Strasser brothers
Encyclopedia
Strasserism refers to the strand of Nazism
that called for, and the neo-Nazism
that currently calls for, a more radical, mass-action and worker-based form of National Socialism, particularly hostile to finance capitalism
from an antisemitic basis, to be initiated alongside nationalism
. It derives its name from Gregor
and Otto Strasser
, the two Nazi brothers initially associated with this position. Opposed on strategic views to Adolf Hitler
, Otto Strasser was expelled from the NSDAP in 1930, while Gregor Strasser was killed during the 1934 Night of the Long Knives
.
after serving in World War I
. Involved in the Kapp Putsch
he formed his own völkischer
Wehrverband ("popular defense union") which he merged into the NSDAP in 1921. Initially a loyal supporter of Adolf Hitler
, he took part in the Beer Hall Putsch
and held a number of high positions in the Nazi Party. Soon however, Strasser became a strong advocate of the socialist wing of the party, arguing that the national revolution should also include strong action to tackle poverty and should seek to build working class
support. After Hitler's rise to power
, Ernst Röhm
, who headed the SA
, then the most important paramilitary wing of the Nazi party, called for a "second revolution," aimed at removing the elites from control. This was opposed by the conservative movement, as well as by some Nazis who preferred an ordered authoritarian regime to the radical and disruptive program proposed by the Party's left wing.
and fought against the Kapp putsch. However he joined the Nazi Party in 1925, but nonetheless retained his ideas about the importance of socialism. Considered more of a radical than his brother, Otto Strasser was expelled by the Nazi Party in 1930 and set up his own dissident group, the Black Front
, which called for a specifically German
nationalist form of socialist revolution
. He fled Germany in 1933 to live in Czechoslovakia
and Canada
before returning to West Germany
in later life, all the while writing prolifically about Hitler and what he saw as his betrayal of national socialist ideals.
of 1920, both called on the party to commit to 'breaking the shackles of finance capital'. This opposition to "Jewish finance capitalism
," which they contrasted to "productive capitalism
," was shared by Adolf Hitler himself, who borrowed it from Gottfried Feder
.
This populist
and antisemitic form of anti-Capitalism
was further developed in 1925 when Otto Strasser published the Nationalsozialistische Briefe, which discussed notions of class conflict
, wealth redistribution and a possible alliance with the Soviet Union
. His 1930 follow-up Ministersessel oder Revolution ('Cabinet Seat or Revolution') went further by attacking Hitler's betrayal of the socialist aspect of Nazism, as well as criticizing the notion of Führerprinzip
. Whilst Gregor Strasser echoed many of the calls of his brother, his influence on the ideology is less, due to his remaining in the Nazi Party longer and to his early death. Otto, meanwhile, continued to expand his argument, calling for the break-up of large estates and the development of something akin to a guild
system
and the related establishment of a Reich cooperative
chamber to take a leading role in economic planning.
Strasserism, therefore, became a distinct strand of Nazism that, whilst holding on to previous Nazi ideals such as ultranationalism and anti-Semitism
, added a strong critique of capitalism and framed this in the demand for a more "socialist
-based" approach to economics.
It is disputed, however, whether Strasserism effectively represented a distinct form of Nazism. According to historian Ian Kershaw
, "the leaders of the SA
[which included Gregor Strasser] did not have another vision of the future of Germany or another politic to propose." But they advocated the radicalization of the Nazi regime, and the toppling of the German elites, calling Hitler's rise to power
a "half-revolution," which needed to be completed.
an far-right groups as younger members with no concrete ties to Hitler and a stronger sense of anti-capitalism came to the fore.
during the late 1960s. These Strasserites played a leading role in securing the removal of Adolf von Thadden
from the leadership and following his departure the party became stronger in condemning Hitler for what it saw as his move away from socialism in order to court business and army leaders.
Although initially adopted by the NPD, Strasserism soon became associated with more peripheral extremist figures, notably Michael Kühnen
who produced a 1982 pamphlet Farewell to Hitler, which included a strong endorsement of the idea. The Volkssozialistische Bewegung Deutschlands/Partei der Arbeit
, a minor extremist movement that was outlawed in 1982 adopted the policy, while its successor movement, the Nationalist Front
, did likewise, with its ten point programme calling for an 'anti-materialist cultural revolution' and an 'anti-capitalist social revolution' to underline its support for the idea. The Freiheitliche Deutsche Arbeiterpartei also moved towards these ideas under the leadership of Friedhelm Busse
in the late 1980s.
in the early 1970s and centred around the National Front
publication Britain First, the main writers of which were David McCalden
, Richard Lawson
and Denis Pirie
. Opposing the leadership of John Tyndall
, they formed an alliance with John Kingsley Read
and ultimately followed him into the National Party
. The NP called for British workers to "seize the right to work" and offered a fairly Strasserite economic policy. Nonetheless, the NP failed to last for very long. Due in part to Read's lack of enthusiasm for Strasserism, the main exponents of the idea drifted away.
