Special Forces History

30 December 2014 Last updated at 00:00 GMT

How did Hitler's scar-faced henchman become an Irish farmer?

By Peter CrutchleyBBC Digital & Learning NI

Otto Skorzeny pictured in his Nazi uniform, and working on his farm in County Kildare

He was Hitler's favourite Nazi commando, famously rescuing Mussolini from an Italian hilltop fortress, and was known as "the most dangerous man in Europe".

After World War Two, he landed in Argentina and became a bodyguard for Eva Perón, with whom he was rumoured to have had an affair.

So when Otto Skorzeny arrived in Ireland in 1959, having bought a rural farmhouse in County Kildare, it caused much intrigue.

At 6ft 4in and 18 stone, known as 'scarface' due to a distinctive scar on his left cheek, Skorzeny was an easily recognisable figure as he popped into the local post office.

Adolf Hitler shakes hands with his top commando, Otto Skorzeny

In Irish press reports at the time Skorzeny was portrayed as a glamorous cloak and dagger figure, as Dublin-based journalist Kim Bielenberg recalls.

'Military prowess'

"Skorzeny was depicted as the Third Reich's Scarlet Pimpernel. The tone in newspaper articles was one of admiration rather than repulsion.

"He seemed to be admired for his military prowess," he said.

But concerns about why this pin-up boy of the Nazi party had come to the country led to questions in the Irish parliament. What was Skorzeny doing there? Did he intend to start Nazi activities in 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 early 1930s. At the outbreak of WW2 he was initially involved in fighting on the Eastern Front, taking part in the German invasions of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union.

'Most dangerous man in Europe'

By April 1943, he had been made head of German special forces, in charge of a unit of elite SS commandos.

When Hitler's ally Benito Mussolini was overthrown and imprisoned in Italy, Skorzeny was chosen by Hitler to lead the rescue mission.

Skorzeny and his men descended in gliders upon the remote Italian mountain-top hotel where Mussolini was held captive, overwhelming the Italian guards with the surprise attack and freeing the deposed dictator.

With this success, Skorzeny further enhanced his reputation with Hitler and was promoted to major.

He gained international renown when Mussolini was paraded in front of the media with Skorzeny at his side. Winston Churchill even described the mission as "one of great daring"…

Read more at: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-30571335