John Friedrich has vanished. As police launch one of the largest manhunts in Australian history, investigators uncover an astonishing truth: the celebrated rescue chief is not who he claims to be. In the final episode of National Hero and Conman: The Case of John Friedrich, we follow the trail from Australia to Germany to uncover Friedrich’s hidden past, examine the myths and rumours that surrounded him, and ask how one man was able to build a multi-million-dollar empire of debt, deception and goodwill. Was Friedrich a master fraudster, a visionary who lost control, or something more complicated? And why did so many people choose not to look too closely?
Also watch the SBS documentary Australia's Greatest Conman? on SBS on Demand.
When the National Safety Council suddenly collapses in 1989, hundreds of employees lose their jobs and Australia’s most celebrated rescue organisation is exposed as a financial illusion. At the centre of it all is John Friedrich, who disappears just as auditors, police and directors close in.
As the search intensifies, investigators uncover a remarkable secret: John Friedrich was actually Johann Friedrich Hohenberger, a German fugitive who had been living under a false identity for years. From Bavaria to Melbourne, from rumours of intelligence connections to questions about political support and failed oversight, Episode 3 traces the final chapter of an extraordinary story.
More than three decades later, many questions remain unanswered. But one mystery continues to fascinate: how did a man with no legitimate identity convince banks, politicians, businesses and an entire nation to believe in him?
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