The idea was reintroduced to the NF by Andrew Brons
in the early 1980s when he decided to make the party's ideology clearer. However Strasserism was soon to become the province of the radicals in the Official National Front
, with Richard Lawson brought in in a behind the scenes role to help direct policy. Ultimately this Political Soldier
wing opted for the indigenous alternative of distributism
, but nonetheless their strong anti-capitalist rhetoric, as well as that of their International Third Position
successor, demonstrated influences of Strasserism. From this background Troy Southgate
emerged, whose own ideology and those of related groups such as the English Nationalist Movement and National Revolutionary Faction were influenced by Strasserism.
In December 2010, a new 200-page biography by Troy Southgate
appeared, entitled 'Otto Strasser: The Life and Times of a German Socialist' (Black Front Press).
groups, whose inspiration is generally more Italian
in derivation, have often looked to Strasserism due to their strong opposition to capitalism. This was noted strongly in France
where the student group Groupe Union Défense
and the more recent Renouveau Français
both extolled Strasserite economic platforms.
Attempts to reinterpret Nazism as having a left-wing base have also been heavily influenced by this school of thought, notably through the work of Povl Riis-Knudsen
, who produced the Strasser-influenced work National Socialism: A Left-Wing Movement in 1984.
The Strasser brothers and Strasserite thought in general has been claimed as belonging to National Bolshevism
, which has been influential in Russia
and to a lesser extent Germany.
In Greece, an upcoming front called Μαύρος Κρίνος (Mavros Krinos/Black Lily) is influenced by Strasserism.
In the United States
, Tom Metzger
also flirted with Strasserism, having been influenced by Kühnen's pamphlet.
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
that called for, and the neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
that currently calls for, a more radical, mass-action and worker-based form of National Socialism, particularly hostile to finance capitalism
Finance capitalism
Finance capitalism is a term in Marxian political economics defined as the subordination of processes of production to the accumulation of money profits in a financial system. It is characterized by the pursuit of profit from the purchase and sale of, or investment in, currencies and financial...
from an antisemitic basis, to be initiated alongside nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
. It derives its name from Gregor
Gregor Strasser
Gregor Strasser was a politician of the National Socialist German Workers Party...
and Otto Strasser
Otto Strasser
Otto Johann Maximilian Strasser was a German politician and 'left-wing' member of the National Socialist German Workers Party. Strasser was part of the ‘left-wing’ faction of the party, along with his brother Gregor Strasser, and broke from the party due to disputes with the ‘Hitlerite’ faction...
, the two Nazi brothers initially associated with this position. Opposed on strategic views to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, Otto Strasser was expelled from the NSDAP in 1930, while Gregor Strasser was killed during the 1934 Night of the Long Knives
Night of the Long Knives
The Night of the Long Knives , sometimes called "Operation Hummingbird " or in Germany the "Röhm-Putsch," was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany between June 30 and July 2, 1934, when the Nazi regime carried out a series of political murders...
.
Gregor Strasser
Gregor Strasser (1892–1934) began his career in ultranationalism by joining FreikorpsFreikorps
Freikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...
after serving in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Involved in the Kapp Putsch
Kapp Putsch
The Kapp Putsch — or more accurately the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch — was a 1920 coup attempt during the German Revolution of 1918–1919 aimed at overthrowing the Weimar Republic...
he formed his own völkischer
Völkisch movement
The volkisch movement is the German interpretation of the populist movement, with a romantic focus on folklore and the "organic"...
Wehrverband ("popular defense union") which he merged into the NSDAP in 1921. Initially a loyal supporter of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, he took part in the Beer Hall Putsch
Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed attempt at revolution that occurred between the evening of 8 November and the early afternoon of 9 November 1923, when Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, Generalquartiermeister Erich Ludendorff, and other heads of the Kampfbund unsuccessfully tried to seize power...
and held a number of high positions in the Nazi Party. Soon however, Strasser became a strong advocate of the socialist wing of the party, arguing that the national revolution should also include strong action to tackle poverty and should seek to build working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
support. After Hitler's rise to power
Hitler's rise to power
Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in Germany in September 1919 when Hitler joined the political party that was known as the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei . This political party was formed and developed during the post-World War I era...
