Strasserism (german: Strasserismus or ''Straßerismus'') is a strand of
Nazism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
calling for a more radical, mass-action and worker-based form of the ideology, espousing
economic antisemitism
Economic antisemitism is antisemitism that uses stereotypes of Jews, stereotypes and antisemitic canard, canards that are based on negative perceptions or assertions of the economic status, occupations or economic behaviour of Jews, at times leadi ...
above other
antisemitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
forms, to achieve a
national rebirth
Palingenesis (; also palingenesia) is a concept of rebirth or re-creation, used in various contexts in philosophy, theology, politics, and biology. Its meaning stems from Greek , meaning 'again', and , meaning 'birth'.
In biology, it is anothe ...
. It derived its name from
Gregor
Gregor is a masculine given name. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include:
People
* Gregor Abel (born 1949), Scottish footballer
* Gregor Adlercreutz (1898–1944), Swedish equestrian
* Gregor Aichinger (c. 1565–1628), Germ ...
and
Otto Strasser
Otto Johann Maximilian Strasser (also german: link=no, Straßer, see ß; 10 September 1897 – 27 August 1974) was a German politician and an early member of the Nazi Party. Otto Strasser, together with his brother Gregor Strasser, was a lead ...
, two brothers initially associated with this position.
Otto Strasser, who opposed on strategic grounds the views of
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
, was expelled from the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
in 1930 and entered exile in
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
, while Gregor Strasser was murdered in
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
on 30 June 1934 during the
Night of the Long Knives
The Night of the Long Knives (German: ), or the Röhm purge (German: ''Röhm-Putsch''), also called Operation Hummingbird (German: ''Unternehmen Kolibri''), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Ad ...
, a violent operation against many of Hitler's opponents, including the Strasserist elements nationwide. Strasserism remains an active position within strands of postwar global
neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
.
Strasser brothers
Gregor Strasser
Gregor Strasser (1892–1934) began his career in
ultranationalist
Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its sp ...
politics by joining the ''
Freikorps
(, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, regar ...
'' after serving in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Strasser was involved in the
Kapp Putsch
The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an attempted coup against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to undo the ...
and formed his own ''
völkischer Wehrverband'' ("popular defense union") which he merged into the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
in 1921. Initially a loyal supporter of
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
, he took part in the
Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch,Dan Moorhouse, ed schoolshistory.org.uk, accessed 2008-05-31.Known in German as the or was a failed coup d'état by Nazi Party ( or NSDAP) leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and othe ...
and held a number of high positions in the Nazi Party. However, Strasser soon became a strong advocate of the radical wing of the party, arguing that the national revolution should also include strong action to tackle poverty and should seek to build
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
support. After
Adolf Hitler's rise to power
Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...
,
Ernst Röhm
Ernst Julius Günther Röhm (; 28 November 1887 – 1 July 1934) was a German military officer and an early member of the Nazi Party. As one of the members of its predecessor, the German Workers' Party, he was a close friend and early ally ...
, who headed the ''
Sturmabteilung
The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi ral ...
'' (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
German conservative movement
Conservatism in Germany has encompassed a wide range of theories and ideologies in the last three hundred years, but most historical conservative theories supported the monarchical/ hierarchical political structure.
Historical conservative stra ...
as well as by some Nazis who preferred an ordered authoritarian regime to the radical and disruptive program proposed by the party's radicals. Strasser was killed during the
Night of the Long Knives
The Night of the Long Knives (German: ), or the Röhm purge (German: ''Röhm-Putsch''), also called Operation Hummingbird (German: ''Unternehmen Kolibri''), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Ad ...
in 1934.
Otto Strasser
Otto Strasser (1897–1974) had also been a member of the ''Freikorps'', but he joined the
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been the ...
and fought against the Kapp Putsch. Strasser joined the Nazi Party in 1925, where he kept promoting the importance of ''socialism'' in ''National Socialism''. Considered more of a radical than his brother, Strasser was expelled by the Nazi Party in 1930 and set up the
Black Front
The Combat League of Revolutionary National Socialists (German: ''Kampfgemeinschaft Revolutionärer Nationalsozialisten'', KGRNS), more commonly known as the Black Front (german: Schwarze Front), was a political group formed by Otto Strasser in 1 ...
