Hochstapler are persons, who want to seem more than them are, which a higher social rank, a better vocational position or a larger fortune to thus falsely add itself.

"Piles "comes of the Rotwelsch and means "beg ". The syllable "highly "again means that the person spends itself elegantly as "". Thus a Hochstapler is elegantly giving a beggar.

Almost classically in this regard the behavior of the later writer was Karl May in the years 1864-1870: It spent itself as an optician Dr. Heilig, as a seminar teacher, as a member of the secret police and as a nephew of an owner of planting from Martinique.

In medieval history there are different examples of wrong rulers. A well-known German example is Tile Kolup, which 1284 many believe made, it is long the deceased emperor Friedrich IITH king Rudolf of having castle let it on 7 July 1285 in Wetzlar burn.

Nowadays Hochstapler of itself again and again make talk, who are able to deceive their environment during a longer period, about if it, without being noticeable, when physicians or other experts are active or obtain by devious means themselves than Partyschnorrer the entrance to prominent parties. Mundus vult decipi (the world wants betrogen to become) - under this slogan cheats create it again and again to use the and the confidence of their fellow men. Nevertheless they enjoy certain sympathies, if they appear as modern Eulenspiegel, which uncover bad states, the money greed of their victims to expose or like Gert Postel, which as a learned postman could dress an upper physician post in the psychiatry and for itself takes up, the right politics with its case to have affected. Postel said in an interview: "I felt in the psychiatry as a Hochstapler among Hochstaplern ".

Criminally to be punished the Hochstapelei can as fraud, if a damage developed, in addition, as falsification of documents or as illegitimate

If one does not see Hochstapler as bare criminal ones, then their masquerade refers to the problem of the identity and social roles.

Hochstapelei as motive in literature and film

The motive of the Hochstapelei was already frequently taken up by writers and film directors. Examples:

Carl Zuckmayer published 1931 the comedy the captain of Model for the title figure was a material Hochstapler (William Voigt, see also: The piece was several times filmed later, among other things with Heinz in the main role.

A further famous Hochstapler in the literature is Felix Krull, the hero of the novel of confessions of the Hochstaplers Felix Krull von Thomas man from the year 1954.

Steven play mountain presents the history of the Hochstaplers franc William Abagnale in the film Catch ME If You CAN from the year 2002.

See also

• Usurpation, fraud, Pseudologie
• A good composition of Hochstaplern is in the English Wikipedia

Related links

• Karl May and the criminal law
• Article over a plant cheat as modern Eulenspiegel
• Listing of Hochstaplern
• Current BBC documentation to the topic - the feeler gauge, who destroyed my life

Articles in category "Hochstapler"

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