, Ernst Röhm
Ernst Röhm
Ernst Julius Röhm, was a German officer in the Bavarian Army and later an early Nazi leader. He was a co-founder of the Sturmabteilung , the Nazi Party militia, and later was its commander...
, who headed the SA
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
, then the most important paramilitary wing of the Nazi party, called for a "second revolution," aimed at removing the elites from control. This was opposed by the conservative movement, as well as by some Nazis who preferred an ordered authoritarian regime to the radical and disruptive program proposed by the Party's left wing.
Otto Strasser
Otto Strasser (1897–1974) had also been a member of the Freikorps, but went on to join the SPDSocial Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
and fought against the Kapp putsch. However he joined the Nazi Party in 1925, but nonetheless retained his ideas about the importance of socialism. Considered more of a radical than his brother, Otto Strasser was expelled by the Nazi Party in 1930 and set up his own dissident group, the Black Front
Black Front
The Black Front was a group formed by Otto Strasser after his expulsion from the Nazi Party in 1930. Strasser believed the original anti-capitalist nature of the NSDAP had been betrayed by Adolf Hitler...
, which called for a specifically German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
nationalist form of socialist revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
. He fled Germany in 1933 to live in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
before returning to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
in later life, all the while writing prolifically about Hitler and what he saw as his betrayal of national socialist ideals.
Strasserism
The name Strasserism came to be applied to this form of Nazism that developed around the brothers. Although they had been involved in the creation of the National Socialist ProgramNational Socialist Program
The National Socialist Programme , was first, the political program of the German National Socialist Party in 1918, and later, in the 1920s, of the National Socialist German Workers' Party headed by Adolf...
of 1920, both called on the party to commit to 'breaking the shackles of finance capital'. This opposition to "Jewish finance capitalism
Finance capitalism
Finance capitalism is a term in Marxian political economics defined as the subordination of processes of production to the accumulation of money profits in a financial system. It is characterized by the pursuit of profit from the purchase and sale of, or investment in, currencies and financial...
," which they contrasted to "productive capitalism
Producerism
Producerism, sometimes referred to as "producer radicalism," is a right-wing populist ideology which holds that the productive members of society are being exploited by parasitic elements at both the top and bottom of the social and economic structure....
," was shared by Adolf Hitler himself, who borrowed it from Gottfried Feder
Gottfried Feder
Gottfried Feder was an economist and one of the early key members of the Nazi party. He was their economic theoretician. Initially, it was his lecture in 1919 that drew Hitler into the party.- Biography :...
.
This populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
and antisemitic form of anti-Capitalism
Anti-capitalism
Anti-capitalism describes a wide variety of movements, ideas, and attitudes which oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists, in the strict sense of the word, are those who wish to completely replace capitalism with another system....
was further developed in 1925 when Otto Strasser published the Nationalsozialistische Briefe, which discussed notions of class conflict
Class conflict
Class conflict is the tension or antagonism which exists in society due to competing socioeconomic interests between people of different classes....
, wealth redistribution and a possible alliance with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. His 1930 follow-up Ministersessel oder Revolution ('Cabinet Seat or Revolution') went further by attacking Hitler's betrayal of the socialist aspect of Nazism, as well as criticizing the notion of Führerprinzip
Führerprinzip
The Führerprinzip , German for "leader principle", prescribes the fundamental basis of political authority in the governmental structures of the Third Reich...
. Whilst Gregor Strasser echoed many of the calls of his brother, his influence on the ideology is less, due to his remaining in the Nazi Party longer and to his early death. Otto, meanwhile, continued to expand his argument, calling for the break-up of large estates and the development of something akin to a guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
system
Guild socialism
Guild socialism is a political movement advocating workers' control of industry through the medium of trade-related guilds. It originated in the United Kingdom and was at its most influential in the first quarter of the 20th century. It was strongly associated with G. D. H...
and the related establishment of a Reich cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
chamber to take a leading role in economic planning.
Strasserism, therefore, became a distinct strand of Nazism that, whilst holding on to previous Nazi ideals such as ultranationalism and anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
, added a strong critique of capitalism and framed this in the demand for a more "socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
-based" approach to economics.
It is disputed, however, whether Strasserism effectively represented a distinct form of Nazism. According to historian Ian Kershaw
Ian Kershaw
Sir Ian Kershaw is a British historian of 20th-century Germany whose work has chiefly focused on the period of the Third Reich...
