Ernst Kaltenbrunner
From 1934 until the incorporation of Austria into Germany ("Anschluss") in 1938, Lerch was employed in his father's Café Lerch. The café, located in Klagenfurt, became a meeting place for Nazis such as Odilo Globočnik and Ernst Kaltenbrunner, who frequented the café. While still in Austria, Lerch was promoted to an SS-Second Lieutenant ("Untersturmführer") on 9 September 1936. By 1937, he was promoted to an SS-First Lieutenant ("Obersturmführer"). In 1938, Lerch moved to Berlin.