University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives Department.

A campaign flyer for Hauser (34131 bytes)

Hauser, Otto R., 1886-1972.

Papers, 1860-1972.

Milwaukee Manuscript Collection CF

.8 cubic ft. (2 archives boxes)

ABSTRACT: Papers of a former Baptist minister and Milwaukee Socialist leader, primarily including minutes, reports, organizational materials, speeches, photographs, a film, and other papers of American Relief for Germany, an organization which raised money for German relief after World War II; school notebooks, two 1907 diaries, a lengthy recorded autobiography, and other biographical materials; and fragmentary items concerning Socialists, Milwaukee Blacks, Immanuel Baptist Church, and Roger Williams Hospital.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law. However, the researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

SCOPE AND CONTENT: The Hauser Papers are divided into three sections: Family Papers, Personal Papers, and Subject Files, the most extensive of which concerns his leadership of which concerns his leadership in American Relief for Germany, Inc.

The Family Papers consist of Christian Jakob Hauser's Franco-Prussian war diary and military service book and a genealogical chart covering four generations.

Personal Papers, the majority of which are in German, include documents from the Universitat Tubingen, notebooks from his courses in law and philosophy at the University, two 1907 diaries (the first of which contains a lengthy handwritten autobiography), biographical clippings, some miscellaneous correspondence, and a lengthy recorded autobiographical reminiscence. This oral history, which provides the most comprehensive coverage of Hauser's life and varied activities, includes many details concerning his early education, his life in Chicago, his ministry, and his political philosophy.

With the exception of the files on American Relief for Germany, the Subject Files are quite fragmentary. Concerning this organization there are incorporation and legal materials, minutes, correspondence with government and relief officials in both the United States and Germany, and Hauser's prepared speeches, reports, and notes of ARG activities and achievements. Also included here is a film, Airlift to Berlin (1949), used for fund-raising purposes; a commemorative album concerning the Universitat Tubingen; and photographs depicting living conditions in Germany during the late 1940s-1950s.

Also in the Subject Files are miscellaneous items relating to Immanuel Baptist Church and the Roger Williams Hospital, a few speeches and pamphlets dating from Hauser's two political campaigns, his secretaryship to Mayor Hoan, and his opposition to war and fascism, and his support of Milwaukee Blacks.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Otto Robert Hauser was born in Tubingen, Germany on May 11, 1886. His father, Christian Jakob Hauser, was a teacher, and young Hauser grew up in a comfortable, middle class environment. He attended the Tubingen Gymnasium and in 1904 entered the university at Tubingen, where he studied philosophy and law. In 1906 Hauser ended his studies and immigrated to the United States. In Chicago, Hauser found employment with Marshall Field & Co. and later in a succession of manual labor positions. At the same time Hauser experienced a spiritual crisis that eventually led him to the Rochester Theological Seminary and the University of Chicago Theological Seminary. In 1912 Hauser became minister of a church in Englewood, a poor area of Chicago, where he helped to establish a food cooperative. In 1915 he accepted a call to Immanuel Baptist Church (later the First German Baptist Church) in Milwaukee where he remained until late 1927 when he resigned to enter politics. During those years, he presided over the construction of a new church and of the Baptists' Roger Williams Hospital and Home for the Aged.

In 1916 Hauser joined the Socialist Party, in whose activities he had become increasingly involved. He held a variety of posts in the party including serving as director of the Milwaukee Leader. In 1928 he ran for governor on the Socialist ticket against Walter Kohler, Sr. He tried again in 1934, this time running for Congress, and although he lost, he finished a respectable second. Between 1932 and 1940, Hauser was secretary to Milwaukee's Socialist mayor, Daniel W. Hoan. After Hoan's defeat in 1940, Hauser turned to real estate, joining his brother in forming Hauser Housing Service.

In 1945 Hauser helped to organize American Relief for Germany, and he served as its president throughout its existence from 1945 to 1951. In 1947 he traveled through Germany and his report of living conditions helped to arouse popular concern for the necessity of rehabilitating Germany. Hauser's efforts enabled American Relief for Germany to send almost $3.5 million in aid. In appreciation in 1956 the German Federal Republic awarded him the Cross of Merit, First Class.

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

COLLECTION CITATION: This collection should be cited as:

Hauser, Otto R., 1886-1972. Papers, 1860-1972. Milwaukee Manuscript Collection CF. Wisconsin Historical Society. Milwaukee Area Research Center. UWM Libraries. University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.

ACQUISITION: Presented by Otto R. Hauser of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin in 1966, and O. Robert Hauser of Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1968 to 1976 (accession numbers M66-1, M66-7-1, M75-38, and M76-85).

PROCESSING: Processed by RP-MH in 1968 and Paul Rood (JH-CJM) in 1977 and 1989.

Both the film and the photographs are housed in the Wisconsin Historical Society's Visual and Sound Archives.

MARC RECORD SEARCH TERMS: The following terms were used in the online bibliographic MARC record to this collection:

African Americans--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
American Relief for Germany, Inc.
Germany--Economic conditions--1945- .
Hauser family.
Hoan, Daniel W. (Daniel Webster), 1881-1961.
Immanuel Baptist Church (Milwaukee, Wis.).
Roger Williams Hospital (Milwaukee, Wis.).
Socialists--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
World War, 1939-1945--Civilian relief--Germany.

MILWAUKEE MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION CF	BOX	FOLDER
Family Papers, Biographical Clippings, 1915-1969	1	2
Family Papers, Hauser Family, 1870-1871	1	1
Family Papers, Poetry and Diaries, ca. 1907	1	9
Personal Papers, Course Notebooks, 1905	1	5-8
Personal Papers, General Correspondence, 1909-1970	1	3
Personal Papers, Universitat Tubingen, undated	1	4
Subject Files, American Nazi Party, 1936-1943	2	1
Subject Files, American Relief for Germany, Inc., Incorporation Papers and Organizational Material, 1946-1951	2	2
Subject Files, American Relief for Germany, Inc., Minutes, 1945-1951	2	3
Subject Files, American Relief for Germany, Inc., Reports and Notes, 1950-1951	2	4
Subject Files, American Relief for Germany, Inc., Correspondence, 1946-1959	2	5
Subject Files, American Relief for Germany, Inc., Financial Records, 1946-1951	2	6
Subject Files, American Relief for Germany, Inc., Miscellaneous, 1949-1950	2	7
Subject Files, American Relief for Germany, Inc., Universitat Tubingen Photo Album, 1947	2	8
Subject Files, Anti-War Materials, 1920, 1932-1935	2	9
Subject Files, Emancipation of Black People, 1936-1963	2	10
Subject Files, Immanuel Baptist Church, 1925-1927	2	11
Subject Files, Roger Williams Hospital, Printed Materials, 1926-1929, undated	2	12
Subject Files, Socialist Party, 1919-1936	2	13