Emil Staubmeyer, who falsely claims to be a professor, is the superintendent of schools in Fort Beulah (at the beginning of the novel) and Shad Ledue’s assistant (during the Windrip administration). Later, Judge Swan assigns him to take control of the Daily Informer from Doremus Jessup. Despite his powerful government jobs, Staubmeyer is really just an ignorant conformist, willing to flatter anyone who offers him power and recognition. At the Informer, he praises everything that Jessup does, fails to even notice Jessup’s anti-government editorials, and eventually passes control of the paper to Doc Itchitt rather than actually running it himself, like Swan wanted. Emil Staubmeyer’s career, like Shad Ledue’s, shows how fascist governments reward the most corrupt and incapable men with power.
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“Professor” Emil Staubmeyer Character Timeline in It Can’t Happen Here
The timeline below shows where the character “Professor” Emil Staubmeyer appears in It Can’t Happen Here. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...Tasbrough’s guests assemble in his barroom: Doremus Jessup, Medary Cole, the local school superintendent Emil Staubmeyer, the banker Roscoe Conkling Crowley, and the elderly Rev. Mr. Falck, who grew up in...
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...while punishing “lazy bums” who live off government assistance and making the country more efficient. Staubmeyer even credits Hitler with saving Germany from Communism. Tasbrough admits that he’d love to have...
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Chapter 11
...Tizra, the unkempt dairy farmer Aras Dilley, Lorinda Pike’s business partner Mr. Nipper, and Emil Staubmeyer all giddily tell Doremus Jessup that Windrip will make them rich. Louis Rotenstern, Frank Tasbrough,...
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Chapter 17
...local government in Fort Beulah. He takes over the old county courthouse and hires Emil Staubmeyer as the Assistant County Commissioner for the Beulah region. Doremus Jessup realizes that he’ll get...
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Chapter 19
...Nipper total control over the Tavern. Then, Jessup enters the courtroom, where Shad Ledue, Emil Staubmeyer, and Military Judge Effingham Swan sit on the bench. Swan flamboyantly apologizes to Jessup for...
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...wants to. But instead, Jessup will be released on parole and tasked with teaching Emil Staubmeyer how to run the Informer. Jessup will continue writing editorials, under Staubmeyer’s command, starting with...
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Chapter 20
...The chapter begins by explaining that after having Dr. Fowler Greenhill shot, Shad Ledue, Emil Staubmeyer, and Effingham Swan justify their decision by testifying that Greenhill’s house was full of subversive...
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Surprisingly, work isn’t too awful for Jessup. Emil Staubmeyer reveres Jessup and stupidly praises everything he does. Thus, Jessup never has to really apologize...
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...under tyranny, Jessup continues weighing whether to stay or go. When he mentions quitting, Emil Staubmeyer and Shad Ledue remind him that his freedom is still conditional. He hates that Staubmeyer...
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Chapter 23
...through all of Doremus Jessup’s private letters in his study and the Informer office. Emil Staubmeyer starts ignoring him, and Shad Ledue starts questioning him about his connections to Walt Trowbridge....
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Chapter 24
Back in Fort Beulah, Jessup worries that Emil Staubmeyer and Shad Ledue will find out about his escape attempt. He finds it more and...
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Chapter 25
...reason he hasn’t sent Jessup to Trianon is that he loves seeing Jessup work as Staubmeyer’s lackey, especially since he was Jessup’s hired man for so many years. So, Jessup drives...
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Chapter 28
...tells Sissy that he wishes she would stop spending time with Shad Ledue and Emil Staubmeyer. Sissy reminds Falck that Ledue keeps giving her valuable information. Falck warns that Ledue could...
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At dinner that night, Shad Ledue dresses like a caricatured “City Villain,” and Emil Staubmeyer’s date is an aging widow who wears too much makeup. The couples drink cocktails and...
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Chapter 30
...Truman Webb’s house before dawn. The next day, Julian Falck invites Shad Ledue and Emil Staubmeyer over to play poker at Buck Titus’s house—they look all over for pamphlets but can’t...
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