Jakob Hudson Nacken or Jacob Nacken was a German circus performer active in Europe and the United States. He began his career as an exceptionally tall person while a teenager, performing in a traveling circus, and appeared in the 1939 New York World's Fair. Nacken was the tallest soldier in the German Army during World War II at a height of. He was employed as a giant Santa Claus and appeared on American television as a figure of high stature and in freak shows as the World's Tallest Man.
Early life
Nacken was born in Düsseldorf, Germany, on February 15, 1906. Both his parents were. His sister Josephine was tall; his two-years-younger brother Wilhelm grew to be tall; his other brother, who was eight years older than Nacken, became.
Mid-life and career
Nacken began his career in show business performing as "Uranus" and the "giant from the Rhineland" in a German traveling circus. He was called Germany's tallest man and was credited as being the world's tallest man at the time. Nacken wore size 17 boots as an adult. He had bruises on his head from hitting the tops of doorways that were built to accommodate people of normal height. He appeared at Luna Park, an amusement park in Paris, in 1922. Nacken was internationally known for his height of and earned an engagement at the 1939 New York World's Fair. He returned to Germany at the beginning of World War II and was immediately drafted into the army, becoming their tallest soldier on record. Nacken was put into a gun crew with 250 soldiers who were captured at Calais, France, in August 1944. Canadian Corporal Eldon "Bob" Roberts, who commanded a troop of seven men, captured the gun crew. Nacken and his men were taken to England as prisoners of war and remained there until the end of the war. In August 1949, newspapers announced Nacken was to return to the United States because he wanted to leave post-war Germany. Nacken's sister, who already lived in the United States, prepared a place for him and his wife to live in Paterson, New Jersey. Nacken and his wife emigrated to the United States on SS Atlantic from Genoa, Italy, arriving in the port of New York City December 6, 1950. Nacken sought work that would suit his stature. Through newspaper pictures and Pathé newsreels, he was well-known. During December 1949, he worked as Santa Claus. Children were able to walk between his legs and he was dubbed the world's tallest Santa. Nacken worked in Ripley's Believe It or Not! shows as the "World's Tallest Man". He appeared on several television shows as a celebrity known as "Germany's Long Jake".
