Editing Strasserism (section)

== Ideology ==
{{Antisemitism sidebar|Manifestations}}
The term Strasserism refers to a political ideology primarily developed and promoted by Otto Strasser after his expulsion from the Nazi Party in 1930. Although the name evokes both Otto and his brother Gregor Strasser, the association is largely the result of Otto's retrospective efforts to link his dissident movement to his brother’s earlier prominence within the party. Gregor did not articulate a distinct ideological system, nor did he break with the Nazi leadership during his lifetime.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

In the mid-1920s, a group of northern and western Gauleiter, including Gregor Strasser, formed the [[National Socialist Working Association|Working Community Northwest]] (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Nord-West). This internal bloc sought to elaborate the party's early economic statements, most notably the [[National Socialist Program|1920 National Socialist Program]], by proposing a more structured socioeconomic framework. In 1925, northern and western Nazi officials drafted the Eberfeld Program, which proposed a corporatist economic system under strong state supervision, including partial public ownership in key sectors, compulsory guilds and cooperatives, land reform favoring smallholders, and a hierarchical chamber structure for economic coordination. The program reflected a vision of nationalist state planning distinct from both liberal capitalism and Soviet-style socialism.<ref>Kühnl, Reinhard, ‘Zur Programmatik der nationalsozialistischen Linken: Das Strasser-Programm von 1925/26‘, Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte vol. 14 (1966), No. 3, p. 327-330.</ref>

Otto Strasser joined the Nazi Party in 1925 and soon began promoting a vision of Nazism centered on breaking up monopolies, nationalizing key industries, and building a decentralized state grounded in vocational and federal principles. He opposed the [[Führerprinzip]] and the consolidation of power under Hitler’s leadership. In his key works, Nationalsozialistische Briefe (1925) and Ministersessel oder Revolution (1930), Strasser accused Hitler of betraying the social goals of National Socialism and aligning with conservative elites at the expense of revolutionary change.

Although Strasser’s positions occasionally overlapped with those of militant factions within the SA, their strategic orientations and ideological emphases appear to have been largely distinct. As historian Ian Kershaw noted in reference to the broader “revolutionary” wing of the party, even its most vocal elements, “did not have another vision of the future of Germany or another politic to propose”,<ref>[[Ian Kershaw]], ''Hitler: A Profile in Power'', chapter III, first section, (London, 1991, rev. 2001).</ref> a judgment that highlights the limitations of early intra-party dissent, though Otto Strasser would later attempt to develop a more systematic alternative.

After his break with the party, Strasser developed a more systematic program drawing on [[guild socialism]] and Catholic [[distributism]]. He called for a vocationally organized economy structured around three elements: the state, workers, and managers. Each was assigned a distinct functional role. Industrial enterprises would be reorganized as joint-stock companies under state supervision, with non-transferable shares granted to workers and managers according to merit and position. These shares were to be held in ''fief'', not as private property but as conditional tenure, while the state would retain partial ownership and oversight.<ref>Strasser, Otto. ''Germany Tomorrow''. London: Jonathan Cape Thirty Bedford Square. pp.&nbsp;160–166.</ref>

As part of his broader vision for social renewal, Strasser promoted a deliberate process of de-urbanization, which he saw as essential to reviving Germany’s agricultural base and restoring the moral foundations of rural life. He believed that urban concentration was both a symptom and a driver of capitalist decay—undermining social cohesion, weakening personal responsibility, and accelerating cultural decline.<ref>Strasser, Otto. ''Germany Tomorrow''. London: Jonathan Cape Thirty Bedford Square. pp.&nbsp;150–153.</ref>

Central to Strasser’s vision for national renewal was the reorganization of agriculture around smallholder farms held under a conditional and inheritable form of tenure. Though land would remain the property of the nation, it would be assigned to individual farmers as a non-transferable holding, what Strasser described as a form of possession tied to productive use, family responsibility, and community welfare. He believed that this re-agrarianization, linked to broader de-urbanization policies, would restore rural autonomy, ensure food security, and serve as a moral counterpoint to the fragmentation of urban-industrial society.<ref>Strasser, Otto. ''Germany Tomorrow''. London: Jonathan Cape Thirty Bedford Square. p.&nbsp;153-159.</ref> Building on this foundation, he also called for the preservation of individual initiative within a regulated economic order and a political structure grounded in federalism, local autonomy, and indirect democratic mechanisms inspired by the Catholic principle of subsidiarity.

