Leopold Strauss - Dutch's Debt Collector 

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Strauss would been a hero if he sent Micah instead of Arthur to collect the Downes debt

I like how the writers clarified that Strauss never ratted out the gang. Making him a more complex character. He's calculated, not cowardly.

The idea that the mass robber and murderer that is Arthur Morgan has any moral high ground over Leopold the Loan Shark is funny

Strauss was a perfect example of a morally grey character, because he was undyingly loyal and friendly to the gang but heartless and cruel to the debtors, ignorant of how he was hurting them to help the gang. A great example of how you don’t need to be the one actually carrying out the deed to be complicit in wrongdoing.

Strauss was such a mixed bag for a character. He was loyal and friendly to the gang but an otherwise terrible person who preyed on the desperate and needy. And ultimately, as we see after Horseshoe Overlook, a bad loanshark because he would continuously give bad terms to people who did not have the means of repaying their debts. The phrase "You can't squeeze water out of a rock" is something Strauss clearly needed to hear.

An interesting fact about Strauss is that of all the gang members his profession is the least unique. In the 19th century Banks almost never, ever, gave personal loans. Nearly all personal/non business loans were done by individual financiers or a small group of wealthy residents in a community. Some would eventually form into unions to provide credit, which we now know as Credit Unions. Strauss' work is still alive and well to this day.

I was so sad when the game asked me to kick Strauss out. I felt sorry for him, especially when he told miss Grimshaw he was afraid. the moment he said "I was your friend" broke my heart. I know he did bad things, but everyone in the gang did bad things so why shoulds Strauss pays and not the others like Micah ?

I seen it as Arthur giving pity to Straus by having an excuse to kick him out of the gang before it all went to shit. This was technically during the time when Arthur had the most doubts about the gang and these debts and how they made Arthur feel were just the cherry on top. I want to believe Arthur was angry in the moment and no longer liked the work but also because he still seen Straus as a friend. So kicking him out was doing both sides a favor. When Straus says "But we were friends" its an indication to the player how difficult this was for Arthur but he had to do what he had to do. Not to mention I also believe Arthur realizes this is how he got TB to begin with. Its literally the thing that broke the camels back when he hears that Downes died of TB. Originally he may have thought he caught something on Guarma which was actually my first thought but then we find out this information and it all clicks and it also clicks for Arthur.

Wrobel prolly learnt english after the incident with arthur

Wrobel could have learnt English. As we know the epilogue happens years after the ending of the main game

4:27 You sure he didnt like just uhh... Learn it over a long period of time?

Fun fact, the polish guy that arthur that takes money for didnt actually speak English, but when you play as john 8 years later you see he actually learned some proper English, and the other thing is if you go through Arthur's journal (I highly recommend to read through it) he writes down everything that happens in every main and side misson, and he hates the debt missions, which i love because it shows who he really is

Would be cool if Arthur could pay the debts with his own money in Strauss's during the whole game. It would fit more with what Arthur and Dutch say in the beginning.

He is not nearly as bad as you make him out when other characters are killing whole towns of people.

Debt’s truly the worst thing we as a species ever normalized.

What makes Strauss more complex is that he was picked up and tortured by pinkertons but never breathed a word about anything, shows that Strauss is loyal even when he was treated poorly by the gang

Do why John couldn’t truly kill or shoot Dutch since he “left me to die” in RDR1. It amazes me a man who loved Dutch but how has to capture or kill him yet he can’t fully do it despite of Dutch treating him like shit in a way

I honestly never understood people who say leopold is the worst even though the soldiers of the gang frequently cause people to probably lose their jobs or even kill lawmen who are just doing their jobs while what strauss does is perfectly legal in the sense that these debtors knew what they were getting into

You blast out videos like its nothing. Youre crazy! Love your content, keep it up!

