Karl Haushofer

Haushofer is scholarly, authoritative and fascinated by subjects extending beyond conventional academic study. His interest in alchemy and esoteric ideas makes Hohenheim's claims about another world unusually compelling to him.

He also moves comfortably among the nationalist and occult circles represented by the Thule Society. The character is presented less as a battlefield opponent than as an intellectual and institutional link between Hohenheim's research and the society seeking access to Amestris.

Haushofer possesses no Amestrian alchemical abilities. He exists on Earth, where alchemy does not function in the manner familiar to Edward and the other Amestrian alchemists.

His influence instead comes from knowledge, academic standing and his connections to the Thule Society. He is depicted as a former general and a professor at the University of Munich, giving him access to both political and scholarly circles.

His interest in alchemy allows him to recognize the potential significance of Hohenheim's claims even though he cannot personally perform Amestrian transmutations.

Haushofer appears in the alternate-Earth storyline that concludes the 2003 anime. After retiring from the German military, he becomes a professor at the University of Munich and meets Hohenheim, who possesses knowledge that seems to validate the occult ideas pursued by the Thule Society.

Haushofer helps connect Hohenheim with the Thule Society. Hohenheim hopes its research can help him reach Amestris again, while the organization views that world as the legendary Shamballa and seeks access for its own purposes.

In Conqueror of Shamballa, Haushofer belongs to the historical figures incorporated into the alternate-Earth setting alongside Rudolf Hess and others. The film uses a fictionalized version of the real geopolitician rather than attempting a strictly historical portrayal.

Van Hohenheim earns Haushofer's attention through his unusual knowledge of alchemy and another world. Haushofer's connection to the Thule Society gives Hohenheim access to the organization whose experiments eventually become central to opening the Gate.

Dietlinde Eckhart is associated with the same Thule Society and takes a more direct role in its attempt to reach Shamballa.

Rudolf Hess is another historical figure represented within the film's Thule Society and political milieu.