Gregor Strasser

Gregor Strasser
Gregor Strasser, c. 1928
Organisationsabteilung Leiter, later Reichsorganisationsleiter NSDAP
In office 2 January 1928 – 8 December 1932
Preceded by	General Bruno Heinemann
Succeeded by	Adolf Hitler Robert Ley
Reichspropagandaleiter NSDAP
In office 16 September 1926 – 2 January 1928
Preceded by	Otto May
Succeeded by	Adolf Hitler
Gauleiter of Lower Bavaria; Lower Bavaria-Upper Palatinate; Lower Bavaria
In office 26 February 1925 – 1 November 1929
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Otto Erbersdobler (Lower Bavaria) Adolf Wagner (Upper Palatinate)
Member of the Reichstag
In office 7 December 1924 – March 1933
Constituency	Upper Bavaria
Member of the Landtag of Bavaria
In office 4 May 1924 – 7 December 1924
Constituency	Pfaffenhofen
Personal details
Born	(1892-05-31)31 May 1892 Geisenfeld, Bavaria, German Empire
Died	30 June 1934(1934-06-30) (aged 42) Berlin, Nazi Germany
Cause of death	Execution by shooting
Political party	Völkischer Block (1922–1925) Nazi Party (1925–1932)
Profession	Pharmacist
Military service
Allegiance	German Empire  Weimar Republic
Branch/service	Bavarian Army
Years of service	1914–1919
Rank	Oberleutnant
Unit	Freikorps
Battles/wars	World War I German Revolution
Awards	Iron Cross

Gregor Strasser (also German: Straßer, 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.