Gustav Schwarzenegger - Military Career

Military Career

Schwarzenegger had served in the Austrian Army from 1930 to 1937, achieving the rank of section commander and in 1937 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 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 for bravery, 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.

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, and no evidence has emerged that has directly linked him with participation in war crimes or abuses against civilians. He resumed his police career in 1947.