Wilhelm Voigt: The Captain of Köpenick
How did a shoemaker take control of a German town?
4.4 (24)
42 mins
Explore how Wilhelm Voigt used a military uniform to impersonate a Prussian captain in 1906. Uncover how he commanded soldiers, arrested the mayor, and seized the town treasury without firing a shot.
Ep 1:
The Cobbler Who Fooled an Empire
Meet Wilhelm Voigt: a lifelong petty criminal whose astonishing 1906 heist began with a secondhand uniform—but first, discover the rigid Prussian culture of obedience and the hard prison years that shaped him.
Ep 2:
Nine Marks and an Idea
Locked out of legal existence by Germany's own bureaucracy, a desperate Voigt watches soldiers salute a stranger's coat on a park bench—and conceives a plan to turn Prussia's blind obedience against itself.
Ep 3:
An Empty Uniform Takes a Town
Dressed as a captain, Voigt commands real soldiers, seizes a town hall, arrests a mayor, and vanishes with the treasury—only for an old cellmate's betrayal and a courtroom's laughter to seal his astonishing fate.
Ep 4:
The Pardon, the Punchline, the Legacy
Freed by a laughing Kaiser, Voigt becomes an international celebrity—but the trial's biggest secret reveals his heist aimed at the one thing that building could never give him, exposing Prussia's deepest flaw.
Discussions (5)
Lance
Level 3 · 7 hours agowore the wrong coat once, got promoted
Leo
Level 9 · 7 hours agoVoigt absolutely wanted the cash
Neal
Level 3 · 7 hours agothe part where soldiers used each other as social proof is what got me. nobody questioned the mission because everyone else seemed to believe it was real. seen this play out in corporate settings more times than i can count.
