After Realschule, Karl was accepted to the Linz Universitt where he enrolled in Pedagogical Studies and Russian Languages. His time in Austria served to fuel his growing sentiment for Germany and his anger at the way Versailles and the Allies had humiliated her.  A chance meeting with some Professors, led to discussions of the fledgling National Socialist movement and Karl realized he wanted to be at the front of the movement which would change Germany, if not the world. In 1934, Karl returned to Germany and joined the NSDAP.
 
From 1934 to 1938, Karl revelled at being part of the forces of Germany that were sweeping the country, became a proficient horseman and used his skills as a teacher to help educate people about the grand designs and plans of the National Socialist movement. In 1938, Karl applied to join the Leibstandarte, in time to march into Austria during the Anschluß and came full circle in marching with a risen Germany into the country of his Father's birth.
 
Brief duty during Fall Weiß, Langer was wounded during a Polish cavalry charge.  Karl returned to duty in late summer 1940, missing the early stages of Fall Gelb. As plans for Barbarossa continued in earnest, the LAH and Karl moved to Bulgaria to form part of Army Group South and was awarded the Ostmedaille. Notable actions included Kharkov and Kursk, with Karl capturing two Russian colonels- his glory short lived as one of the colonels stepped on a landmine, killing both and damaging the hearing in Karl's right ear.

As the 1.SS moved to France for rest and refit and to counter any breakout of the Allies, Karl's harrowing combat experiences in the East would serve him well.  Like many of the veterans of the East, life..and battle...in the West were almost like a vacation. Although Allied Jabos dominated the sky, Allied troops did not inspire the same fear as did the Russian troops.  Karl did respect the Canadians and remembered his uncle Kurt telling stories about them from the First World War,
 
As LAH re-deployed to the East once again, so to would Karl, in an attempt to stem the flood of red descending upon the Reich and her innocent civilians.  If the war could not be won, then one at least had to stop the Bolshevik hordes from ransacking the Fatherland. By now a member of 8.Kompanie/Regiment 2, Karl fought in Hungary and then Austria until his surrender in the town of Söß to the Soviets. Karl's command of the Russian language served him well in captivity, until his release in 1953.  He currently lives with his wife Genevieve in Paderborn.