About “The Captain of Köpenick”
The Captain of Köpenick is a satirical play written by Carl Zuckmayer. First produced in 1931, it is based on a true event from 1906. The story follows a down-on-his-luck ex-convict shoemaker who impersonates a Prussian Guards officer. He holds the mayor of a small town to ransom and takes the town's treasury, claiming to act in the name of the Kaiser. The Prussian emphasis on uniforms leads the townspeople to obey him without question, unlike the treatment he received before wearing the uniform. Zuckmayer called the story a "German fairy tale." (Summary adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.)
Book details
- Published
- 1930