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German 1950s Alien Photos (Silver Man; Monkey Man; Hoaxes)

OK ... Let's update and untangle this mess. The basic points are as follows:

- There are 3 photos comprising a set of 1 original picture and 2 retouched / modified photos in the series.

- The 2 retouched photos appeared in German newspapers / tabloids as April Fools jokes.

- The original picture was the basis for the first retouched photo, which was published in 1950. These show a diminutive figure holding hands with two men in military uniforms (often described as RAF officers).

- The second retouched photo was published in 1952. It shows a different diminutive figure holding hands with two men in trench coats.

Here is what Jenny Randles wrote about the 2 retouched photos in a 2006 issue of Fortean Times:
Alien Photography
Jenny Randles looks back on the history of photographic evidence for alien visitations to the planet earth.
By Jenny Randles
May 2006

... WIESBADEN, GERMANY, MAY 1950

Discovered among FBI files when they were released to the UFO Information Network in 1977 was a fuzzy photocopy of a picture. This showed a child-sized alien wearing breathing equipment being led by the hand by two military personnel. The suggestion was that it had been captured alive following a crash. In 1981, German researcher Klaus Webner found that it was a spoof using the 5-year-old son of the photographer and retouched artwork – which might have been evident had the newspaper in the FBI archives noted that its original publication was in a local German paper on 1 April 1950. A better April Fool was played by another German paper in 1952. This time the alien was much smaller and naked, resembling a hairless monkey. Again, it contained clues pointing to a hoax – not least that the original authors of the accompanying piece translated roughly into English as ‘Mr Fraud’ and ‘Mr Make Believe’!
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SOURCE: https://web.archive.org/web/2007052...rangedays/ufofiles/348/alien_photography.html
 
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PUBLISHED PHOTO #1: "Alien" In Breathing Apparatus (1950)

Here's an excerpt from one of the original (unretouched) photos from which the modified picture was derived. It shows a 4- or 5-year-old boy (accounts vary) who's the son of the man who created the retouched photo.

alienonropechildpicture.jpg

SOURCE: https://web.archive.org/web/20071117022228/http://www.greetingsearthlings.net/mexico-city-mini-man/​
German researcher Klaus Webner did prove that this photograph has been presented as an April 1st joke in the German newspaper "Wiesbadener Tagesblatt" (Wiesbaden Daily Newspaper) in 1950, by editor William Sprunkel, using a painted photograph from Hans Scheffler. Scheffler's son posed as alien on a series of the picture such as the one on the right, and Scheffner used one of them as background, adding a painted alien.​
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SOURCE: https://web.archive.org/web/20071130035355/http://ufologie.net/indexe.htm

Here is the modified / retouched version of a photo from the same set, altered to illustrate a small humanoid wearing what appears to be breathing apparatus.

 
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PUBLISHED PHOTO #2: "Silver Man"; "Monkey Man" (1952)

Here is the clearest version of the second (1952) hoax photo I found (on Pinterest). This version shows a different scene and flanking men. There are variations on this photo. Earlier versions showed a naked little figure. Later (most common) versions show the same figure wearing a loincloth and some sort of footwear. The one posted here is one of the later (clothed) variants.

33528c5fd8a26daf0640c578d36ae378.jpg

​
This second photo's little figure is sometimes labeled as "silver man" or "monkey man." The crisp photo above shows a decidedly human-looking figure. Fuzzier versions (such as the ones published in newspapers) are understandably (mis-)interpreted as a monkey rather than a human.
 
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EnolaGaia said:
PUBLISHED PHOTO #2: "Silver Man"; "Monkey Man" (1952)

Here is the clearest version of the second (1952) hoax photo I found (on Pinterest). This version shows a different scene and flanking men. There are variations on this photo. Earlier versions showed a naked little figure. Later (most common) versions show the same figure wearing a loincloth and some sort of footwear. The one posted here is one of the later (clothed) variants.

This second photo's little figure is sometimes labeled as "silver man" or "monkey man." The crisp photo above shows a decidedly human-looking figure. Fuzzier versions (such as the ones published in newspapers) are understandably (mis-)interpreted as a monkey rather than a human.
Click to expand...

Wasn't this little chap originally in a photo of a trapeze artist or acrobat?
 
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