Wilhelm Voigt

Born: 13 February 1849
Died: 3 January 1922, aged about 73
Record: Wikidata Q62071 · Wikipedia

Perpetrator in The Captain of Köpenick

Shoemaker and repeat offender from Tilsit who impersonated a Guards captain; sentenced to four years and pardoned after about twenty months.

1906–1908 · Köpenick town hall, near Berlin · Convicted

In 1906 an unemployed shoemaker in a second-hand captain's uniform commandeered a squad of soldiers, arrested a mayor and walked off with the town's cash. Read the case.

Dated events

13 February 1849
Wilhelm Voigt is born in Tilsit, East Prussia.
12 February 1906
Voigt is released after serving a fifteen-year sentence for attempted burglary.
24 August 1906
Police ban Voigt from living in the Berlin area as an ex-convict; he stays on unregistered.
16 October 1906
In a captain's uniform, Voigt commandeers a squad of guardsmen, occupies Köpenick town hall, arrests the mayor and takes the town's cash.
26 October 1906
Voigt is arrested in Berlin after a former cellmate tips off the police.
16 August 1908
Pardoned by Kaiser Wilhelm II, Voigt is released early from Tegel prison.
1909
Voigt publishes an account of his exploit, How I Became the Captain of Köpenick.
1 May 1910
After touring with his act, Voigt receives Luxembourg papers and settles in Luxembourg.
3 January 1922
Voigt dies in Luxembourg City.