Strasserism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Strasserism refers to the strand of neo-Nazism that calls for socialism to be initiated alongside nationalism. It derives its name from Gregor and Otto Strasser, the two dissident Nazis initially associated with this position.
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[edit] Strasser brothers
[edit] Gregor Strasser
Main article: Gregor Strasser
Gregor Strasser (1892-1934) began his career on the far right by joining the Freikorps after serving in World War I. Involved in the Kapp Putsch he formed his own völkischer Wehrverband ("folkish 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. Strasser eventually was killed during the Night of the Long Knives.
[edit] Otto Strasser
Main article: Otto Strasser
Otto Strasser (1897-1974) had also been a member of the Freikorps, but went on to join the SPD 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 from 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.
[edit] Strasserism
The name Strasserism came to be applied to this 'left wing' from of Nazism that developed around the brothers. Although they had been involved in the creation of the NSDAP Programme of 1920, both called on the party to commit to 'breaking the shackles of finance capital'. <ref>C.T. Husbands, 'Militant Neo-Nazism in the Federal Republic of Germany' in L. Cheles, R. Ferguson & M. Vaughan, Neo-Fascism in Europe, 1992, p. 98</ref> The idea was further developed in 1925 when Otto Strasser published the Nationalsozialistiche Briefe, which discussed notions of class conflict, wealth redistribution and a possible allaince 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 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 corporative chamber to take a leading role in economic planning. <ref>E. Nolte, Three Faces of Fascism, 1969, pp. 425-426</ref>
Strasserism, therefore, became a distinct strand of neo-Nazism that, whilst holding on to previous Nazi ideals such as militant nationalism and anti-Semitism, added a strong critique of capitalism and framed this in the demand for a more socialist based approach to economics.
[edit] Influence
During the 1970s the ideas of Strasserism began to be referred to more strongly in European far right groups as younger members with no concrete ties to Hitler and a stronger sense of anti-capitalism.
[edit] Strasserism in Germany
Strasserite thought in Germany began to emerge as a tendency within the National Democratic Party of Germany 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. <ref>R. Eatwell, Fascism: A History, 2003, p. 283</ref>
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 Volkssozialistiche Bewegung Deutschlands/Partei der Arbeit, a minor extremist movement that was outlawed in 1982 adopted the policy, whilst it successor movement, the Nationalist Front - League of Revolutionary Nationalists, did likewise, with its ten point programme calling for an 'anti-materilaist cultural revolution' and an 'anti-capitalist social revolution' to underline its support for the idea. <ref>C.T. Husbands, 'Militant Neo-Nazism in the Federal Republic of Germany' in L. Cheles, R. Ferguson & M. Vaughan, Neo-Fascism in Europe, 1992, pp. 99-100</ref> The Freiheitliche Deutsche Arbeiterpartie also moved towards these ideas under the leadership of Friedhelm Busse in the late 1980s. <ref>C.T. Husbands, 'Militant Neo-Nazism in the Federal Republic of Germany' in L. Cheles, R. Ferguson & M. Vaughan, Neo-Fascism in Europe, 1992, p. 97</ref>
[edit] Strasserism in the UK
Strasserism emerged in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and centered around the National Front publication Britain First, the main writers of which were David McCalden and Richard Lawson. Opposing the leadership of John Tyndall, the formed an alliance with John Kingsley Read and ultimately followed him into the National Party. <ref>N. Copsey, Contemporary British Fascism: The British National Party and the Quest for Legitimacy, 2004, pp. 17-18</ref> The NP called for British workers to "seize the right to work" and offered a fairly Strasserite economic policy. <ref>M. Walker, The National Front, 1977, p. 194</ref> Nonetheless, the NP failed to last for very long, due n part to Kingsley 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 more clear. <ref>N. Copsey, Contemporary British Fascism: The British National Party and the Quest for Legitimacy, 2004, pp. 33-34</ref> 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. <ref>G. Gable, 'The Far Right in Contemporary Britain' in L. Cheles, R. Ferguson & M. Vaughan, Neo-Fascism in Europe, 1992, p. 97</ref>. 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.
[edit] Strasserism elsewhere
Third Position 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. <ref>R. Griffin, The Nature of Fascism, 1993, p. 166</ref>
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 the United States, Tom Metzger also flirted with Strasserism, having been influenced by Kühnen's pamphlet. <ref>M.A. Lee, The Beast Reawakens, 1997, p. 257</ref>