, his own dissident group which called for a specifically
German nationalist
German nationalism () is an ideological notion that promotes the unity of Germans and German-speakers into one unified nation state. German nationalism also emphasizes and takes pride in the patriotism and national identity of Germans as one nat ...
form of ''socialist'' revolution. Strasser fled Germany in 1933 to live firstly in Czechoslovakia and then Canada before returning to
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
in later life, all the while writing prolifically about Hitler and what he saw as his betrayal of
Nazism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
's ideals.
Ideology
The name ''Strasserism'' came to be applied to the form of Nazism associated with the Strasser brothers. Although they had been involved in the creation of the
National Socialist Program
The National Socialist Program, also known as the 25-point Program or the 25-point Plan (), was the party program of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP, and referred to in English as the Nazi Party). Adolf Hitler announced the part ...
of 1920, both men called on the party to commit to "breaking the shackles of finance capital". This opposition to what Nazis termed ''Finanzkapitalismus'' (
finance capitalism
Finance capitalism or financial capitalism is the subordination of processes of production to the accumulation of money profits in a financial system.
Financial capitalism is thus a form of capitalism where the intermediation of saving to invest ...
) and ''raffendes Kapital'' (which translates roughly to "money-grubbing capitalism", and was implied to mean "
Jewish capitalism"), which they contrasted to
producerism
Producerism is an ideology which holds that those members of society engaged in the production of tangible wealth are of greater benefit to society than, for example, aristocrats who inherit their wealth and status.
History
Robert Ascher traces ...
or what was termed "productive capitalism", was shared by Adolf Hitler, who borrowed it from
Gottfried Feder
Gottfried Feder (27 January 1883 – 24 September 1941) was a German civil engineer, a self-taught economist, and one of the early key members of the Nazi Party and its economic theoretician. It was one of his lectures, delivered in 1919, that d ...
.
This
populist
Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
form of economic antisemitism was espoused by Otto Strasser in ''Nationalsozialistische Briefe'', published in 1925, which discussed notions of
class conflict
Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor.
The forms ...
,
wealth redistribution
Redistribution of income and wealth is the transfer of income and wealth (including physical property) from some individuals to others through a social mechanism such as taxation, welfare, public services, land reform, monetary policies, confisc ...
and a possible alliance with the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. His 1930 follow-up ''Ministersessel oder Revolution'' (''Cabinet Seat or Revolution'') attacked Hitler's betrayal of the socialist aspect of Nazism as well as criticizing the notion of the ''
Führerprinzip
The (; German for 'leader principle') prescribed the fundamental basis of political authority in the Government of Nazi Germany. This principle can be most succinctly understood to mean that "the Führer's word is above all written law" and t ...
''. Whilst Gregor Strasser echoed many of the calls of his brother, his influence on the ideology was lower, owing to his remaining in the Nazi Party longer and to his early death. Meanwhile, Otto Strasser continued to expand his argument, calling for the break-up of large estates and the development of something akin to a
guild socialism
Guild socialism is a political movement advocating workers' control of industry through the medium of trade-related guilds "in an implied contractual relationship with the public". It originated in the United Kingdom and was at its most influent ...
, and the related establishment of a ''Reich''
cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
chamber to take a leading role in
economic planning
Economic planning is a resource allocation mechanism based on a computational procedure for solving a constrained maximization problem with an iterative process for obtaining its solution. Planning is a mechanism for the allocation of resources b ...
.
Strasserism became a strand of Nazism holding on to previous Nazi ideals such as
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
and
palingenetic ultranationalism
Palingenetic ultranationalism is a concept concerning generic fascism formulated by British political theorist Roger Griffin. The key element of the idea is the belief that fascism can be defined by its core myth, namely that of revolution to ach ...
, but adding a strong
critique of capitalism on economic antisemitic grounds and framed this in the demand for a more worker-based approach to economics. However, it is disputed whether Strasserism was a distinct form of Nazism. According to historian
Ian Kershaw
Sir Ian Kershaw (born 29 April 1943) is an English historian whose work has chiefly focused on the social history of 20th-century Germany. He is regarded by many as one of the world's leading experts on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, and is pa ...
, "the leaders of the
SA hich included Gregor Strasserdid not have another vision of the future of Germany or another politic to propose". The Strasserites advocated the radicalization of the
Nazi regime
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and the toppling of the
German elites, calling Hitler's rise to power a half-revolution which needed to be completed.
