Maria Einsmann dating history

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Maria Einsmann (née Mayer, 4 January 1885 – 4 March 1959) was a German factory worker who lived using the name of her husband Joseph Einsmann (nicknamed "Seppel", also spelled Josef) from 1919 until her identity was discovered in 1931. She and her friend Helene Müller lived together from 1919 until Einsmann died in 1959. As Joseph, Einsmann found it easier to find work and had several jobs, including as a watchman and in a shoe polish factory. The deception was discovered when Einsmann had a work accident and the social security office investigated why there were two identical Joseph Einsmanns. At the subsequent trial, Einsmann and Müller were accused of fraud and falsification as Einsmann had declared to be the father of Müller's children and given a suspended sentence. The case was widely reported on in the press, with many articles expressing understanding and sympathy for the women. It was also adapted in literature by Anna Seghers and by Bertolt Brecht.