Strasser’s wider political program also reflected a marked rejection of Prussian militarism and authoritarianism. He criticized what he called “Prusso-German imperialism” and sought to dismantle its institutional legacy by abolishing conscription and replacing it with a fully voluntary military. In his view, the traditions of centralized command and compulsory military service had distorted Germany’s political development and moral character. His opposition to these structures extended beyond the military, shaping his broader critique of authoritarian systems and centralized rule.<ref name=":2">Strasser, Otto. ''Germany Tomorrow''. London: Jonathan Cape Thirty Bedford Square. p.&nbsp;68-73.</ref>

In ''Germany Tomorrow'', Otto Strasser rejected both [[fascism]] and [[communism]] as forms of [[totalitarianism]], explicitly identifying [[Adolf Hitler]] and [[Joseph Stalin]] as parallel embodiments of centralized authority and bureaucratic control.<ref name=":2" /> As a safeguard against totalitarianism, Strasser called for the complete abolition of political parties.<ref>Strasser, Otto. ''Germany Tomorrow''. London: Jonathan Cape Thirty Bedford Square. p.&nbsp;66-67.</ref> Though framed as a democratic alternative to the [[Führerprinzip]], his model concentrated executive power in a president elected for life, reflecting a blend of authoritarian structure and indirect popular representation, which he described as “authoritarian democracy.”<ref>Strasser, Otto. ''Germany Tomorrow''. London: Jonathan Cape Thirty Bedford Square. p.&nbsp;182-184.</ref>

Strasser proposed the establishment of a European Colonial Company to administer remaining African territories under joint European control. The company would be composed of both colonial and non-colonial powers, with responsibilities distributed according to each country’s population and capacity. Strasser suggested that this arrangement would reduce competition among European states and ensure the efficient management of overseas territories. He maintained that the mission of the company would be to oversee the development of native populations and eventually involve them in local administration.<ref>Strasser, Otto. ''Germany Tomorrow''. London: Jonathan Cape Thirty Bedford Square. p.&nbsp;110-113.</ref>

Otto Strasser also supported a nationalist form of [[Pan-European nationalism|Pan-European]] unity, expressing admiration for [[Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Strasser |first=Otto |title=Germany Tomorrow |publisher=Jonathan Cape Thirty Bedford Square |location=London |pages=100}}</ref> He explicitly excluded Russia from this vision, declaring that “Russia does not belong, never has belonged, and never will belong.”<ref>Strasser, Otto. ''Germany Tomorrow''. London: Jonathan Cape Thirty Bedford Square. p.&nbsp;120.</ref> He further envisioned a postwar European framework in which Western Slavic nations, particularly Poles and Czechs, would take the lead in integrating Ukraine and Belarus into a wider European system. He described these regions as economically backward and politically disconnected, arguing that their inclusion would benefit European development, create new markets for Western capital, and serve as a buffer against [[Soviet Union|Bolshevism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Strasser |first=Otto |title=Germany Tomorrow |publisher=Jonathan Cape Thirty Bedford Square |location=London |pages=96}}</ref>  

Although Strasser professed to oppose Nazi racial policies, ''Germany Tomorrow'' nevertheless reflected enduring ethnonationalist assumptions. Strasser supported [[Zionism]] as a legitimate nationalist movement and proposed categorizing Jews based on cultural and political orientation, ideas that, despite distancing themselves from Nazi persecution, remained rooted in ethnic-essentialist thinking.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Strasser |first=Otto |title=Germany Tomorrow |publisher=Jonathan Cape Thirty Bedford Square |location=London |pages=76–78}}</ref>