Oscar Daubmann hoax, the last german prisoner of war

In the early 1930s the German Reich were informed by the French Government that it had discharged all the prisoners of war taken during World War I and it must be presumed that all soldiers still missing were dead. However, in May 1932 this statement appeared to be contradicted when a soldier, Oscar Daubmann, returned to Germany, claiming he had spent the last sixteen years in a French prisonerof- war camp.

What unfolded was a dramatic story of imprisonment and escape. Daubmann claimed that he had been captured by the French at the Battle of the Somme in October 1916 and was imprisoned in a camp. During an unsuccessful escape attempt, he killed a guard and he was sentenced to 20 years hard labour and transferred to Algeria. After years of torture, starvation, and solitary confinement, he was transferred to the prison tailor shop on account of good behaviour, and from there was able to escape. He walked 3000 miles along the coast and was picked up by an Italian steamer that took him to Naples. He then returned to Germany.

Upon his return the Germans treated Daubmann as a national hero and his story inspired new hope in many families that their missing relatives might still be alive in French foreign-legion camps. This inflamed tensions between Germany and France.

His aged mother, upon first seeing him, fainted to the ground. But both his parents claimed to recognize him and took him into their home.

He was praised by the newspapers for his courage, bravery and stamina. Thousands of people went to hear him speak about the horrors he had suffered at the hands of the French. He was greeted by brass bands every new town he visited. His autobiography was rushed into print and sold 180,000 copies and two film companies expressed interest in making a movie of his "dramatic and heroic career." He was made an honorary citizen of 18 towns and was elected honorary president of the Society of Ex-War-Prisoners.

He was adopted by the Nazi Party as one of their own and paraded him around as a poster-boy depicting German strength and virtue. He was a main attraction at many of their rallies, and his story helped them drum up anti-French sentiment.

People who were in favour of reconciliation with France had doubts about his story. When he failed to be recognised by former comrades the police became suspicious. Inquiries were made with the French through the German ambassador, and the French began a search of their records.

Finally, the French government officially notified Berlin that after a thorough search of the records of its prison systems, courts-martial and medical service, it could find "no trace" of Oscar Daubmann. The Nazis dismissed this news, denouncing the French claim as "a shameful evasion of responsibility" and "a new sample of French duplicity."

It is possible that the French investigation alone led to Daubmann's arrest by German authorities. However, a more dramatic version of his exposure circulated widely.

According to this tale, Daubmann was in Bavaria in a small town to give his now customary speech about his imprisonment and escape, but before he could start speaking an old man stood up in the crowd, pointed a finger at him, and said, "You are not Daubmann. You are my son, Alfred Hummel. Get down from that platform, you faker!" Daubmann fainted to the ground.

Whatever the circumstances of his exposure might have been, Daubmann confessed to the authorities in September 1932 that he was an imposter. His real name was Alfred Hummel. He was a tailor from the town of Offenbach and had never served in the army. Instead, he had been in jail for ten years on a burglary charge.

He explained that, following his release; he had bought a second-hand uniform in a shop. In one of the pockets he had found a soldier's passport in the name of Oscar Daubmann. This inspired him to invent the story about a heroic journey home from an African cell. The real Oscar Daubmann had been killed in the war.

image credit: William James [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons