Otto Skorzeny: Hitler’s ‘Most Dangerous Man in Europe’
When we think of the most dangerous figures of the Nazi regime, names such as Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, or Joseph Goebbels are likely to spring to mind. However, the man Hitler himself dubbed "the most dangerous man in Europe" was not among these familiar faces of power. Instead, it was Otto Johann Skorzeny, a man who, by the war's end, had become one of the most feared and celebrated commandos in history.
But who exactly was Otto Skorzeny, and how did he earn such a formidable title?
The Early Life of Otto Skorzeny
Otto Skorzeny was born on the 12th of June 1908 in Vienna, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His family was steeped in a military tradition, and young Otto grew up with tales of war and heroism. This background nurtured a love for discipline and combat that would later define his life.
In his youth, Skorzeny pursued a university education in engineering and took up fencing as a hobby. His passion for duelling earned him a prominent scar on his left cheek—known in German-speaking regions as a Schmiss—a badge of honour among university fencers. This scar would later contribute to his menacing appearance.
By 1932, Skorzeny had joined the Austrian branch of the Nazi Party, a move that aligned him with the growing fascist movements in Europe. In 1938, following the Anschluss—the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany—Skorzeny enlisted in the Waffen-SS. The outbreak of war in 1939 soon saw him serving in Adolf Hitler’s personal bodyguard. Initially, his military career was relatively unremarkable. Skorzeny was deployed to the Eastern Front during Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, where he saw combat but gained little attention. This would change dramatically in 1943 when a fellow Austrian, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, became head of the Reich Security Main Office and recognised Skorzeny’s potential. Kaltenbrunner promoted him to head a Special Operations unit, setting Skorzeny on a path to infamy.
The Gran Sasso Raid: Rescuing Mussolini
Skorzeny’s rise to notoriety came in September 1943 with Operation Oak (Unternehmen Eiche), more commonly known as the Gran Sasso Raid. By this time, Italy’s fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini, had fallen from power. Following the Allied invasion of Sicily, Mussolini was deposed by his own government and placed under house arrest at a remote mountaintop hotel, the Campo Imperatore, in the Gran Sasso mountains.
Hitler, determined to maintain his grip on Italy and restore Mussolini to power, tasked Skorzeny with organising a daring rescue. On the 12th of September 1943, in an operation that astonished the world, Skorzeny led a glider assault on the hotel. Paragliding onto the mountain, his troops swiftly overwhelmed Mussolini’s guards, and the former dictator was liberated without a single shot being fired. The Italian leader was then whisked away to northern Italy, where he was installed as the figurehead of a puppet regime under German control.
The raid was a spectacular success. Even British Prime Minister Winston Churchill grudgingly admitted it was "a great feat of daring." Skorzeny’s role in the mission brought him international fame, and he became a hero within Nazi circles.
Further Operations: Deception and Sabotage
Skorzeny’s reputation continued to grow in the months that followed, as he became involved in a series of high-profile missions. Among the most notorious was Operation Greif, part of the German Ardennes offensive during the winter of 1944, also known as the Battle of the Bulge. The operation saw Skorzeny leading German commandos disguised as American soldiers, infiltrating Allied lines in an attempt to spread confusion and disinformation.
Skorzeny’s men caused chaos behind enemy lines, turning road signs the wrong way, spreading false orders, and generally disrupting Allied operations. Their impersonation of American troops was so effective that the Allies became paranoid, with even senior American officers subject to suspicion and intense identity checks. Several of Skorzeny’s men were captured and, under the rules of war, were executed as spies for wearing enemy uniforms.
While Operation Greif did not turn the tide of battle, it further cemented Skorzeny’s reputation as a master of unconventional warfare and deception. His success, however, also made him a target. The Allies issued wanted posters bearing his likeness, and a false rumour circulated that he was plotting to assassinate General Dwight D. Eisenhower, forcing the Allied commander to take special precautions for his safety.
The Unconventional Commando: Operation Long Jump and Beyond
Skorzeny’s audacity was not confined to battlefield deception. One of the more fantastical missions he was reportedly involved in was Operation Long Jump, a supposed plot to assassinate the ‘Big Three’—Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt—during the 1943 Tehran Conference. According to Soviet intelligence, the Nazis had cracked an American naval code and learned the details of the meeting. Skorzeny was allegedly given command of the mission, which was ultimately foiled by Soviet counterintelligence. However, the existence of Operation Long Jump remains contentious, with Skorzeny himself denying that it ever took place, suggesting it was Soviet propaganda.
Throughout the war, Skorzeny was involved in numerous other operations, including the kidnapping of Hungarian leader Miklós Horthy Jr. in Operation Panzerfaust, and an attempted raid on the Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito in Operation Knight’s Leap. His work always combined daring with the element of surprise, making him one of Nazi Germany’s most feared and effective special operatives.
After the War: Escape, Espionage, and Controversy
Skorzeny’s story did not end with the collapse of the Third Reich. After the war, he was held in custody and charged with war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials, particularly concerning his role in Operation Greif. However, he was acquitted when a British officer testified that similar tactics had been employed by Allied forces, thereby saving him from conviction.
Despite this acquittal, further trials awaited him, but in 1948, Skorzeny escaped from a detention centre in Darmstadt with the assistance of former SS officers. He lived in hiding for some time, eventually finding refuge in Franco’s Spain and Juan Perón’s Argentina. Skorzeny became involved in post-war clandestine networks that helped Nazi war criminals escape Europe, including the infamous "Ratlines" leading to South America. However, in a bizarre twist, it has also been claimed that Skorzeny worked for Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, assisting them in tracking down former Nazis responsible for the Holocaust.
He spent his later years running a small engineering business in Spain and dabbling in various right-wing causes, including founding the Paladin Group, a paramilitary organisation linked to neo-fascist activities across Europe. Skorzeny’s contradictory legacy was that of a man who seemingly thrived in chaos, straddling both sides of international intrigue.
Death and Legacy
Skorzeny died of lung cancer on the 5th of July 1975 in Madrid. He was 67 years old. His funeral was attended by former SS comrades who gave the Hitler salute and sang Nazi songs in his honour, underlining the continued reverence he commanded within far-right circles. His ashes were interred in the family plot in Vienna.
Even today, Otto Skorzeny remains a figure of fascination, both for his military prowess and his post-war activities. His legacy is deeply controversial. While some view him as a daring commando who served his country, others see him as a war criminal who never truly faced justice. Skorzeny himself never renounced his Nazi beliefs, and his role in perpetuating the ideology through his post-war activities cannot be overlooked.
Ultimately, Otto Skorzeny earned his title as "the most dangerous man in Europe" not through political power or mass atrocities, but through his mastery of unconventional warfare and deception. His missions were bold, daring, and often wildly successful, leaving an indelible mark on the history of the Second World War and the dark shadows that followed its conclusion.