Otto Skorzeny

Officer in the Nazi Waffen-Schutzstaffel

• Born: June 12, 1908
• Birthplace: Vienna, Austria
• Died: July 5, 1975
• Place of death: Madrid, Spain

Cause of notoriety: Skorzeny, as the commando leader of the combat arm of the German Waffen-Schutzstaffel (Waffen-SS), engaged in daring exploits, including the rescue of Italian leader Benito Mussolini.

Active: 1939-1945

Locale: Europe

Early Life

Otto Skorzeny (AH-toh skor-ZEE-nee) was born into a middle-class Austrian family with a long history of military service. He was a gifted student and was an exceptionally skilled fencer, engaging in fifteen duels. During his tenth contest, his opponent smote his cheek, leaving a scar that was quite dramatic. In 1931, he joined the Austrian Nazi Party and quickly joined the Sturm Abteilung (SA, also known as “storm troopers”). He exhibited superior leadership skills and was involved with the Anschluss: He prevented the Austrian president, Wilhelm Miklas, from being shot.

Nazi Career

Because of Skorzeny’s size (he was six feet, four inches in height), he was appointed as one of Hitler’s personal bodyguards. After the war commenced, Skorzeny, then working as a civil engineer, volunteered for service in the Luftwaffe (German air force) but was turned down because he was over the age of thirty. Failing that, he turned to the Waffen-SS, or the combat arm of the Schutzstaffel (SS). On February 21, 1940, Skorzeny went off to war with one of its most famous units, the Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler (loosely translated as Adolf Hitler’s SS bodyguard regiment), and fought with distinction in the campaigns against the Soviet Union in 1941 and 1942. He was wounded and returned to Germany in December of 1942, a winner of the Iron Cross for bravery under fire.

As he recuperated, Skorzeny was told about a commando group being formed by Hitler. It was in this capacity that Skorzeny achieved fame by leading the operation to rescue Benito Mussolini, the dictator of Italy and a friend of Hitler, who had been removed from power and imprisoned by the Italian government. The Italians moved Mussolini from place to place in order to frustrate any would-be rescuers. Once he had information regarding Mussolini’s location, Skorzeny led a glider-based assault, which rescued Mussolini without a single shot being fired. The exploit earned Skorzeny worldwide fame, promotion to major, and the achievement of the Knight’s Cross, a higher order of the Iron Cross.

Skorzeny engaged in numerous daring operations, including Operation Rösselsprung, a paratroop commando operation aimed at capturing Yugoslavia’s communist leader, Josip Broz, known as Tito. During the assassination attempt against Hitler in July, 1944, Skorzeny was in Berlin, where he helped put down a rebellion in the capital. During Operation Panzerfaust, Skorzeny kidnapped Romania’s regent, Admiral Miklós Horthy de Nagybána’s son Nicolas; this move forced Horthy to abdicate.

During the Battle of the Bulge, Skorzeny and his soldiers pretended to be Americans, causing immense problems for the Allies. He spent the first two months of 1945 commanding regular troops in the defense of the German provinces of Prussia and Pomerania as an acting major general. His bravery earned him the Oak Leaves to the Knight’s Cross, a high honor.

Skorzeny surrendered to the United States in May, 1945. He was held for more than two years before being tried as a war criminal at the Dachau Military Tribunal, primarily because of his actions in the Battle of the Bulge. He remained a prisoner until July 27, 1948, at which point he escaped. After the war, Skorzeny served as consultant to several countries, including Egypt and Argentina. Moreover, it was rumored that Skorzeny helped many of his SS friends to escape Germany through Odessa.

Impact

Otto Skorzeny is notorious for his role in Hitler’s Nazi Germany and for his status as a war criminal. Nevertheless, he led a truly fascinating life; likewise, he was incredibly lucky. He never received a prison sentence and was not considered a Nazi by the Allied Powers. At the end of his life, he was a multimillionaire. Furthermore, Skorzeny influenced the way people viewed special forces. Before him, war was won by throwing a massive army against another massive army, resulting in many deaths on both sides. Skorzeny showed that with the right training and skill, a few men could impact a war as greatly as any army.

Bibliography

Annussek, G. Hitler’s Raid to Save Mussolini. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. Recounts Germany’s secret six-week operation to find and rescue the prisoner Mussolini and restore him to power.

Foley, Charles. Commando Extraordinary. Rev. ed. New York: Ballantine, 1957. Discusses guerrilla and underground movements during World War II, detailing Skorzeny’s exploits in the process.

Skorzeny, Otto. My Commando Operations: The Memoirs of Hitler’s Most Daring Commando. Translated by David Johnson. Reprint. Atglen, Pa.: Schiffer, 1995. Skorzeny provides behind-the-scenes details of important World War II battles and German and Russian secret military intelligence, among other information.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Skorzeny’s Special Missions. New York: Greenhill Books, 1997. Skorzeny naturally attempts make himself look benevolent, so he fails to mention anything that could hurt his image. A good read whose source must be taken into account.

Whiting, Charles. Skorzeny: “The Most Dangerous Man in Europe.” New York: Da Capo Press, 1998. Whiting, an expert on Skorzeny’s life December 15, 2008and career, brings forth an updated biography on Skorzeny which answers questions that have long been asked about secret details of Skorzeny’s missions.