The Captain of Köpenick

A German fairy tale in three acts | Play by Carl Zuckmayer

"You wouldn't believe how beautiful Germany is when you're far away and only ever think about it," says Wilhelm Voigt as he attempts to pick up his residency permit at a Prussian administrative office. Or rather, he first tries to inquire about it most politely. As the unemployed cobbler knows all too well, caution is required when dealing with authorities and government offices. Everywhere in the Empire. Yes, Voigt knows the power of the state only too well: he spent many years in a Prussian prison for fraud. And he just cannot shake that stigma, despite his time abroad. "What is written in your personnel file," the sergeant thunders at him, "is as attached to you as the nose on your face." So much for that dream! Once again, no papers. – Except: without them, the poor man cannot register himself. And without registration, he has no chance of a job. Without a job, in turn... well, you know... he cannot get an apartment. – How on earth does one ever get out of this vicious circle?

With his drama The Captain of Köpenick, which premiered in 1931, Carl Zuckmayer created a monument to the real cobbler Wilhelm Voigt, who seized the town treasury in Köpenick near Berlin on October 16, 1906, while wearing a captain's uniform.
Just as they had been amused by Voigt's brilliant stunt, the country was once again amused by the deference to authority and blind discipline in the Empire. Thomas Mann called Zuckmayer's work "the best comedy since Gogol's The Government Inspector." Joseph Goebbels railed against the play in Der Angriff. Two years later, he had it banned.