Gregor Strasser

Gregor Strasser was a German politician and early leader of the Nazi Party. Along with his younger brother Otto, he was a leading member of the party's left-wing faction, which brought them into conflict with the dominant faction led by Adolf Hitler, resulting in his murder in 1934. The brothers' strand of the Nazi ideology is known as Strasserism. Born in Bavaria, Strasser served in an Imperial German Army artillery regiment during World War I, rising to the rank of first lieutenant and winning the Iron Cross of both classes for bravery. After the war, he and his brother became members of Franz Ritter von Epp's Freikorps. He joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in 1920 and quickly became an influential and important figure in the fledgling party. In 1923, Strasser took part in the abortive Beer Hall Putsch in Munich and was imprisoned. After securing an early release following his election to the Reichstag, he joined a revived NSDAP in 1925 and once again established himself as a powerful and dominant member. A highly skilled organiser and effective public speaker, Strasser oversaw a major increase in the party's membership and reputation in northern Germany, transforming the NSDAP from a marginal southern party to a nationwide political force. By mid-1932, Strasser was in charge of the party's national organizational work. A strong advocate of the Nazi Party's radical wing, Strasser's anti-capitalist, revolutionary nationalist programme had led Hitler to repudiate him at the 1926 Bamberg Conference. The two later reconciled but their peace was increasingly untenable from 1930 on. In December 1932, Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher offered Strasser the post of Vice-Chancellor, creating a potential split within the Nazi Party. However, Hitler refused to share power with anyone and denounced Strasser as a traitor. Strasser resigned from all his party offices and retired from politics. He hoped to avoid further conflict with Hitler but his prominence made him a target for the purge of 1934 known as the Night of the Long Knives. He was arrested on 30 June 1934 and shot by members of the SS on Hitler's orders.