Ian Kershaw
Sir Ian Kershaw (born 29 April 1943) is an English historian whose work has chiefly focused on the social history of 20th-century Germany. He is regarded by many as one of the world's leading experts on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, and is pa ...
, 1991, chapter III, first section.
Influence
In Finland
One of the
Finnish Nazi parties,
National Socialist Union of Finland
The National Socialist Union of Finland (Finnish: , SKSL), later the Finnish-Socialist Party () was a Finnish Nazi political party active in the 1930s, whose driving force and ideologue was Professor Yrjö Ruutu. With an ideology based on Ruutu's ...
, was close to the left wing of the Nazi party, and the party "Chief"
Yrjö Ruutu
Yrjö Oskar Ruutu (until 1927 Ruuth; 26 December 1887 Helsinki – 27 August 1956 Helsinki) was a Finnish social scientist and politician. Ruutu was the first principal of the School of Social Sciences (current University of Tampere) 1925–19 ...
demanded the nationalization of large companies and other assets vital for national interests, a self-sufficient planned economy and parliament controlled by trade unions and the appointment of technocrats to ministers. All Nazi parties in Finland were dissolved as contrary to Article 21 of the
Moscow Armistice
The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on 19 September 1944, ending the Continuation War. The Armistice restored the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, with a number of modi ...
, which forbade fascist parties. Some former members of Ruutu's party, such as
Yrjö Kilpeläinen
Yrjö Kaarle Kilpeläinen (3 October 1907, Leppävirta – 30 January 1955) was a Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
...
and
Unto Varjonen
Unto Uuno Mikael Varjonen (22 August 1916, Turku – 11 February 1954 Washington D.C. United States) was a Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ...
became prominent figures in right-wing faction of the post-war
Social Democratic Party of Finland
The Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP, fi, Suomen sosialidemokraattinen puolue ; sv, Finlands socialdemokratiska parti), shortened to the Social Democrats ( fi, link=no, Sosiaalidemokraatit; sv, link=no, Socialdemokrater) and commonly kno ...
.
Another prominent former member
Vietti Nykänen
Vietti Brynolf Nykänen (15 June 1884 St. Petersburg – 6 October 1951) was a Finnish architect, writer and politician.
Nykänen's parents were a goldsmith who owned a workshop in St. Petersburg from 1880 to 1917 and Fabergé's foreman Gabrie ...
became the vice chairman of the
Radical People's Party. Member of the board of the party
Heikki Waris
Heikki is a Finnish and Estonian male given name. It derives from a medieval vernacular form of the name Henrik. Notable people with the name include:
*Heikki Aho (footballer) (born 1983), Finnish footballer
* Heikki A. Alikoski (1912–1997), Fi ...
later became Minister of Social Affairs in
Von Fieandt Cabinet
Rainer von Fieandt's cabinet was the 42nd government of Republic of Finland. Cabinet's time period was from November 29, 1957 to April 26, 1958. It was a caretaker government. Cabinet fell by Interpellation (politics), interpellation of the opposi ...
. Although "Ruutuite" socialism never became a mass movement, it is considered to have had a considerable influence on the ideology of the
Academic Karelia Society
The Academic Karelia Society (''Akateeminen Karjala-Seura'', AKS) was a ethnic Finn, Finnish nationalist and Finno-Ugric countries, Finno-Ugric activist organization aiming at the growth and improvement of newly independent Finland, founded by aca ...
and president
Urho Kekkonen
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986), often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as Prime Minister ...
.
In Germany
During the 1970s, the ideas of Strasserism began to be referred to more in European far-right groups as younger members with no ties to Hitler and a stronger sense of economic antisemitism came to the fore. Strasserite thought in Germany began to emerge as a tendency within the
National Democratic Party of Germany
The National Democratic Party of Germany (german: Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands or NPD) is a far-right Neo-Nazi and ultranationalist political party in Germany.
The party was founded in 1964 as successor to the German Reich Party ...
(NPD) during the late 1960s. These Strasserites played a leading role in securing the removal of
Adolf von Thadden
Adolf von Thadden (7 July 1921 – 16 July 1996) was a German far-right politician. Born into a leading Pomeranian landowning family, he was the half-brother of Elisabeth von Thadden, a prominent critic of the Nazis who was executed by the Nazi g ...
from the leadership and after 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 (21 June, 1955 – 25 April, 1991) 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 sett ...
