Friday, April 22, 2011

Carlos Dunkl

Recently I received a very nice email from Albrecht in Germany, wondering if he could send me a postcard to add to my collection. It's a postcard of the Viennese Parliament sent to Santiago, Spain in 1939, at the end of the Spanish Civil War, with a military censorship stamp. But what really struck me was the name of the card's recipient, Carlos Dunkl, aka Karl Dunkl...or was it supposed to be Dunkel?
 


Rudolf's message  in German wishes Carlos/Karl a right happy Easter, and discusses a package of books that was sent to him earlier, asking whether or not he had to pay duty on them.
The name of the recipient struck me because my great grandfather's name was Carl Dunkel. It took me by surprise, but as far as I know my great grandfather didn't spend any time in Spain. Here he is in Würzburg, Germany in the early 1940s. He was retired at this point, but had previously been Kriminal Kommissar (detective) in Berlin.  He does look a little bit like the German counterpart of Hercule Poirot, doesn't he?


This is not the first time Carl Dunkel has had a doppelgänger.  At one point, people he didn't know were greeting him on the street, but greeting him as someone else by a different name. Finally, he stopped one of these people and asked who they thought he was. I guess it must have been his natural instinct as a detective to track the other man down.  He knocked on the man's door and when the door was opened, both men were purportedly astonished at how much they resembled one another. Carl Dunkel was born in 1871 and died in Würzburg in 1953.

There are no doppelgängers over at Sepia Saturday, but you might find some rabbits.
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19 comments:

  1. Lisa BApril 22, 2011 at 6:23 AM

    Gosh that would send a shiver down your spine, it did me and I'm only reading about it! What a coincidence! The photo of your great grandfather is wonderful! He looks a very elegant detective.

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  2. Tattered and LostApril 22, 2011 at 9:33 AM

    Ahhhhh, sleuthing is in your blood!

    He does look quite wonderful, his eyes on the subject of his sleuthing instead of the photographer. And with a charming smile too.

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  3. Aimee DarsApril 22, 2011 at 11:29 AM

    Great card and picture! How fascinating!

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  4. PostcardyApril 22, 2011 at 2:32 PM

    That's a good card for Easter weekend. I wonder whether your great grandfather's picture is an example of a "walking picture."

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  5. Brett PayneApril 22, 2011 at 2:57 PM

    Quite a coincidence with the names. I find it interesting that there was some sort of censorship, I presume in Spain, three years prior to the start of the Civil War. Given Germany's involvement on the side of the generals, it almost seems possible that this might be a coded message. What "package of books"? Pay duty? Perhaps I've read too many spy novels in my distant youth.

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  6. TrishiaApril 22, 2011 at 5:13 PM

    Luv that pic of your grandfather! How handsome he is! And great 'co-winkie-dink' story with the name!!

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  7. Postcard RoundupApril 22, 2011 at 5:51 PM

    Very interesting....awareness of ones family history is a good thing!

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  8. 21 WitsApril 22, 2011 at 9:45 PM

    What a handsome detective .....and his very happy expression on his face....he's a man of town and glad to meet you! ...Happy Easter!

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  9. Oregon Gifts of Comfort and JoyApril 23, 2011 at 7:48 AM

    Thank you for the wonderful story! I just got to thinking about him finding his "twin". Who knows, maybe it really was!

    Have a wonderful Easter Weekend, and keep up your excellent work on here!

    Kathy M.

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  10. KristinApril 23, 2011 at 8:57 AM

    Now that would be something - to have the door open and it be myself. wonder if they had more in common then looks, if they stayed in touch.

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  11. North County Film ClubApril 23, 2011 at 10:46 AM

    What a story!...both of them- the name on the post card and the twin.
    Nothing much scares me but on an old "Twilight Zone" T.V. show a man drove by in another car and saw himself driving it. For some reason this has always stuck in my mind and I find myself sometimes peering into the car next to me hoping I don't see myself. Don't tell anyone about this. They'll think I'm nuts!!!! I admire your great grandfather for pushing through this fear. He looks like someone who wasn't afraid of anything, though.
    Barbara

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  12. MeriApril 23, 2011 at 2:05 PM

    Very handsome man (both of them, apparently). I find it interesting that when they met, they both could see the resemblance. So many times, others see a likeness that the people themselves fail to see.

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  13. MuseSwingsApril 23, 2011 at 4:26 PM

    Very handsome grandfather! Such an interesting story too!

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  14. UnknownApril 23, 2011 at 7:13 PM

    Oh he looks like he is having a much better time than Hecul Pierrot What an amazing story. They say we all have a twin somewhere and it sounds like he found his. Astounding/

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  15. UnknownApril 23, 2011 at 10:53 PM

    Great story and photo Christine. I was thinking the same thing as Brett, could the message have been a code of some sort? hmmmmm :)

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  16. Little NellApril 24, 2011 at 3:25 AM

    For one moment there I thought you were going to say his doppelganger was Sigmund Freud! However, your grandfather looks a far more smiley individual - must be the perkier moustache. A very enjoyable post.

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  17. Bruno LalibertéApril 24, 2011 at 6:18 PM

    what a sharp dresser!!
    i would have like to see his face when the door opened!!
    :D~
    HUGZ

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  18. DorincardApril 25, 2011 at 9:15 AM

    When he banged on the door of the doppelgänger, did that make him a doppelgäng-bang-er?

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  19. Christine H.April 25, 2011 at 3:44 PM

    Dorin, it's too bad there aren't jobs available specifically for punsters (or are there?) You would have top qualifications.

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