72
Wilhelm and Crown Princess
Cecilie. He was invited to other
towns in the region, where the rich
and titled vied to host dinners and
hunting outings in his honour.
When he walked the streets, ladies
stopped to curtsy and gentlemen
bowed, while members of the
military saluted him in public.
Although he accepted many gifts
during his “tours”, among them
tickets to the opera in the royal box,
Domela never asked for money. He
relished the benefits of his grand
deception, especially the full board
and lodging, but soon felt disgusted
by the fawning adulation that
greeted him, particularly because
the country was now a republic. He
was aware, too, that he could not
keep up the pretence indefinitely.Changing fortunes
Early in 1927, the local press caught
on to the story of the prince’s visit
to Heidelberg. Some commentators
were critical of the attention being
lavished on a former royal. WorriedHARRY DOMELA
A crowd gathers around Harry
Domela at the Berlin cinema he opened
in 1929 to show the film version of his
memoirs. He later unsuccessfully sued
the filmmakers of a rival adaptation.that the reports would soon spread
and expose him, Domela decided
to travel to France and join the
Foreign Legion. As he boarded the
train, he was arrested by police.
For the next seven months,
Domela was held in a prison in
Cologne, Germany, awaiting trial
for fraud. During his incarceration
he wrote about his experiences in
a book he titled A Sham Prince:
The Life and Adventures of Harry
Domela as Written by Himself in
Prison at Cologne, January to June
1927. After he received his first
advance from his publisher, he sent
his “mother”, Crown Princess
Cecilie, a bouquet of flowers from
prison with a touching note.
At his trial, the court ruled that
while he had taken advantage of
prominent members of society, his
scheme had been mostly harmless
and he was acquitted. Shortly after
his release, he was even invited for
tea by Crown Princess Cecilie after
he appeared unannounced at her
royal palace.Domela found legitimate success
with his book: it sold about 120,000
copies. Two plays were made about
his life, and Domela even played
himself in one. He also sold the film
rights, and starred in the resulting
movie, The False Prince (1927).
In 1929, Domela set up a small
cinema in Berlin. It opened with
a showing of The False Prince.
Ultimately, the cinema was not
a success. As it lost Domela
increasing amounts of money, the
first act of his life came to an end.
His economic situation, as well as
the growing fascist mood in Berlin,
led Domela to look for new
opportunities. In 1933, he left
Germany for the Netherlands,
hiding behind a new identity:
Victor Szakja.New beginnings
In Amsterdam, Domela often
attended communist rallies in
support of the Soviet Union. At one
of these, he connected with Jef
Last, a left-wing Dutch writer. Last
introduced Domela to the FrenchTo Her Imperial Highness
the Crown Princess Cecilie. I
was honored to be taken for
your son.
Harry Domela070-073_Harry_Domela.indd 72 02/12/2016 14:41
73
author André Gide. The pair
became close, staying up late to
discuss Nietzsche and Hölderlin.
By 1936, the Nazi regime was
taking control of Germany and,
as a homosexual, returning to his
adopted homeland was not an
option for Domela. Instead, at the
onset of the Spanish Civil War, he
and Last, both committed anti-
fascists, were accepted into a
Spanish Republican regiment.
In 1939, the Civil War ended, and
Domela travelled to France. His lifeCON ARTISTS
followed a rootless cycle of left-
wing agitation and imprisonment
common to thousands of
dispossessed antifascists across
Europe at that time.
He was briefly detained in a
prison camp by the Vichy France
regime, until his friend André Gide
used his influence to get him
released. Domela then made his
way to Belgium where, as an illegal
alien, he depended on material
support from friends, including Last
and Gide. He returned to the south
of France, where he was once again
interned, and spent 18 months in
prison. In 1942, he obtained a
Mexican visa and left Europe.Into obscurity
En route to South America, Domela
was detained by the British in
Jamaica as an illegal alien. He was
imprisoned for a further two and a
half years. On his release he made
his way to Cuba, where he was
involved in a car accident that lefthim with severe injuries. Soon
afterwards, beaten down by his
run of bad luck, he attempted,
unsuccessfully, to take his own life.
By the end of World War II,
Domela had relocated to Venezuela,
where he found work at a Coca-Cola
factory. He disappeared into
anonymity and resumed his solitary
existence. In the 1960s, he finally
found his calling as a teacher of art
history in Maracaibo, while living
under an assumed identity.
In 1966, after decades criss-
crossing the globe under a series of
aliases to avoid awkward questions
about his status, Domela’s identity
was once again called into
question. A Spanish colleague
suspected Domela was one of the
thousands of former Nazi party
members who had escaped from
Germany at the end of World War II
and sought refuge in South
America. Domela’s old friend Jef
Last was able to provide Domela’s
accuser with an affidavit about his
true identity. This restored
Domela’s good name, but he still
lost his position at the school.
It is believed Domela spent the
rest of his days in hiding. He died,
penniless, on 4 October 1979. ■Always fearful of being discovered
and arrested – he had no passport or
papers and was therefore considered
stateless – Domela was an outsider
who was constantly on the move.When the Crown Prince and I
heard about his exploits, we
were convulsed with laughter.
So I invited him to tea. A
charming young man with
excellent manners.
Crown Princess CecilieImpersonating royalty
Throughout history, ambitious
fraudsters have assumed the
identities of kings, queens,
princes, princesses, and other
royals. Some of these charlatans
impersonated real monarchs,
living or dead, while others
invented fraudulent titles and
even fake countries. Their
motivations vary from case to
case. For some, the charade
offered a chance to gain political
power, make money, or simply
realize a fantasy of living as a
member of royalty.One royal who has been
impersonated numerous times is
Russian princess Anastasia
Romanov. In 1918, she and her
family were killed by Bolshevik
revolutionaries. As her body was
buried in an unknown location,
rumours persisted that she was
still alive. Dozens of women
have claimed to be Anastasia,
while others have claimed to be
her elder sisters Maria, Tatiana,
and Olga. However, in 1991,
DNA tests on bones found in
woods near Yekaterinburg
proved that the entire Romanov
family was killed together.070-073_Harry_Domela.indd 73 02/12/2016 14:41