Otto Robert Hauser

The contents of a care package in West Germany in 1948

Otto Robert Hauser (born May 11, 1886 in Kilchberg near Tübingen (now a district), † February 24, 1972 in Madison , Wisconsin ) was a German-American politician and philanthropist .

Live and act

Otto Robert Hauser was the son of a teacher, Christian Jakob Hauser, and grew up in a comfortable, middle-class environment. He attended the Uhland grammar school in Tübingen and from 1904 studied philosophy and law at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen . In 1906 Hauser finished his studies and emigrated to the United States . In Chicago , Hauser found employment with Marshall Field & Co. and later in a variety of craft activities. At the same time, Hauser went through a spiritual crisis that eventually led him to Rochester Theological Seminary and the University of Chicago Theological Seminaryled. In 1912, Hauser became minister of a church in Englewood , a poor district of Chicago, where he helped set up a food cooperative. In 1915 he accepted a call to the Immanuel Baptist Church (later the First German Baptist Congregation) in Milwaukee , where he remained until the end of 1927 to devote himself to politics. During these years he led the construction of a new church and the Roger Williams Baptist Hospital and Retirement Home.

In 1916, Hauser joined the Socialist Party , in whose activity he had previously participated. He held a number of posts in the party, including director of management in Milwaukee. In 1928 he ran for the Socialist Party as governor of Wisconsin against the Republican Walter Kohler and took third place with 3.7 percent of the vote. He tried again in 1934, this time in the Congress election , and although he lost, he took a respectable runner-up. Between 1932 and 1940, Hauser was secretary to Milwaukee's Socialist Mayor Daniel Hoan . After Hoan's defeat in 1940, Hauser turned to the real estate business and helped his brother build the Hauser Housing Service .

In 1945, Hauser helped found the American Relief for Germany charity , one of 22 organizations that sent CARE packages . He served as its president from 1945 to 1951 during its existence. In 1947 he traveled all over Germany and his report on the living conditions there helped to support the necessary rehabilitation of Germany. He made a film called "Give them hope" about the situation in Germany after the war, with which he campaigned for donations and gifts in the USA.

Hauser's efforts enabled American Relief for Germany to raise nearly $ 3.5 million in aid. In recognition of his service to him in 1956 gave the Federal Republic of Germany, the Federal Cross of Merit , First Class.

Hauser worked in the real estate business until his retirement in 1963. He died in Madison on February 24, 1972.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.
2. ^ Robert Otto Hauser on TÜpedia.
3. ↑ www.ourcampaigns.com
4. ↑ Hope out of the box - memories of the care packages.