Wehrmacht Corporal Drayss- Valor Thief

Eiserne Kreuz

rgr1480 took the time from his day to send us the tale of one Adam
Drayss, a Corporal in Hitler’s Wehrmacht. He was apparently dissatisfied with his place in the food chain, and sought to improve his lot by falsifying some very prestigious awards.

The following is part of a thesis sent to him by a San Jose State University professor, titled Heldenpolitik: Ritterkreuz, Ideology and the Complexities of Hero Culture under National Socialism by one Colin Gilmour. Mercifully, rgr1480 just sent us the intro.

In January 1941, a German military court heard the case of a young corporal named Adam Drayss, who had recently committed one of the more remarkable crimes of the Second World War.

Over the course of several months, he had forged a series of awards to commit a spree of fraud across several cities, ending in his hometown of Frankenthal in the Rhineland-Palatinate. It all started in the early summer of 1940, when Drayss had attempted to improve his level of care and comfort in a military hospital following a motorcycle crash. To that end, he had forged evidence of several promotions and an escalating variety of medals, ultimately graduating to the falsification of the rare and prestigious Knight’s Cross, a decoration that marked him as a superior soldier within the Wehrmacht (Armed Forces). Wearing this medal at his throat, over the following months Drayss thus enjoyed the acclaim and “red-carpet treatment” of a local hero: men bought him coffee and beer, cafés asked him to sign their guestbooks and dignitaries bestowed gifts, money and public honours on him as a hero of the Fatherland. As with most fraudsters, however, the would-be hero was not satisfied and soon strove for even greater gain.

In September 1940, he proceeded to his hometown of Frankenthal to ply his fraud there on the pretense of a well-deserved leave to visit his father. Upon arrival, the local Bürgermeister greeted him as a returning hero and ushered him to the town hall, where he subsequently named Drayss an Ehrenbürger (Honourary Citizen) of the city and announced that a square would be renamed in his honour. The beaming mayor then organized a grand reception at a local hotel where Drayss signed autographs, gave a speech to assembled dignitaries and had his photograph taken with the regional Nazi governor (Gauleiter), Joseph Bürkel.1 The following day, though, the fraud came tumbling down after several local Army officers made inquiries about the curiously sudden appearance of such a hero in their midst. Surely news of such a man would have preceded him in the press, newsreels or the Wehrmacht’s daily bulletin (Wehrmachtbericht). Arrested soon after, Drayss was court-martialed for his crimes. In his wake, though, he had also left the reputation of the local authorities in shambles. As the military court noted in its judgement, the ease with which he had manipulated them through the symbolic value of the country’s medals and respect for war heroes spoke to wider political issues being at stake, issues that demanded his crimes receive an even harsher punishment.

After receiving a substantial prison term, however, Adam Drayss vanished into obscurity.

But wait, there’s more to former Corporal Drayss’ story. Rgr1480 was able to close the circle.

The German IMM magazine (issue 125, December 2006/January 2007) had a detailed article on the case of Adam Drayß, which also includes photographs and reprints of period newspaper articles.

Drayß was arrested on 17 September 1940. On 5 February 1941, a military court sentenced him to 10 years of severe prison [Zuchthaus] and kicked him out of the army with permanent unworthiness to serve [Wehrunwürdigkeit]. He did his time at the Festung Germersheim prison. However, during the late stages of the war, this no longer saved one from having to fight for the dying Reich and so, in January 1945, he was sent to a probationary unit. His exact fate during this final stage of the war is unknown, but apparently, he survived, as there are believable accounts of witnesses who encountered him in the post-war years.

This classic case of stolen valor is actually quite amusing in a way: Drayß’ account on how he allegedly earned the Knight’s Cross was a ridiculous story about him and 22 men capturing more than 1,200 French soldiers, including a general and his entire staff. Still, all the dignitaries in his hometown apparently found it perfectly believable and fell over themselves to celebrate their local hero: He instantly became Frankenthal’s favorite son, was wined and speeched and honored, given his own gala evening, made an honorary citizen and had a square named after him. (He probably didn’t expect that, though. At the end of the day, he was just a fraud who wanted to gain some material benefits like an expensive dental treatment, money and extra leave and surely didn’t intend to draw that much attention to him.)

Sure enough, a Feldwebel named Mittelhäusel, who was billeted in the Frankenthal area at the time (and possibly others) got very suspicious reading the newspaper article on Drayß’ account of his alleged feat, did some research, notified the military authorities and the whole scam came tumbling down on Drayß’ head.

Incidentally, Drayß – who had bought his Knight’s Cross from an authorized retailer without presenting an award certificate, just a letter that mentioned him being an RKT – was probably the reason why the commercial sale of Knight’s Crosses to individuals was prohibited on 28 October 1940. After that, even lawfuly recipients could only obtain additional/replacement KCs through official authorities.

Actual Awards: SA-Sportabzeichen

Alleged additional awards made up and unlawfully worn by Drayß: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse, Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse, Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen, Allgemeines Sturmabzeichen, Verwundetenabzeichen in Silber.

We all despise Valor Thieves, yet somehow I’m glad Drayss managed to survive the war, and am a bit in awe of the stones he had to make such claims in WWII Germany. Thanks, rgr1480 and Mr. Gilmour.

Category: Guest Post, Historical, Valor Vultures