Richard Drauz was born the son of ordinary people in Heilbronn. In 1914, he came forward as a war volunteer. After World War I, he worked as an engineer in Esslingen and actively joined Hitler’s movement as early as 1923.
With the support of the regional Nazi Leader (Gauleiter) Wilhelm Murr, Richard Drauz returned in 1932 as district leader and head of the national socialist “Heilbronner Tagblatt” newspaper. Drauz helped organise the seizure of power with all his energy and soon became infamous for his violent behaviour - even within the National Socialist Party.
Drauz remained the most powerful man in Heilbronn and its surrounding areas. In 1943 he was promoted to a higher position of the Nazi Party.
He was arrested in 1945 and sentenced to death by an American military court. The death sentence was carried out exactly two years after the destruction of Heilbronn on 4 December 1944.