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