Hans Zehrer

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Hans Zehrer (pseud. Hans Thomas, June 22, 1899, Berlin - August 23, 1966, Berlin) was a German journalist.

In 1917 Zehrer enlisted as a soldier and remained so after the War. He took part in the Kapp Putsch of 1920. From 1923 till 1929 he was editor of the paper the Vossische Zeitung. He then became an editor of Die Tat, which under his direction saw its circulation grow dramatically. To prevent becoming under control of the NSDAP, Zehrer introduced a varied group of writers to the magazine, like Gregor Strasser and Kurt von Schleicher. When Hitler took power in 1934 however (and Schleischer being murdered in the Night of the Long Knives) Zehrer relinquished himself from the editorial duties (Zehrer was married to a Jewish woman until 1938). Zehrer became engaged with the Oldenburger Stalling publishing house in 1938. From 1943 till 1945 Zehrer was a soldier with the Luftwaffe. In 1946 he briefly worked for the then British controlled Welt. He was chief editor of the Sonntagsblatts until 1953, after which he became chief editor at Die Welt (taken over by Axel Springer in that year). He also was a columnist for the Bild-Zeitung.