WebOtto Johann Anton Skorzeny (12 June 1908 – 5 July 1975) was an Austrian-born German SS-Obersturmbannführer (lieutenant colonel) in the Waffen-SS during World War II. During the war, he was involved in a number of operations, including the removal from power of Hungarian Regent Miklós Horthy and the Gran Sasso raid which rescued Benito ...

WebMay 5, 2023 · Otto Skorzeny, (born 1908, Vienna—died July 5, 1975, Madrid), Nazi SS officer, who gained fame in 1943 for his daring rescue of Benito Mussolini from confinement at Campo Imperatore in the Abruzzi mountains where he had been imprisoned by Marshal Pietro Badoglio.

WebMar 27, 2018 · On July 5, 1975, Otto Skorzeny died at the age of 67 from lung cancer. He had two funerals, one in Madrid, and the other at his family plot in Vienna. At both, he received a full Nazi send-off with Nazi veterans giving him the Nazi salute and singing some of Hitler’s favorite songs.

WebDec 30, 2014 · National Archives of Ireland. Otto Skorzeny's presence in Ireland caused much intrigue in the Irish and English press. Born in Vienna in 1908, Otto Skorzeny joined the Austrian Nazi party in the ...

WebOtto Skorzeny was a legendary Waffen SS commander of World War II. Skorzeny was born in Vienna, Austria, on June 12, 1908. An engineering student, he fought 15 ritual sabre duels as a young man. In one of these he received a cut to the face that left him with a …

WebThe operation in Iran was to be led by SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny of the Waffen SS. A group of agents from the Soviet Union, led by Soviet spy Gevork Vartanian, uncovered the plot before its inception and the mission was never launched.

WebMar 30, 2016 · Otto Skorzeny was one of the most successful and audacious commanders of special operations forces in World War II. He was also a diehard Nazi. So historians are astonished to learn this week that — after the war — Skorzeny was recruited by the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad.

WebMar 27, 2016 · The Strange Case of a Nazi Who Became an Israeli Hitman. Otto Skorzeny, one of the Mossad’s most valuable assets, was a former lieutenant colonel in Nazi Germany’s Waffen-SS and one of Adolf Hitler’s favorites. Otto Skorzeny Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Kurt Alber.

WebOtto Skorzeny was an Austrian-born ‘Waffen-SS’ commander who served during World War II. He is chiefly known for his risky liberation of the ousted Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from the Abruzzi Apennines, where he was …

WebOct 30, 2020 · In the frantic change of the Austrian government on 12 March 1938, Skorzeny was a member of the Gymnastic Club which was trying to support the police and keep antagonistic political factions from breaking into rioting. He was a big man with a strong sense of duty, an energetic attitude, and a loud, commanding voice.