Kärm was educated as an engineer in soil science. From 1936, he worked for AS "Eesti Turbatööstused", a state-owned company operating in the peat industry.[2]
After Nazi Germany's occupation of Estonia in July 1941, Kärm was arrested by the Germans as a member of the previous Soviet government. He was subsequently executed by the German occupiers, either in 1942 or August 1944.[1][3]