode, let it be remembered that no one has 485 00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:39,839 Speaker 1: ever manifested their main character energy harder than Harry Damola. 486 00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:44,480 Speaker 1: He literally became the main character of the movie made 487 00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:47,680 Speaker 1: about his life, and if that wasn't enough in the 488 00:37:47,719 --> 00:37:52,600 Speaker 1: case of stage adaptations, some sources say that Damala sued 489 00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:56,160 Speaker 1: one of the productions that refused to cast him in 490 00:37:56,239 --> 00:37:59,880 Speaker 1: the title role. Of course, this is not confirmed, but 491 00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:03,879 Speaker 1: considering his track record, I really don't think it's completely 492 00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:07,400 Speaker 1: out of the realm of possibility, because if there was 493 00:38:07,480 --> 00:38:10,759 Speaker 1: ever one person who would take someone to court over 494 00:38:10,840 --> 00:38:14,600 Speaker 1: the right to impersonate his own likeness, it would be 495 00:38:14,719 --> 00:38:35,160 Speaker 1: Harry Domela. Noble Blood is a production of iHeartRadio and 496 00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:39,360 Speaker 1: Grimm and Mild from Aaron Manky Noble Blood is created 497 00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:43,640 Speaker 1: and hosted by me Dana Schwort, with additional writing and 498 00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:49,240 Speaker 1: researching by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zwick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, 499 00:38:49,360 --> 00:38:53,440 Speaker 1: and Lori Goodman. The show is edited and produced by 500 00:38:53,560 --> 00:38:58,880 Speaker 1: Noemi Griffin and rema Il Kahali, with supervising producer Josh 501 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:04,440 Speaker 1: Thain and executive producers Aaron Manke, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. 502 00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:10,840 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 503 00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:13,440 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.