, "the leaders of the SA
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
[which included Gregor Strasser] did not have another vision of the future of Germany or another politic to propose." But they advocated the radicalization of the Nazi regime, and the toppling of the German elites, calling Hitler's rise to power
Hitler's rise to power
Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in Germany in September 1919 when Hitler joined the political party that was known as the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei . This political party was formed and developed during the post-World War I era...
a "half-revolution," which needed to be completed.
Influence
During the 1970s the ideas of Strasserism began to be referred to more strongly in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an far-right groups as younger members with no concrete ties to Hitler and a stronger sense of anti-capitalism came to the fore.
Strasserism in Germany
Strasserite thought in Germany began to emerge as a tendency within the National Democratic Party of GermanyNational Democratic Party of Germany
The National Democratic Party of Germany – The People's Union , is a far right German nationalist party. It was founded in 1964 a successor to the German Reich Party . Party statements self-identify as Germany's "only significant patriotic force"...
during the late 1960s. These Strasserites played a leading role in securing the removal of Adolf von Thadden
Adolf von Thadden
Adolf von Thadden Von Thadden was born at the noble estate of Gut Trieglaff near Greifenberg in Pomerania – was a leading far right German politician...
from the leadership and following his departure the party became stronger in condemning Hitler for what it saw as his move away from socialism in order to court business and army leaders.
Although initially adopted by the NPD, Strasserism soon became associated with more peripheral extremist figures, notably Michael Kühnen
Michael Kühnen
Michael Kühnen was a leader in the German neo-Nazi movement. He was one of the first post-World War II Germans to openly embrace Nazism and call for the formation of a Fourth Reich. He enacted a policy of setting up several differently-named groups in an effort to confuse German authorities, who...
who produced a 1982 pamphlet Farewell to Hitler, which included a strong endorsement of the idea. The Volkssozialistische Bewegung Deutschlands/Partei der Arbeit
Volkssozialistische Bewegung Deutschlands/Partei der Arbeit
Volkssozialistische Bewegung Deutschlands/Partei der Arbeit was a German Neo-Nazi group led by Friedhelm Busse...
, a minor extremist movement that was outlawed in 1982 adopted the policy, while its successor movement, the Nationalist Front
Nationalist Front
Nationalistische Front was a minor German neo-Nazi group active during the 1980s.Founded in 1985 by Meinolf Schönborn the group, which had no more than 150 members, was characterized by its support for Strasserism rather than more usual forms of Nazism...
, did likewise, with its ten point programme calling for an 'anti-materialist cultural revolution' and an 'anti-capitalist social revolution' to underline its support for the idea. The Freiheitliche Deutsche Arbeiterpartei also moved towards these ideas under the leadership of Friedhelm Busse
Friedhelm Busse
Friedhelm Busse was a German national socialist politician and activist. In a career taking in some six decades Busse established himself as a leading voice of German neo-Nazism.-Early activism:...
in the late 1980s.
Strasserism in the UK
Strasserism emerged in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the early 1970s and centred around the National Front
British National Front
The National Front is a far right, white-only political party whose major political activities took place during the 1970s and 1980s. Its popularity peaked in the 1979 general election, when it received 191,719 votes ....
publication Britain First, the main writers of which were David McCalden
David McCalden
William David McCalden was a figure in the British political far right. As co-founder of the Institute for Historical Review, he is notable for his Holocaust denial.-Early life:...
, Richard Lawson
Richard Lawson (UK politician)
Richard Lawson has been a member of various far right groups in the United Kingdom.Lawson was the Student Organiser for the British National Front...
and Denis Pirie
Denis Pirie
Denis Pirie is a veteran of the British far right scene who took a leading role in a number of movements.He began his career as a member of the 1960s British National Party and was appointed a member of the party's national council not long after its foundation...
. Opposing the leadership of John Tyndall
John Tyndall (politician)
John Hutchyns Tyndall was a British politician who was prominently associated with several fascist/neo-Nazi sects. However, he is best known for leading the National Front in the 1970s and founding the contemporary British National Party in 1982.The most prominent figure in British nationalism...
, they formed an alliance with John Kingsley Read
John Kingsley Read
John Kingsley Read was chairman of the British National Front from 1974 to 1976 and a founder of the National Party.A former member of the Conservative Party and chairman of the Blackburn Young Conservatives, Read left to join the NF in 1973 having addressed a rally against the arrival of Ugandan...
and ultimately followed him into the National Party
National Party (UK, 1976)
The National Party was a short-lived British far right political party formed on 6 January 1976 and which dissolved before the 1979 general election...