Strauss might have been a slime ball but he was loyal to the gang till his very last breath

People need to realise that thomas downs aint as blameless and innocent for what they make him out to be. Instead of looking for a job he asks for money to give to some charity. I understand that he had tb thats why he couldn't get a job but collecting money for a charity isnt going to help at all. All of the debtors knew what they were getting themselves in and putting all the blame to straus for the aftermath isnt right

4:39 Well the Epilogue takes place 8 years later That is enough time for him to learn a new language

Ive played through this game 3 times and missed a couple those later debts and never saw hin throw Strauss out of camp. Currently in St. Denis on 4th time through. Aint gonna miss it this time.

Literally kicked him outta camp last night 😂

Dutch: we're broke, we're eating worms over here Strauss: oh, look at all this money we have to go loaning out Me:🤦

i always thought Strauss was the least ethical of the gang, but after more and more playthroughs what he does isn't ethical at all, But at least these people agreed to going into this debt The amount of lives the rest of the gang have completely ruined by robbing them is probably insane, and its not like they agreed to get robbed..

Honestly Straus isn't really evil. And he was one of the smartest people in the gang, because his work was mostly legal and his and Trelawny's plan for the riverboat was one of the smoothest plans in the game. He also didn't betray the gang even after he was kicked out and arrested by the Pinkertons. He was loyal.

4:33 if he’s in the epilogue clearly that was 9 to 10 year difference so he had time to learn English probably from his encounter with Morgan 😂

All of your videos are bangers

i thought he was supposed to have learned english when i heard him speak it.

between the main story and epilogue are 8 years bro could easily have learned english in this time

4:30 So a person is unable to learn english after a few years?

Real ironic hearing Arthur criticize Strauss as “bringing shame”... meanwhile he’s the mass murdering brute who made the decision to act the way he did. Arthur didn’t have to beat people near to death or such. Strauss didn’t care... as long as they were paid. It was on him how he approached. Yet he treated Strauss as if he was the one beating Downes. Really highlights how Arthur isn’t perfect and despite being left for the wolves. Strauss had enough dignity not to rot or sell out any members of the gang.

Hey, nice video but between the debt of the polish guy and the epilogue is a few years and believe it or not people can and do learn. XD

Wrobel didn't actually speak english. After a few years of being in America, he learned it.

"Strauss made us rich, Blacklung!" Strauss: **4.24$**

Not even a debt collector. He's a loan shark.

4:28 You do realize that you can learn english in 8 years right. And in 1899 he already spoke a little bit, so it isn't suprising at all that in 1907 he is able to speak English

Loansharking is legal but its still a dirty business.

Don't care what y'all say, Strauss was still the funniest character in the game, besides Uncle. 🤣🤣💯 Loved that he never betrayed the gang though, even through serious torture.

Thanks for the top tier content bro

Strauss is the embodiment of the video game industry.

why are u so underrated

4:30 you can't learn english over almost a decade? what else is impossible in your eyes ,drinking 4 cups of water in a row?

Lore of Leopold Strauss - Dutch's Debt Collector Momentum 100

pretty sure that the polish farmer learned english after arthur.. what a kind man encouraging others to learn a new language lol

I think deep down Arthur blame Strauss for his sickeness, that's part of the reason he kicked him out of the camp in chapter 6

