Gustav Schwarzenegger
| Gustav Schwarzenegger | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 17, 1907 Austria-Hungary |
| Died | December 1, 1972 (aged 65) Weiz, Steiermark, Austria |
| Resting place | Weiz Cemetery, Weiz, Steiermark, Austria |
| Spouse | Aurelia Jadrny (1945 – 1972) |
| Children | Arnold Schwarzenegger |
Gustav Schwarzenegger (August 17, 1907 – December 1, 1972) was an Austrian police chief (Gendarmeriekommandant), postal inspector, a senior non-commissioned military police officer, who later became notable as the father of bodybuilder, Hollywood star and Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Gustav Schwarzenegger, the father of Arnold Schwarzenegger, married war widow Aurelia Jadrny (July 2, 1922 – August 2, 1998) on October 5, 1945, in Mürzsteg, Steiermark, Austria. He died in Weiz, Steiermark, Austria at the age of 65, where he had been transferred as a policeman. He is buried in Weiz Cemetery, Weiz, Steiermark, Austria. Aurelia Jadrny Schwarzenegger died of a heart attack at the age of 76 while visiting Weiz Cemetery in 1998 and she is buried next to her husband.
His son, Arnold Schwarzenegger, stated in the film Pumping Iron that he did not attend his father's funeral, but later retracted this, explaining that it was a story he had appropriated from a boxer to make it appear as though he could prevent his personal life from interfering with his athletic training.[1] News reports about Gustav's Nazi links first surfaced in 1990, at which time Arnold asked the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an organization he had long supported, to research his father's past. The Center found Gustav's army records and Nazi party membership, but did not uncover any connection to war crimes or the paramilitary organization, the Schutzstaffel (SS).[2] Media interest resurfaced when Arnold ran for Governor in the 2003 recall election.
[edit] Nazi Party and SA membership
According to documents obtained in 2003 from the Austrian State Archives by the Los Angeles Times, which was after the expiration of a 30-year seal of his records under Austrian privacy law, Gustav Schwarzenegger voluntarily applied to join the Nazi Party on March 1, 1938, two weeks before the country was annexed. Austria became part of the German Reich through the Anschluss on March 12, 1938.[2] A separate record obtained by the Wiesenthal Center indicates he sought membership before the annexation but was only accepted one day of January, 1941. He also applied to become a member of the Sturmabteilung (SA), the NSDAP's paramilitary wing, on May 1, 1939, the year after the reunification with Austria, at a time when SA membership was declining. The troops had 900,000 members in 1940, down from 4.2 million in 1934.
[edit] Military career
Schwarzenegger had served in the Austrian Army from 1930 to 1937, achieving the rank of section commander and that same year he became a police officer. After enlisting in the Wehrmacht in November 1939, he was a Hauptfeldwebel (Master Sergeant) of the Feldgendarmerie, which were military police units. He served in Poland, France, Belgium, Ukraine, Lithuania and Eastern Russia. His unit was Feldgendarmerie-Abteilung 521 (mot.), which was part of Panzergruppe 4 (later Panzerarmee 4). Wounded in action in Russia in August 22, 1942, he had the Iron Cross First and Second Classes, the Eastern Front Medal (during the especially bitter Russian winter of '41/'42) or the Wound Badge. Schwarzenegger appears to have received much medical attention, initially, he was treated in the military hospital in Lodz, but according to the records he also suffered recurring bouts of malaria, which led to his discharge in February, 1944, considered unfit for combat duties, when he returned to Graz, Austria, where he was assigned to work as a postal inspector. [2]
A health registry document describes him as a "calm and reliable person, not particularly outstanding" and assesses his intellect as "average." Ursula Schwarz, a historian at Vienna's Documentation Center for Austrian Resistance, has said that Schwarzenegger's career was fairly typical for his generation,[3] and no evidence has emerged that has directly linked him with participation in war crimes or abuses against civilians.[2] He resumed his police career in 1947.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Nick Gillespie (July 31, 2003). "Hasta la Vista, Arnold: How Schwarzenegger could have liberated U.S. politics". http://www.reason.com/news/show/32707.html. Retrieved 2006-11-13.
- ^ a b c d Tracy Wilkinson and Matt Lait (August 14, 2003). "Austrian Archives Reveal Nazi Military Role of Actor's Father". Los Angeles Times. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0814-07.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-14.
- ^ Spotlight Thrown on Nazi Past of Schwarzenegger's Father
- "Records: Arnold's father was member of Nazi storm troops", AP wire services via USA Today 8/24/2003
