Karl Wahl
| Karl Wahl | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Gauleiter of Swabia | |
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In office 1928–1945 |
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| Member of the German Reichstag | |
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In office 1933–1945 |
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| Head of government of Swabia | |
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In office 1934–1945 |
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| Member of the Bavarian Landtag | |
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In office 1928–1933 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
24 September 1892 Aalen, German Empire |
| Died | 18 February 1981 (aged 88) Augsburg, West Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Political party | Nazi Party |
| Residence | Augsburg, Bavaria |
| Religion | Protestant |
Karl Wahl (24 September 1892 – 18 February 1981) was the Nazi Gauleiter of Swabia from the Gau inception in 1928 until the collapse of Nazi Germany in 1945.
After the war Wahl spent 3½ years in jail before being released in late 1948. In 1954 he became the first former Gauleiter to publish his autobiography.
Karl Wahl was born as the thirteenth child of a boilerman in Aalen, then in the Kingdom of Württemberg, in 1892.
Upon finishing his schooling, he wished to join the Kaiserliche Marine but his father would not allow him to. Instead, he entered the Bavarian Army in Aschaffenburg in 1910, signing on as a volunteer for two years. He became a paramedic in the army and was promoted to sergeant.
He served in the First World War as a paramedic but was wounded in 1915. After the war, he became a civil servant at the Augsburg city council, where he remained until 1933. His first position was at the city slaughterhouse.
Wahl joined the SA (Storm troopers) and the NSDAP in 1922 and became the leader of the SA in Swabia in 1923. In 1928, he became a member of the Bavarian Landtag, the state parliament, a seat he held until 1933, when he was elected to the German Reichstag.
Wahl established the first Nazi-owned newspaper in Augsburg in 1931, the Neue National-Zeitung, which engaged in hate propaganda against Jews, the workers' movement and the political opposition. The newspaper, under his leadership, also called for a boycott of Jewish businesses already in 1931.
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