Karl Harrer

Who was Karl Harrer?

Karl Harrer was a German journalist and politician, one of the founding members of the "Deutsche Arbeiterpartei" in January 1919, the predecessor to the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei; more commonly known as the Nazi Party.

Harrer was "commissioned" by the Thule Society to try and politically influence German workers in Munich after the end of World War I. At the time, Harrer was a reporter with a "right-wing" newspaper. He and fellow Thule Society member Anton Drexler, and several others formed the Politischer Arbeiterzirkel in 1918. The members met periodically for discussions with themes of nationalism, and racism directed against the Jews. Although Harrer preferred that the small group remain a semi-secret nationalistic club, Drexler wanted to make it a political party. Thereafter, Drexler proposed the founding of the DAP in December, 1918. On January 5, 1919, the DAP was formed, in which not only Harrer and Drexler but also Gottfried Feder and Dietrich Eckart were involved. With the DAP founding, Drexler was elected chairman and Harrer was made "Reich Chairman", an honorary title.