Otto Strasser and George Lincoln Rockwell in the 1960s.

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A Footnote to History:

The Meeting between

George Lincoln Rockwell and Otto Strasser

By Martin Kerr

BY ANY STANDARDS, it was a minor incident of no real significance, and which left no historical imprint. Yet, it is interesting in itself as a footnote to history: in 1962, George Lincoln Rockwell met with Otto Strasser to see if they shared any common ground which would allow for political cooperation. Rockwell was the commander of the American Nazi Party; Strasser was a former colleague and later political opponent of Adolf Hitler seeking to relaunch his political career.

Stasser’s Background

Strasser (1897-1974) had been one of the leading figures in the Bavarian Völkisch movement following the First World War. He and his brother Gregor joined Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist Germany Worker’s Party, known by its German initials, NSDAP. For a while, both men were valuable political organizers for the party. But over time, Otto began to develop his own political/economic theories that were at odds with the National Socialist worldview as conceived by Hitler.

Finally, in 1930, Strasser broke from the NSDAP and formed his own movement, known as the “Combat League of Revolutionary National Socialists,” and whose nickname was the “Black Front.” Strasser proved to be inept as a party leader, and his movement never went anywhere. When Hitler was appointed chancellor in 1933, Strasser fled the country, moving first to Paris and then to Prague, Czechoslovakia. From Prague he made radio broadcasts into Germany, seeking to cause disruption and to sabotage Hitler’s National Socialist revolution. In this he was financed by anti-Hitler forces, including organized Jewry, the British and the French.

In 1936, Strasser sent Helmut Hirsch, a Jewish follows of his, to Germany to conduct a series of bombings of National Socialist targets. Although Hitler was not a prime target, Hirsch was to kill him, too, if an opportunity presented itself, Hirsch was swiftly arrested by the German authorities after entering Germany and convicted on multiple charges. He was beheaded in April of 1937.

Strasser left Prague, and eventually ended up in Ottawa, Canada. He spent the war there, penning anti-Hitler and anti-National Socialist articles as the Allies rained down death and destruction on the German workers whom Strasser claimed to represent.

After the War, he petitioned the Allies to allow him to return to Germany and resume his political career, The Occupation authorities were suspicious of him at first but eventually granted him West German citizenship and permission to take part in politics. He formed a small party called the German Social Union and began to collect a cadre of followers.

The Rockwell/Strasser Meeting

One of his new recruits was Cecille von Goetz, an American of German descent. Her sister was Barbara von Goetz, who was the personal secretary and common-law wife of George Lincoln Rockwell. He had recently founded the ANP. Someone, probably Cecille, suggested that the two men meet in person to explore the possibility of working together to resurrect the National Socialist movement in Germany. Rockwell and Barbara drove to Canada, to see if he and Strasser were politically compatible.

A meeting was set up, in which Rockwell and Strasser would get together in a park in Montreal that ran along the banks of the St. Lawrence River. Rockwell was running late on the day of the meeting, so he sent Barbara ahead to tender his apologies and ask Strasser to wait for him. In due time. Rockwell arrived. Barbara introduced the two men to each other and then left them to their discussion.

It is not known what was said in the meeting, but it can be safely assumed that Rockwell quickly realized that there was no common ground – zero – for a working relationship. Strasser wanted to set up a leftwing socialist state in West Germany that would be pro-Soviet, but free from direct Soviet control. He was not a racialist as Rockwell understood the term, nor did he feel that the Jews presented a threat to the German people. He was vociferously anti-Hitler.

Rockwell, on the other hand, saw race as the cornerstone of Western civilization. He was extremely pro-Hitler and hostile to organized Jewry, whom he viewed as the number one enemy of the White race.

So their meeting was short-lived and completely unproductive. Doubtlessly Rockwell felt that he had to explore every possibility in building post-War National Socialism and wanted to leave no stone unturned. For his part, Strasser probably felt the same way.

Each man went on to pursue the political path that seemed best to them. Rockwell went out of his way to denounce “Strasserism” in his monthly magazine, The Rockwell Report. Shortly before his death, Strasser published his political autobiography. Its title was Mein Kampf. To the very end, Adolf Hitler haunted his mind.

Bibliography

Primary source: Conversations between Barbara von Goetz and Martin Kerr, Virginia, circa 1982.

Secondary sources:

Otto Strasser per J.C. an unedited reconstruction and postscript. Retrieved February 11, 2025, from https://baynescene.tripod.com/strasser/

“The New Strasserism,” by Karl R. Allen. The Rockwell Report, Official Publication of the American Nazi Party, Arlington, Va., Vol II, No. 7 (Feb. 1, 1963), pp. 5-6.

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