Lot 137

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Description:

THE ORIGINAL TYPED FIRST MEMOIRS OF OTTO SKORZENY, WITH HIS CORRECTIONS
A historically important set of two typescripts being Skorzeny's very first set of memoirs, essentially his complete autobiography, used as the basis for his first autobiography and written by him while in exile in Spain. The book, Geheimekommando Skorzeny ("Secret Commando Skorzeny") was published Hansa-Verlag, Lubeck in 1950. The first transcript is 402pp. 4to., ca. 1949 and covers Skorzeny's life from birth until the end of September, 1943. Within it covers Skorzeny's youth, the 1936 Olympics, meeting with the NSDAP, the annexation of Austria and Hitler's 1938 proclamation, Sudetenland annexation, the campain in the West, tiger hunting in Bordeaux, potential invasion of England, march to Romania, Belgrade, the bridgehead at Jelnja, Barbarossa, operations in Iran, American involvement, command of the Friedenthal Division, the Frascati rescue, offensive, rescue of Mussolini at Gran Sasso, and his award of the Knights Cross. Part II is 420pp. 4to., and contains Skorzeny's remembrances of the crisis in Vichy, Anzio, D-Day, Yugoslav partisans and the attempt to kidnap Josep Tito, the July 20 bombing of Hitler's headquarters, Nijmegen, Operation Scherhorn, kidnapping of Miklos Horthy, Jr., Russian advances, the future of V-1 weapons, Ukrainian partisans, Operation Greif during the Battle of the Bulge and supposed plans to capture Eisenhower, Malmedy, Budapest under siege, Remagen, plans for a last stand at an "alpenfestung", German surrender, his fears of execution, interrogation by American C.I.C. and jailing, his filmed interview, and his legal travails at war's end. The typescripts bear only a very few corrections in Skorzeny's hand, but bear multiple corrections, additions, and deletions of blocks of text done in another hand, with a few minor changes here and there done in yet at third hand. One page detached, else near fine condition. Skorzeny wrote four books under his name setting forth his exploits: Geheimekommando Skorzeny ("Secret Commano Skorzeny") in 1950, Wir Kampften - Wir Verloren ("We Fought - We Lost") in 1962, and Lebe Gefahrlict, ("Live Dangerously") also in 1962. Posthumously, Meine Kommandounternehmen ("My Commando Mission") was published in 1976. We are certain that these typescripts are Skorzeny's first efforts at recording his memoirs. Following the table of contents in the first typescript, Skorzeny added a typed page: Suggestions for Book Title". Beneath appears a list of eleven book titles, three of which he would later use, including "Geheimekommando Skorzeny", therefore this typescript could ONLY have been used for "Geheimekommando". The handwritten edits which appear in our typescripts do not appear in the extracts printed by news magazine Der Spiegel in their February, 1951 articles which followed publication of Geheimekommando Skorzeny. These corrections were added added at a later time, as were the handwritten "Book I" and "Book II" notes appearing in the table of contents and the first page of each typescript. We believe that after the publishing of Geheimekommando Skorzeny both transcripts were proofread (hence the corrections) and "recycled" for use in Skorzeny's reissue of his memoirs in his next two books. Obtained directly from the heir to the estate of Skorzeny's widow, Ilse, who died in Madrid in 2002. These memoirs have been only partially read by us and should be researched carefully as they no doubt contain the most accurate accounting of Skorzeny's life, certainly more so than the bombastic, poorly-translated memoirs which followed many years later. Sections deleted by Skorzeny and his editors should also be examined for historical importance.

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May 8, 2012 11:00 AM EDT
Stamford, CT, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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