Gregor+Strasser+1892-1934

 Gregor Strasser was born on May 31, 1892 in Geisenfeld. As a young adult he studied pharmacy at Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany. In the year 1914, Strasser enlisted to volunteer in the German Imperial Army. He served in World War I as First Lieutenant. He also received the Iron Cross for his bravery during the war. [1]

After the War he joined the Freikorps along with his brother Otto, and worked as a pharmacist in Landshut. Strasser and his brother, Otto, began establishing groups for the Freikorps to fight the right wingers. However in 1920, the Freikorps experienced failure in the Kapp Putsch (a coup attempt to overthrow the Weimar Republic) [2].

Strasser created a German nationalist paramilitary group which eventually combined with the NSDAP, or Nazi Party. They became known as the “Nationalist Socialist German Workers’ Party”. They were an Anti-Semitic group led by Adolf Hitler. Throughout his first few years, he participated in Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch. [3] However, Hitler was arrested for treason after the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich had failed and Strasser took Hitler’s place for the time being [4].

Gregor Strasser was a strong member of the Nazi Party, but criticized some of Hitler’s policies such as his Anti-Semitic beliefs. Despite these issues, he still did a lot for the party, like building up mass movements for the group and leading the NSDAP in northern Germany [5]. He was an inspirational speaker that gained a lot of support and was offered the position as vice chancellor by Schleicher [5].

Eventually Strasser resigned from the party due to disagreements with Hitler. This ultimately led to his death in June of 1934. He was murdered on the “Night of the Long Knives” which was Hitler’s purge in Nazi Germany in which many political murders took place. Eighty-five members of both the SA and paramilitary Brownshirts were killed. [6]

[1] “Gregor Strasser.” //Wikipedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. wiki/ ‌ Gregor_Strasser>. [2] “The Kapp Putsch.” //Schools History//. N.p., 4 June 2004. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. ASLevel_History/ ‌ kappputsch.htm>. [3] “The Beer Hall Putsch.” //The History Place//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. worldwar2/ ‌ timeline/ ‌ putsch2.htm>.

[4] “Gregor Strasser.” //Encyclopaedia Britannica Online//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. EBchecked/ ‌ topic/ ‌ 568154/ ‌ Gregor-Strasser>. [5] From Chapter 6 “The Early Years of the Nazis 1919-1929” pg. 114 [6] “Night of the Long Knives.” //The History Place//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. worldwar2/ ‌ <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">timeline/ ‌ <span style="font-family: 'Cambria','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">roehm.htm>.