Gregor Strasser

Gregor Strasser (also , see ß; 31 May 1892 – 30 June 1934) 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. In response, Hitler isolated Strasser in the party and forced him to resign from all party offices. Strasser then renounced his ''Reichstag'' seat and retired from active politics, returning to his old profession as a pharmacist. On 30 June 1934, in a purge that became known as the Night of the Long Knives, Strasser was arrested by the Gestapo and subsequently executed. Provided by Wikipedia