The Enigma of Otto Skorzeny

Imagine a man so feared that even his enemies respected his ruthlessness. Otto Skorzeny, a former SS lieutenant colonel, was once Hitler’s favorite military officer. His fellow Nazis idolized his relentlessness, and American intelligence marked him as the most dangerous man in Europe. By all accounts, Skorzeny was a certified enemy of the Jews. Yet, less than 20 years after the Holocaust, Israeli intelligence recruited him to protect the Jewish state. How could the Mossad justify partnering with someone who had Jewish blood on his hands?

Israel’s Existential Threats

To understand this paradox, we must first delve into the geopolitical landscape of 1960s Israel. Fourteen years after its establishment, Israel had already defended itself against numerous attacks from neighboring countries. By 1962, Egypt, under President Nasser, was threatening yet another showdown, one that would challenge the very existence of the Jewish state. Nasser boasted about successfully test-launching long-range rockets developed with the help of former Nazi regime’s top weapons engineers. These rockets could hit any point in Israel, spreading panic among a population still traumatized by the Holocaust.

The Nazi-Egyptian Collaboration

The situation worsened when Israeli intelligence discovered that Nasser planned to arm these missiles with radioactive and chemical warheads. The collaboration between Egypt and former Nazi scientists was a nightmare scenario for Israel. Prime Minister Ben-Gurion and his defense team were desperate to stop the Nazi scientists from further developing Egypt’s missile program. Initial attempts, such as sending letter bombs, failed miserably. The Egyptians, with the help of former SS security officer Hermann Adolf Valentin, tightened security and thwarted Israeli plans.

The Need for a Nazi Insider

Israel needed a man on the inside, someone with the right connections in Egypt, someone the German scientists trusted, and someone who could take down Valentin. That man was Otto Skorzeny. Despite his notorious past, Skorzeny was the perfect candidate because no one would ever believe he was working for the Jews. But how could the Jewish state approach a Nazi?

Recruitment of Skorzeny

Enter Yosef Raanan, a man who wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty if it meant protecting the Jewish people. Raanan, a Holocaust survivor and a seasoned intelligence officer, was tasked with the seemingly impossible job of recruiting Skorzeny. After weeks of surveillance, Raanan’s team discovered that Skorzeny and his wife had an open marriage and were constantly on the lookout for new couples to invite into their bed. Two Mossad agents posed as such a couple and managed to gain entry into Skorzeny’s home. When Skorzeny confronted them with a gun, they convinced him that they were there to offer him a deal, not to kill him.

The Deal with the Devil

Skorzeny, paranoid and terrified of being hunted down and killed, saw his chance for safety. He agreed to help the Mossad on the condition that Simon Wiesenthal, the famous Nazi hunter, strike his name from his list of war criminals. Although the agents couldn’t actually promise that, they agreed. The Mossad forged a letter from Wiesenthal promising Skorzeny his name had been cleared. Thus, a proud Nazi mastermind found himself on a plane to the Jewish state.

Skorzeny’s Operations

Once in Israel, Skorzeny was taken to the Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem, to test him for remorse. He showed none. However, his lack of a moral compass was precisely why Israel hired him. Skorzeny quickly got to work. A letter bomb exploded in an Egyptian military rocket site, killing five engineers. Top German scientist Heinz Krug was murdered, and a gathering of Nazi scientists was bugged, revealing crucial information about Egypt’s missile program. Skorzeny’s actions led to the collapse of Egypt’s missile program as most Nazi scientists retreated back to Germany.

The Legacy of Skorzeny

While his relationship with the Israelis was purely transactional, some still wonder why Skorzeny served Israel so faithfully. That mystery went with him to the grave. He died of cancer at the age of 67, with his funeral attended by a who’s who of the Third Reich. Standing at a distance was his Mossad handler, Yosef Raanan, who made the trip at his own expense to pay his last respects to the former Nazi who, against all odds, helped save the Jewish state.

Israel’s Moral Dilemma

Otto Skorzeny was not the first vile character Israel decided to partner with, and he certainly wasn’t the last. The Mossad’s decision to recruit him surfaced an uncomfortable question: What happens when the business of lifesaving requires partnering with the wicked? It’s a troubling question and a luxury for us to even ask, because we are asking from a country that exists, a country that did what it needed to avoid certain disaster. When it comes to life or death, do we even have a choice?