 Stramm gave "a middling performance at school" and later had to gain his abitur through part-time study.Against the wishes of his mother, who wanted her son to become a Roman Catholic priest, Stramm joined the German Post Office Ministry in 1893 was rapidly promoted.Between 1896 and 1897, despite being near-sighted, Stramm served his year of compulsory military service in the Imperial German Army.