. The NP called for British workers to "seize the right to work" and offered a fairly Strasserite economic policy. Nonetheless, the NP failed to last for very long. Due in part to Read's lack of enthusiasm for Strasserism, the main exponents of the idea drifted away.
The idea was reintroduced to the NF by Andrew Brons
Andrew Brons
Andrew Henry William Brons is a British politician. Long active in far right politics in Britain, he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber for the British National Party at the 2009 European Parliament election...
in the early 1980s when he decided to make the party's ideology clearer. However Strasserism was soon to become the province of the radicals in the Official National Front
Official National Front
The Official National Front was one of two far-right groups to emerge in the United Kingdom in 1986 following a split within the National Front...
, with Richard Lawson brought in in a behind the scenes role to help direct policy. Ultimately this Political Soldier
Political Soldier
Political Soldier is a political concept associated with the Third Position. It played a leading role in Britain's National Front from the late 1970s onwards under young radicals Nick Griffin, Patrick Harrington and Derek Holland of the Official National Front...
wing opted for the indigenous alternative of distributism
Distributism
Distributism is a third-way economic philosophy formulated by such Catholic thinkers as G. K...
, but nonetheless their strong anti-capitalist rhetoric, as well as that of their International Third Position
International Third Position
International Third Position ' was a neo-fascist organization formed by the breakaway faction of the neofascist British National Front and Italian neofascists led by Roberto Fiore....
successor, demonstrated influences of Strasserism. From this background Troy Southgate
Troy Southgate
Troy Southgate is an author, musician and leading National-Anarchist activist based in the United Kingdom.-Politics:Originally from Crystal Palace, in South London, Southgate is of English-Scots descent and moved to the small village of Jarvis Brook, East Sussex, in his teenage years...
emerged, whose own ideology and those of related groups such as the English Nationalist Movement and National Revolutionary Faction were influenced by Strasserism.
In December 2010, a new 200-page biography by Troy Southgate
Troy Southgate
Troy Southgate is an author, musician and leading National-Anarchist activist based in the United Kingdom.-Politics:Originally from Crystal Palace, in South London, Southgate is of English-Scots descent and moved to the small village of Jarvis Brook, East Sussex, in his teenage years...
appeared, entitled 'Otto Strasser: The Life and Times of a German Socialist' (Black Front Press).
Strasserism elsewhere
Third PositionThird Position
Third Position is a revolutionary nationalist political ideology that emphasizes its opposition to both communism and capitalism. Advocates of Third Position politics typically present themselves as "beyond left and right", instead claiming to syncretize radical ideas from both ends of the...
groups, whose inspiration is generally more Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in derivation, have often looked to Strasserism due to their strong opposition to capitalism. This was noted strongly in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
where the student group Groupe Union Défense
Groupe Union Droit
Groupe Union Défense or Groupe Unité Défense , better known as GUD, is the name of a succession of violent French far-right student political groups. Regularly dissolved, it keeps surfacing under altered names...
and the more recent Renouveau Français
Renouveau français
Renouveau français is a French far-right nationalist political party affiliated with the European National Front, founded in November 2005....
both extolled Strasserite economic platforms.
Attempts to reinterpret Nazism as having a left-wing base have also been heavily influenced by this school of thought, notably through the work of Povl Riis-Knudsen
Povl Riis-Knudsen
Povl Heinrich Riis-Knudsen is a prominent Danish Neo-Nazi.Riis-Knudsen is best known as the author of the articles National Socialism: A Left Wing Movement and National Socialism: The Biological World View .-Life and ideas:...
, who produced the Strasser-influenced work National Socialism: A Left-Wing Movement in 1984.
The Strasser brothers and Strasserite thought in general has been claimed as belonging to National Bolshevism
National Bolshevism
National Bolshevism is a political movement that claims to combine elements of nationalism and Bolshevism. It is often anti-capitalist in tone, and sympathetic towards certain nationalist forms of communism and socialism...
, which has been influential in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and to a lesser extent Germany.
In Greece, an upcoming front called Μαύρος Κρίνος (Mavros Krinos/Black Lily) is influenced by Strasserism.
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Tom Metzger
Tom Metzger
Thomas Metzger is an American white nationalist who founded White Aryan Resistance . His far-right activist groups, including WAR, have been monitored by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an American organization that tracks hate groups...
also flirted with Strasserism, having been influenced by Kühnen's pamphlet.