Posted on 01/01/2015 1:14:08 PM PST by the scotsman
'He was Hitler's favourite Nazi commando, famously rescuing Mussolini from an Italian hilltop fortress, and was known as "the most dangerous man in Europe".
After World War Two, he landed in Argentina and became a bodyguard for Eva Perón, with whom he was rumoured to have had an affair.
So when Otto Skorzeny arrived in Ireland in 1959, having bought a rural farmhouse in County Kildare, it caused much intrigue.'
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
He was one of the greatest Special Ops guys.
How delicious.
Leni
I've read he also did some work for the CIA in the '50s. But he was (outwardly at least) a staunch Nazi -- seems to me like he got off far too easily.
Glorification of the Nazis.
The scar that was famous in literature (I have a nice facial scar).
“Dueling scars (German: Schmisse) have been seen as a “badge of honour” since as early as 1825. Known variously as “Mensur scars”, “the bragging scar”, “smite”, “Schmitte” or “Renommierschmiss”, dueling scars were popular amongst upper-class Austrians and Germans involved in academic fencing at the start of the 20th century. Being a practice amongst university students, it was seen as a mark of their class and honour, due to the status of dueling societies at German and Austrian universities at the time, and is an early example of scarification in European society. The practice of duelling and the associated scars was also present to some extent in the German military.
American tourists visiting Germany in the late 19th century were shocked to see the students, generally with their Studentcorp, at major German universities such as Heidelberg, Bonn, or Jena with facial scars – some older, some more recent, and some still wrapped in bandages.”
I’ve read that his reputation was inflated. Even took credit for Mussolini raid that really belonged elsewhere.
I haven’t heard that.
Skorzeny was one of the greatest Special Operations guys, ever. Committed no “war crimes”, while pulling off unbelievable jobs.
At his trial, it was exposed that Allied Special forces used exactly the same tactics in their operations, like wearing enemy uniforms, etc.
That he was of great interest to U.S. and British Intelligence was no secret. He knew where the bodies were buried, and still had access to his network inside of East Germany.
As a side note, one of the Palestineans he trained in Egypt, in special ops, while serving as an advisor to Nasser, was a guy by the name of Yassar Arafat.
Apparently he did not plan the raid.
You have a long way to go to discredit Skorzeny as a commando great.
Ditto. He led the Mussolini raid. That’s plenty.
The Eagle Has Landed, a novel by Jack Higgins about an Nazi attempt to assassinate Churchill, featured an IRA operative who rendered assistance to a German commando unit tasked with the mission. In reality, a significant number of Irish pols would probably have backed - with men and equipment - a Nazi invasion of Britain, if they weren’t afraid of British invasion and occupation. The rancor against Britain ran deep, perhaps because of the Irish Potato Famine. In fact without the famine, Ireland might still be part of Britain, which might have meant much more left-wing British policies, if today’s Ireland is any indication.
I’m not discrediting anyone. I’m simply saying there are those who are. Do your own web search on “Skorzeny overrated” and you’ll get plenty of hits. I have no idea what’s true and what isn’t.
He trained Yassar Arafat as well......
Your last sentence is telling.
Thanks for posting. I’ve never heard of this individual.
Interesting individual. When reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, from about 1943 to the the end of the war, Otto Skorzeny seemed to be involved in just about every Nazi special ops. When Berlin was surrounded, he seemed to enter and exit Berlin at will.
Military buffs know him, average person on street probably not.
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