John Charles Schafer (May 7, 1893 – June 9, 1962) was an American railroad operator and Republican politician from Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.

Late in his career, he drifted into extreme anti-communism and was a defender of the Nazi German American Bund in the lead-up to World War II.

[4] He was also active in the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and served as vice commander of the Wisconsin department of the VFW in the early 1920s.

[5] In 1920, Schafer won his first public office, when he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly, running on the Republican Party ticket.

[6] Two years later, after being elected to Congress, Schafer was still adamant about this idea, describing it as a fair balance for the boys who were drafted and sent to war.

[7] Rather than running for re-election to the Assembly, in 1922 he entered the race for U.S. House of Representatives in Wisconsin's 4th congressional district following the retirement of incumbent John C. Kleczka.

The withdrawn candidates, George Czerwinski, Francis E. Davidson, and Frank Mackut Jr., indicated that their withdrawal was intended to block Schafer—who they described as a "radical"—from obtaining the nomination.

[9] In the general election, conservative Republicans still sought to block Schafer from the seat, providing support to the socialist candidate, Edmund T.

[14] Schafer won the general election by a similarly comfortable margin, defeating Socialist Leo Krzycki and Democrat Thomas H.

He was reluctant to support 30-year-old Robert M. La Follette Jr., but ultimately fell in line to avoid division within the progressive faction.

Schafer chose not to run for Senate, but blasted Blaine's candidacy and his ally, gubernatorial candidate Herman L. Ekern, referring to their Madison operation as a "self-perpetuating oligarchy."

Schafer's move against Blaine would also cost him many of his labor union endorsements, including the national organization of his own Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen.

[22] Schafer faced no opponent in his congressional primary, but the state progressive organization threw their support behind socialist candidate Edmund T. Melms in the general election.

[23] After the election, Schafer continued his crusade against Blaine, calling for investigations into his finances and those of Blaine-aligned anti-prohibition organizations which had advertised aggressively during the campaign.

[29] Blaine and La Follette determined to try to end Schafer's career in 1928, supporting a primary challenge by Cudahy city attorney Edward G.

[30][31] Despite losing most of his national and institutional allies, Schafer still won renomination and defeated Minor, taking 70% of the primary vote.

[37] In the 1932 primary, Schafer defeated Quirk again,[38] but in the general election the progressives threw their support behind Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Democratic ticket.

Cannon won re-election with just 38.5% of the vote; Schafer came in a distant second with progressive Laurence C. Gram and socialist Marvin V. Baxter each taking substantial percentages.

[50] He argued for the deportation of Walter Krivitsky and frequently targeted labor leader John L. Lewis for personal attacks and innuendo.

[53][54] He also ran to the defense of the Nazi-supporting German American Bund and their training camp near Grafton, Wisconsin, comparing it to the YMCA.

[55] During that Congress, he also voted in favor of creating American concentration camps, intended for the detention of aliens whose country of origin would not readmit them.

[57] Despite his earlier isolationist positions, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Schafer offered to again serve the United States in World War II.

[64] After the death of U.S. senator Joseph McCarthy in 1957, Schafer made one final bid for public office, running in the special election to succeed him.

For some years in his childhood, the family resided in the log cabin house built by Schafer's great-grandfather, who had emigrated to the United States from Alsace–Lorraine.

[67] Elsie Schafer was found liable in 1934 for a death and two injuries in a Washington, D.C., automobile accident in 1932; they were obliged to pay $9,700 in compensation (about $227,000 adjusted for inflation).