the foregn guy had a few years to learn english to be fair lol

This might be a hot take, but I do agree with Strauss. I'm not sure if banks provided personal loans back then and even if they did, they would want something like collateral or someone vouching for them (like how John got for his ranch). It would have been nice to see the terms of the loan, but I'd imagine they were short term loans, given the nature of the gang to be on the move. Regarding the nature of the people, I would imagine people would be on their best when applying for a loan at Strauss, maybe even embellishing the way they would pay back the loan. Strauss was a new to the towns he visited so it was harder for him to identify who not to give loans( unlike credit checks and SSNs we have today) Like the forst few missions, the people were trying to play strauss for a fool when it came to payback. It might be possible that strauss got played for a fool when it came to borrowing the money. Or an even more possible situation is that strauss might also have had lapses in judgement like dutch towards the end. Was strauss responsible for a lot of additional troubles in a lot of families? Maybe so. But the gang did their fair share in killing a lot of breadwinners who were just doing their jobs (cops, guards, pinkerton employees etc). Sure you could say that those men knew what they were getting into. But wouldn't that be the same case for strauss as well? He wasn't getting illiterate people to sign loan contracts. But dutch was evil at heart with sweet talking to cover it up. But strauss was loyal to the gang, even after he was unceremoniously kicked out. I thought strauss was a good fit for the gang. He managed the books and contributed in a way that he could. He wasn't a gunslinger, but he was way more useful to the gang than folks like uncle and micah. I was sad to hear about his death.

I’m assuming Strauss is the “small hat” of the crew

Strauss kind of reminds me of Hosea. Both don't seem that dangerous at first glance and both prefer not so direct methods of getting money, be it money lending for Strauss and cons for Hosea. Both are also much more dangerous than they appear.

Arthur should've kicked Micah out. Instead of Strauss

It’s no coincidence he looks like fauci 😂😂

The polish debter probably learned English in those 7 years

It's odd to me that his missions feel the dirtiest, yet that's actually legal work and it's nowhere near as bad as most of the other stuff you get to do. Yeah sure, you take advantage of desperate people and leave them in an even worse state, and sure, they didn't have much of a choice but to borrow money. But if everything went to plan, all you'd do his rough them up until they held up their side of a contract they signed. Throughout the game, you kill huge amounts of people left and right, and these are somebody's husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, friends, mentors, employers etc. A lot of the time, their only mistake was to have run into Arthur.

I hate that mission. I wish there was a way for Arthur to protect himself instead of getting sick later on..

Somehow this guy is slimier and less seen then Trelawny

Strauss is everything financial and handles the gangs money.

4:28 I thought it was because after 9 years or so he learned english

Do Josiah Trelawny next

What I like about strauss is that he is cold but at the same time, killing people and emptying their pockets isn't really mroe dignified it's just different standards and everyone in the gang is aware, you can't even claim glory outlaws after blackwater or the gang first trip to Valentine where they are major nuisance to common folk. Personally I think Strauss is being honest when he says the people he loans to are people desperate enough to take a loan from a GANG OF OUTLAWS so he doesn't need to trick or anything, like people know that they will need to pay him back or they will die and so Strauss counts on them selling their wife or robbing dead to avoid death.

4:36 ...this could just be he learned english after having lived in the US for about 7 years

1:57 robbing the rich is better than robbing the poor

I hate stealing from Wrobel in good honor because he barely speaks English and he sounds so sad.

Tbf on the dude who couldn’t speak English he probably learned English during the 8 year time skip.

Wrobel a polish man.

8:16 HOW DID YOU KICK HIM LIKE THAT?

Ngl i think strauss gets too much hate he is far from the worst person in the gang

Uhh Silesia upper Silesia

Don't be irresponsible with your money and don't take on debts you can't pay, simple as. Don't like the collectors? Don't make yourself need to get collected from in the first place!

I think it’s kinda messed up how he was just kicked out. Why not help him with his redemption. He was just trying to help the gang the best way he knew how. Everyone in the gang has skeletons in their closet. Especially if Arthur has low honor, kinda look like a hypocrite

Wrobel learnt how to speak English though? He was there for years at that point already, although he could’ve been faking it

Loansharks are absolute scum as far as I'm concerned, but I can understand why Arthur collected the debts, but then was given a choice near the end. That said, I always antagonized herr Strauss the most throughout the game. I also cheered when Arthur kicked him out.

