Born in Ottrau, until 1896 Schäfer was a school teacher. He gained a scholarship to study in Switzerland and France through the Cotta-Verlag publishing house, and in 1898 became a freelance writer in
Wilhelm Schäfer, by Heinrich Altherr (c.1930)
The Gottbegnadeten-Liste was a 36-page list of artists considered crucial to National Socialist culture. The list was assembled in September 1944 by Joseph Goebbels, the head of the Ministry of Public
Friedrich Kayßler, one of the "irreplaceable actors" on the list