, who produced a 1982 pamphlet ''Farewell to Hitler'' which included a strong endorsement of the idea. The
People's Socialist Movement of Germany/Labour Party, a minor extremist movement that was outlawed in 1982, adopted the policy. 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
Free German Workers' Party
The Free German Workers' Party (german: link=no, Freiheitliche Deutsche Arbeiterpartei; abbreviated FAP) was a neo-Nazi political party in Germany. It was outlawed by the Federal Constitutional Court in 1995.
History
The FAP was founded in 1 ...
also moved towards these ideas under the leadership of
Friedhelm Busse
Friedhelm Busse (4 February 1929 – 23 July 2008) was a German Neo-Nazism, neo-Nazi politician and activist. In a career taking in some six decades Busse established himself as a leading voice of German neo-Nazism.
Early activism
The son of an ...
in the late 1980s.
The flag of the Strasserite movement
Black Front
The Combat League of Revolutionary National Socialists (German: ''Kampfgemeinschaft Revolutionärer Nationalsozialisten'', KGRNS), more commonly known as the Black Front (german: Schwarze Front), was a political group formed by Otto Strasser in 1 ...
and its symbol a crossed hammer and a sword has been used by German and other European
neo-Nazis
Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), attack ...
abroad as a substitute for the more infamous
Nazi flag
The flag of Nazi Germany, officially the flag of the German Reich, featured a red background with a black swastika on a white disc. This flag came into use initially as the banner of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) after its foundation. Following the app ...
which is banned in some countries such as Germany.
In the United Kingdom
Strasserism emerged in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and centred on the
National Front (NF) publication ''Britain First'', the main writers of which were
David McCalden
William David McCalden (20 September 1951 – 15 October 1990) was active in the British political far-right. After moving to the United States, he was co-founder of the Institute for Historical Review in 1978 and advocated Holocaust denial.
...
,
Richard Lawson and
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 afte ...
. Opposing the leadership of
John Tyndall
John Tyndall FRS (; 2 August 1820 – 4 December 1893) was a prominent 19th-century Irish physicist. His scientific fame arose in the 1850s from his study of diamagnetism. Later he made discoveries in the realms of infrared radiation and the p ...
, they formed an alliance with
John Kingsley Read
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
and ultimately followed him into the
National Party (NP). The NP called for British workers to seize the right to work and offered a fairly Strasserite economic policy. Nonetheless, the NP was short-lived. 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 Henry William Brons (born 3 June 1947) is a British politician and former MEP. Long active in far-right politics in Britain, he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire and the Humber for the British National ...
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
The Official National Front (ONF) was one of two far-right groups to emerge in the United Kingdom in 1986 following a split within the National Front. Following ideological paths that were mostly new to the British far-right, the ONF stood oppos ...
, with Richard Lawson brought in a behind-the-scenes role to help direct policy. This
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 ...
wing ultimately opted for the indigenous alternative of
distributism
Distributism is an economic theory asserting that the world's productive assets should be widely owned rather than concentrated.
Developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, distributism was based upon Catholic social teaching prin ...
, but their strong anti-capitalist rhetoric as well as that of their
International Third Position
International Third Position (ITP) was a neo-fascist organisation formed by the breakaway faction of the British National Front, led by Roberto Fiore, an ex-member of the Italian far-right movement Third Position.
Development
Though a key formul ...
successor demonstrated influences from Strasserism. From this background emerged
Troy Southgate
Troy Southgate (born 22 July 1965) is a British far-right political activist and a self-described national-anarchist. He has been affiliated with far-right and fascist groups, such as National Front and International Third Position. He co-cre ...
, whose own ideology and those of related groups such as the English Nationalist Movement and
National Revolutionary Faction
National-anarchism is a radical right-wing.... nationalist ideology which advocates racial separatism, racial nationalism, ethnic nationalism, and racial purity... National-anarchists claim to syncretize neotribal ethnic nationalism with phi ...
were influenced by Strasserism. He has also described himself as a post-Strasserite.
Elsewhere
Third Position
The Third Position is a set of neo-fascist political ideologies that were first described in Western Europe following the Second World War. Developed in the context of the Cold War, it developed its name through the claim that it represented a ...
groups, whose inspiration is generally more Italian in derivation, have often looked to Strasserism, owing to their strong opposition to capitalism based on economic antisemitic grounds. This was noted in France, where the student group ''
Groupe Union Défense
Groupe Union Défense (originally named ''Groupe Union Droit''), better known as GUD, is a French far-right students' union formed in the 1960s. After a period of inactivity it relaunched in 2022.