Strauss had the most honor of any character in the gang. He made money honestly through banking, not theft. Loaning money is the basis of most of the economy.

mb mr wróbel just lernt english, i mean he had 8 years

Strauß is probably the most moral character of the gang. Making him out to be the bad guy was one of the few mistakes of RDR2s story

Strauss or Steinberg

Say what you will about Leopold. I have my own opinions of him but he was in fact a hardcore gangster to the end

Isn't he lending money that the gang could use anyway?

saying the foreign debtor is lying is dishonest he would have lived in America for 5 years

Strauss' not a good person, that much is certain. That said, barring the likes of Charles, Strauss doesn't do anywhere near as much bad as the other gang members. You straight up shoot up several towns (obviously leaving widows along the way, and these even show up if you shoot NPC's by your own) as part of the story, and engage in several robberies. The latter is relevant because insurances weren't a thing back then. If your money got stolen then you were screwed. As such, the gang's directly responsible for similar financial distress and ruin as seen through Strauss' loan sharking, except they didn't even give any money to begin with to those people. I also think that Strauss is essentially done dirty by the writing. (This isn't necessarily a bad thing since his missions were used as a vehicle for Arthurs' own personal growth, but obviously it looks poorly on him) A fair few of the debtors (especially the latter ones) are sympathetic cases. Most of the people you fight in the story are trash, or work for said trash; generating little sympathy. This is particularly the case for the soldiers in Guarma if you understand Spanish; they're effectively a band of sadists based on how and what they say. if all of Strauss' debtors were written along those lines, then he'd be far more likeable a character. And of course, another reason is that you actually stick around to witness the consequences of Leopold's actions. You don't for the rest of the gang. If you were made to, then the suffering Strauss' loaning generated would be unnoteworthy by comparison.

Between him and Micah , not sure which i dispise more. I usually reluctantly do the Thomas Downs mission because it's mandatory, after that i ignore strauss for the rest of the game.

“Moderninity” isn’t a word but modernity is

If you really think about it, If Strauss never became a loan shark, Chapters 4-6, The Epilogue and RDR1 would’ve never happened.

How did Dutch even meet Strauss and why did he take a liking to him?

Why does he always say harr then the person’s name?

The issue isn't giving loans, it's giving loans to people who are obviously not gonna be paying it back. It makes no sense, he's not even a good Jew

can you do a video on if jack got shipped to italy

Gang is just as bad as him

Mein deutscher Bruder❤

am I only one hating this guy more than Micah

All respect 🙏 i think strauss was Dutch's loanshark and arthur was the collector. Doesnt really matter tho 😅

For those STILL saying that Strauss isn’t more evil, use “antagonize” with him when you encounter him. You will see that even Arthur describes him perfectly.

أنا ما أعرف أتكلم اللغة الانجليزية

Strauss was really the most honest character. He was providing a service to the community.. developers are probably anti-money liberals and wrote him to be the most hated character by Arthur.

Strauss: > seemingly a doctor (medicine wagon) > camp accountant > doesn’t actively commit felonies > Arthur hates him because “muh honor” Most other members of the gang > useless aside from fighting (javier, Charles, bill, Micah, Lenny) > useless outright (uncle, reverend Swanson, Tilly, all of the women except for Karen and miss grimshaw) > Arthur loves them because “they’re mah family)

Leopold Strauss (a great choice of name for an Austrian btw!) is like "the investor", a song I wrote some time ago: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ghiAXOJDX4E.html

From personal experience, people like Strauss may not help the people they lend money to, but they do at least delay the inevitable. I remember being told to hide, shut the curtains, and lock the doors when certain people come knocking. It wasn't my parents' who were indebted, just another family member we were staying with. But, looking back, I still feel like a thief When our financial situation got better, we moved out and paid all of their debts. All of it. From every single money lender they owe. But only a few years later, they are, once again, buried in debt. It's almost like an addiction

the net destruction and negative consequences caused individually by any other gang member far out weighs anything done by strauss. the loan sharking also PROBABLY helped at least one or two people to financially leverage themselves out of an awful situation. we just don't see these people because they repaid their loans.