The true story of shoemaker Wilhelm Voigt, who is released from prison after many years of hard labor only to find himself in the midst of a Prussian catch-22: To get a residence permit (passport), he must have a job, but he can only get a job if he already has a residence permit. No one in the Prussian-German bureaucracy of 1906 feels compelled to help him: Everything must go by the book! Out of desperation, Voigt breaks into a police station to steal the permit but is caught and again goes to jail. The prison warden loves everything military and has the prisoners re-enact famous battles. Once Voigt is released he has a deep knowledge of military uniforms, military ranks and military speak that he can use to his advantage. In Berlin he buys a used captain's uniform, puts it on and marches towards a platoon of soldiers standing guard. He commands them to follow him to Koepenick, a suburb of Berlin. He is so convincing they follow his orders! Once they arrive he has the soldiers stage a coup to takeover the Town Hall so he can commandeer the much sought-after permit, but is told by the staff the permits now are only issued in Berlin. He pockets all the cash in the town hall safe, orders his soldiers to take the train back to Berlin and promptly disappears. When Voigt sees wanted posters offering a reward for the capture of the perpetrator of the Koepenick Caper, he goes to the Chief of Police, confesses his deed and returns all the money down to the last penny. All the police in the station erupt in laughter, slap him on the back, offer him drinks and congratulate him for the best practical joke they have ever heard of. Voigt is now famous and even the Kaiser wants to hear his story.