Biography

1914 - 1919

1. February 1915

King Ludwig III. of Bavaria

Gerlich is made a civil servant by King Ludwig III, he becomes „district archive assessor with an annual salary of three thousand Marks“.

1915 - 1919

Gerlich contributes Articles to the “Süddeutsche Monatshefte“ (Southern German monthly papers) published by Paul Nikolaus Cossmann.

1916

Gerlich becomes a member of the “Volksausschuss für rasche Niederkämpfung Englands“ (people’s committee for the swift victory over England), a high-level circle linked to the pan-German movement in Munich. The committee advocates extensive war aims and the unrestricted submarine war against England.

20. February 1917

Kaiser Wilhelm II calls to arms: “An das deutsche Volk“ (to the German People), poster 6. August 1914.

Establishment of the periodical „Die Wirklichkeit“ (The Reality), “German newspaper for law and order“. The founding members are Fritz Gerlich, Emil Lieke, Kurt Freksa und Karl Ludwig Graf von Bothmer. Gerlich publishes numerous articles in the “Wirklichkeit”.

19. July 1917

Gerlich appears as public speaker in Bavaria on behalf of the newly established “Deutsche Vaterlandspartei” (German Fatherlands Party).

29. September 1917

The „Wirklichkeit“ newspaper is abolished by the Bavarian War Ministry.

November 1918

As the revolution begins in Bavaria, Gerlich becomes involved in the committee of the “ Landesverband der Beamten bayerischer Anstalten für Wissenschaft und Kunst“ (Association of civil servants of Bavarian scientific and cultural institutions).
In parallel he works in the „Antibolschewistische Liga“ (Anti-Bolshevist League) and in the “Vereinigung zur Bekämpfung des Bolschewismus“ (Association for the Fight against Bolshevism).

7. April 1919

The government of the first Soviet Republic

His exposed position in the confrontation with Bolshevism forced Gerlich to flee upon the establishment of the South-Bavarian Soviet Republic.
After the defeat of the Soviet Republic Gerlich gets involved with the “Heimatdienst Bayern für Wiederaufbau“ (Home service Bavaria for reconstruction). In this context he also edits the publication ”Feurio. Heimatdienst Bayern für Ordnung, Recht und Aufbau“ (Feurio, Home service Bavaria for law and order).
He publishes the book „Der Kommunismus als Lehre vom Tausendjährigen Reich“(Communism as the Theory of the Thousand Year Reich), where Gerlich categorises communism as a type of redemption religion. A whole chapter is dedicated to denouncing anti-Semitism, which had gained ground because of the leading positions of many Jews in the Revolution and Soviet Republic.
Gerlich enters the committee of the Reichsbürgerrat (Reich Citizen Council), a liberal, anti-communist civil movement, and writes its manifest.