The GUD was based in Panthéon-Assas University ...
'' and the more recent ''
Renouveau français
French Renewal (french: Renouveau français) was a French far-right ultranationalist political party affiliated with the European National Front, founded in November 2005.
Renouveau français politically defined itself as nationalist, Catholicism, ...
'' 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 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'' (1984) and ''National Socialism: The Biological World View'' (1987).
Life and ideas
...
, who produced the Strasser-influenced work ''National Socialism: A Left-Wing Movement'' in 1984.
In the United States,
Tom Metzger
Thomas Linton Metzger (April 9, 1938 – November 4, 2020) was an American White supremacy, white supremacist, Neo-Nazism, neo-Nazi White power skinhead, skinhead leader and Ku Klux Klan, Klansman. He founded White Aryan Resistance (WAR), a neo-n ...
, a white supremacist, had some affiliation to Strasserism, having been influenced by Kühnen's pamphlet. Also in the United States,
Matthew Heimbach
Matthew Warren Heimbach (born April 8, 1991) is an American white supremacist who advocated a neo-Nazi ideology. Heimbach now identifies as a National Bolshevik. Instead of supporting racist policies, Heimbach now claims that he advocates "prol ...
of the former
Traditionalist Worker Party
The Traditionalist Worker Party (TWP) was a far-right neo-Nazi political party active in the United States between 2013 and 2018, affiliated with the broader "alt-right" movement that became active within the U.S. during the 2010s. It was consi ...
identifies as a Strasserist. Heimbach often engages primarily in
anti-capitalist
Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economi ...
rhetoric during public speeches instead of overt
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
,
anti-Masonry
Anti-Masonry (alternatively called anti-Freemasonry) is "avowed opposition to Freemasonry",''Oxford English Dictionary'' (1979 ed.), p. 369. which has led to multiple forms of religious discrimination, violent persecution, and suppression in so ...
or
anti-communist
Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
rhetoric. Heimbach was expelled from the
National Socialist Movement National Socialist Movement may refer to:
* Nazi Party, a political movement in Germany
* National Socialist Movement (UK, 1962), a British neo-Nazi group
* National Socialist Movement (United Kingdom), a British neo-Nazi group active during the lat ...
due to his economic views being seen by the group as too left-wing. Heimbach stated that the NSM "essentially want it to remain a politically impotent
white supremacist
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...
gang".
"Neo-Nazi group's new leader, a black activist, has vowed to end it"
See also
* Beefsteak Nazi
Beefsteak Nazi () or "Roast-beef Nazi" was a term used in Nazi Germany to describe communists and socialists who joined the Nazi Party. Munich-born American historian Konrad Heiden was one of the first to document this phenomenon in his 1936 book ...
* Movimento de Acção Nacional (MAN) (in Portugal)
* National-anarchism
National-anarchism is a Radical right (Europe), radical right-wing.... nationalist ideology which advocates Racial segregation, racial separatism, racial nationalism, ethnic nationalism, and racial purity... National-anarchists claim to Syncreti ...
* National Bolshevism
National Bolshevism (russian: национал-большевизм, natsional-bol'shevizm, german: Nationalbolschewismus), whose supporters are known as National Bolsheviks (russian: национал-большевики, natsional-bol'sheviki ...
* Fascist syndicalism
Fascist syndicalism (related to national syndicalism) was a trade syndicate movement (''syndicat'' means trade union in French) that rose out of the pre-World War II provenance of the revolutionary syndicalism movement led mostly by Edmondo Ross ...
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* Terza Posizione
Terza Posizione ( en, Third Position) was a short-lived neo-fascist political movement founded in Rome in 1978. The group published a journal, also called ''Terza Posizione'' which promoted Third Position
The Third Position is a set of neo-fa ...
(in Italy)
* Troisième Voie
Third Way (french: Troisième voie) is a French Third Position organization founded in 1985 by a merger of the small neo-fascist group (English: National Revolutionary Movement), which gathered former members of François Duprat's Revolutionary ...
(in France)
References
Further reading
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{{authority control
Eponymous political ideologies
Economic antisemitism
Far-right politics in Germany
Nazism
Neo-fascism
Neo-Nazi concepts
Syncretic political movements