The captain of Köpenick : a study in militarism

Abstract

Kopenick, a small suburb of Berlin, was the scene of a flagrant display of militarism in 1906. An elderly ex-convict, frustrated by the antiquated penal code of Germany and thwarted in his attempts to obtain a work-and-travel permit, costumed himself in a captain's uniform purchased from a second-hand store. He then proceeded to acquire as cohorts genuine grenadiers who apparently obeyed his uniform without considering the man wearing it. Unhampered and virtually un-noticed due to the frequency of soldiers on German by-ways, the troops marched down the streets of Kopentck and into the townhall. The imposter captain arrested the mayor, Dr. Langerhans, and two other city officials and sent them off, on their honor, to Berlin as prisoners of the state. The officials gave no resistance to the admirable captain, or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say, to the captain's admirable uniform. In the treasurer's office of the Kopenick town hall the captain was presented with the town's cash. With cash in hand and non-plussed by the ease of his onslaught, the Captain of Kopenick gave orders to his soldiers and disappeared, some 4,000 marks wealthier, into the evening shadows. Militarism was so much a part of German lives, from citizen to Kaiser, that the Kopenick charade was easily accomplished. An ex-convict changed his character by changing his clothes, and soldier and civilian alike prepared to follow him to the ends of the earth. The reaction to the news of the Kopenick capitulation, in German as well as European circles, was one of widespread glee. The laughter on behalf of the German populace connoted the recognition of the existence of militarism. Unfortunately, the laughter did not indicate a desire for change, or even a slight tendency to attempt to loosen the bonds by which militarism held them. The German people had lived under militarism in varying degrees of intensity for centuries and apparently, as demonstrated by Kopenick, were quite willing to continue.