Just released by Osprey Publishing is a new book by Stuart Smith that promises to be the definitive, true story of Otto Skorzeny’s pre-WWII life, wartime military career, and post-war activities.
Entitled, “Otto Skorzeny: The Devil’s Disciple” the book draws on years of in-depth research to uncover the truth about Skorzeny’s brutal career and complex personality. It relates the SS-Obersturmbannführer’s history in full, from his background as a student radical in Vienna, to his bloody service with the Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front, his surprise rebirth as “Hitler’s favorite commando”, and his intriguing post-war career and mysterious fortune.
Otto Skorzeny became a legend in his own time and acquired a reputation as a man of daring, renowned for his audacious 1943 mission to extricate Mussolini from a mountain-top prison, but also an egoist who stole other men’s credit, brave and resourceful but also an unrepentant Nazi and a self-aggrandizing lover of the limelight. This book tells the true story Otto Skorzeny in full – warts and all – for the first time.
“Otto Skorzeny: The Devil’s Disciple” is available now directly from Osprey Publishing, or from other good booksellers online and in-store.
To read more about how Skorzeny’s legend has even influenced modern special operations – including the assassination of Osama Bin Laden – read this entry on the Osprey Blog.