Artist. He was a 20th century German graphic artist and cartoonist, who was a colleague and collaborator of author Erich Kastner and editor Erich Knauf. For some time, they were known as the three Erichs. The three men moved to Berlin together and had the same political beliefs. He published his best-known and still very popular cartoon series "Vater und Sohn" under the pseudonym E.O. Plauen, which was taken from the name of the city of his hometown of Plauen. Born Kurt Erich Ohser in a village near what is in the 21st century the German-Czech Republic border, his family's surname was "Ochse" originally. He was a locksmith apprentice before receiving a certificate in 1926 in the master class at the Art Academy in Leipzig. After his first exhibit in 1922, his talent was soon recognized by the public. Kästner gave him commissions for satirical cartoons for his newspaper, which led to illustrating children's books. In 1930 he married Marigard Bantzer, an art academy classmate. Learning about Communism, he and Kästner made a trip to Russia in 1930. During World War II, he published satirical representation of Nazi leaders, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels, which were not well-received by authorities. To continue working for newspapers, Ohser needed membership in the Reich Press Chamber, which was refused in 1934. A neighbor overheard jokes being made at a party about the Nazi regime by him and Knauf and reported this to authorities. For this, he was arrested, along with his colleague Knauf, on charges of expressing anti-Nazi opinions by the Nazi Gestapo. While waiting trial, he committed suicide in his cell. In his last letter he tried to exonerate his friend, but to no avail. After the trial, Erich Knauf was executed within weeks by being beheaded. Ohser's remains were cremated and his ashes were brought to Plauen by his widow. He had a son, Christian, born in 1931. In 1968 his ashes were interred in a grave of honor in the cemetery of his hometown. His "Vater und Sohn" characters have been erected in a statue in Plauen. In 1999, a commemorative plaque was erected in Berlin for him and his colleague Knauf.