Matthäus Hetzenauer (, 23 December 1924 – 3 October 2004) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n sniper in the ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previou ...

'' of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He served in the 3rd Gebirgsjäger Division on the Eastern Front of

, and was credited with 345 kills. His longest confirmed kill was reported at . Hetzenauer received the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

on 17 April 1945.

Early life

Dekanatskirche Brixen im Thale in Nordtirol

Matthäus Hetzenauer was born on 23 December 1924 in the

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

ean village of Brixen im Thale to Simon and Magdalena Hetzenauer, descendants of a long line of Austrian peasantry in the Kitzbühel region. He was baptized as a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipati ...

in the medieval

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activitie ...

and was raised with his two brothers and sister on his parents’ farm above the village.

Military career

Hetzenauer trained as a sniper from March to July 1944 at the ''Truppenübungsplatz Seetaler-Alpe'' in

Steiermark Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

, before being assigned as a ''Gefreiter'' to the 3rd Gebirgsjäger Division. He utilized both a Karabiner 98k sniper variant with 6x telescopic sight and a

Gewehr 43 The Gewehr 43 or Karabiner 43 (abbreviated G43, K43, Gew 43, Kar 43) is a 7.92×57mm Mauser caliber semi-automatic rifle developed by Germany during World War II. The design was based on that of the earlier G41(W), but incorporated an improved ...

with ZF4 4x telescopic sight. He saw action against Soviet forces in the

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

, and

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

. On 6 November 1944, he suffered head trauma from artillery fire and was awarded the

Wound Badge The Wound Badge (german: Verwundetenabzeichen) was a German military decoration first promulgated by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on 3 March 1918, which was first awarded to soldiers of the German Army who were wounded during World War I. Between t ...

three days later. ''

Gefreiter Gefreiter (, abbr. Gefr.; plural ''Gefreite'') is a Germany, German, Switzerland, Swiss and Austrian military rank that has existed since the 16th century. It is usually the second rank or grade to which an Enlisted rank, enlisted soldier, airman ...

'' Hetzenauer received the

on 17 April 1945. ''

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of ...

'' and Divisions commander

Paul Klatt __NOTOC__ Paul Klatt (6 December 1896 – 6 June 1973) was a German general who commanded the 3rd Mountain Division (Wehrmacht), 3rd Mountain Division during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, Knight's Cros ...

had recommended Hetzenauer because of his numerous sniper kills, which totalled two enemy companies, without fear for his own safety under artillery fire and enemy attacks. This recommendation was approved by ''General der Gebirgstruppe''

Karl von Le Suire __NOTOC__ Karl Hans Maximilian von Le Suire (8 November 1898 – 18 June 1954) was a German general during World War II who commanded the XXXXIX Mountain Corps. He was responsible for the Massacre of Kalavryta, in Greece. Life and career Karl v ...

and ''General der Panzertruppe'' Walter Nehring. Hetzenauer was captured by Soviet troops the following month, and served five years in a Soviet prison camp. He died on 3 October 2004. His wife Maria died in 2006.

Awards

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia e ...

(1939) 2nd Class (1 September 1944) & 1st Class (25 November 1944) *

(1939) in Black (9 November 1944) *

Infantry Assault Badge The Infantry Assault Badge () was a German military decoration awarded to Waffen-SS and ''Wehrmacht Heer'' soldiers during the Second World War. This decoration was instituted on 20 December 1939 by the Commander-in-Chief (''Oberbefehlshaber'') ...

in Silver (13 November 1944) *

Sniper's Badge __NOTOC__ The Sniper's Badge () was a World War II German military decoration awarded to snipers. It was instituted on 20 August 1944. Initially, only personnel serving in the German Army and the Waffen-SS were eligible. Later, by order of the H ...

in Gold (3 December 1944; one of three recipients) *

on 17 April 1945 as ''

'' and sniper in the 7./Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 144

Notes

Citations

References

English

German

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hetzenauer, Matthias 1924 births 2004 deaths People from Kitzbühel District Gebirgsjäger of World War II Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German military snipers German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union Austrian military personnel of World War II German Army soldiers of World War II