Biography

1920 - 1922

1920

Dietrich Eckart (ca. 1900)

Dietrich Eckart, later Hitler’s mentor, calls Gerlich („Gerson Ehrlich“) in his publication “Auf gut deutsch“ (In plain German) a „Judentzer“ (Judaiser) and is fined upon Gerlich’s appeal.

7. May 1920

Gerlich is nominated as candidate to the Bavarian (Landtag) and German parliament (Reichstag) for the left-liberal Deutsche Demokratische Partei (German Democratic Party).

6. October 1920

Gerlich becomes editor in chief of the „Münchner Neueste Nachrichten“ (Munich’s Newest News). The largest daily in Southern Germany had just recently been bought by a group of Rhenish-Westfalian industrialists. Paul Nikolaus Cossmann was the shareholders’ representative, he was also the publisher of the “Süddeutsche Monatshefte“ (Southern German Monthly Paper), to which Gerlich regularly had contributed articles. Gerlich ensures his editorial independence in his employment contract. Despite that over the years there were attempts at having greater editorial influence.

1922

Cossmann starts the “Kriegsschuldprozess“ (war responsibility case), a legal dispute about who was responsible for WW1, with editorial support from the newspaper.