Arnold Schwarzenegger has been involved in a lot of controversies throughout his career. One of the most publicized ones is when Maria Shriver filed for divorce from him after confirming that he has a love child with their former housekeeper. Then there's his polarizing political career. However, little is known about Schwarzenegger's relationship with his parents. Recently, he mentioned his father in a statement about the Ukraine conflict. Here's a little backstory about their relationship.
A Quick Recap Of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Colorful Career
It's a well-known fact that the Austrian-born actor started out as a bodybuilder. In 1968, he moved to the U.S. to compete in bigger bodybuilding competitions. After his move, he won three Mr. Universe titles and the Mr. Olympia title for six years in a row (1970-1975). He also tried his luck in acting around that time. He starred in his first film Hercules in New York (1970) but was dubbed due to his "incomprehensible" accent.
In 1977, he became even more popular for his iconic documentary Pumping Iron. It landed him the lead role in his 1982 breakout film Conan the Barbarian. But what made him an international movie sensation was The Terminator which came two years later. Some of his other memorable films are Predator (1987), Kindergarten Cop (1990), and Total Recall (1990). In 1983, Schwarzenegger became a U.S. citizen and married Shriver three years later.
The actor became active in the Republican Party in the '90s which eventually led to his controversial run for governor of California in 2003. Despite an uneventful term, he was reelected in 2006. He received low ratings during this term. It didn't help that his divorce and cheating scandal came out around that time. Still, he managed to reclaim his name when he came out of his acting hiatus for The Expendables (2010).
Arnold Schwarzenegger's Relationship With His Estranged Father
Recently, Schwarzenegger mentioned his father Gustav in a statement about the conflict in Ukraine. In 2021, the actor was slammed for his father's ties to the Nazis. "Arnold Schwarzenegger's father was a member of Hitler's Brownshirts and served as a 1st Sgt in the Wehrmacht," tweeted alt-right political activist Jack Posobiec. Newsweek later confirmed the claims. Apparently, the actor knew little about his father growing up. In 1980, eight years after Gustav passed away, newspaper reports started linking him to the group.
It resulted in the Predator star reaching out to Rabbi Marvin Hier at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in 1990. The former governor asked Hier to conduct an investigation on his dad's alleged involvement in the World War II. In two months, they discovered that his father applied for membership in the Nazi Party in 1938. He was accepted in 1941. Though Schwarzenegger didn't get answers about his father's exact involvement in the party, Holocaust scholar Michael Berenbaum stated that he had been "in the thick of the battle during the most difficult times" in places where some of "most horrific military and nonmilitary killings" occurred.
In his recent statement, Schwarzenegger expressed compassion towards his father's dark experiences. "[My father] was injured at Leningrad, and the Nazi army he was part of did vicious harm to the great city and to its brave people," he said. "When my father arrived in Leningrad, he was all pumped up on the lies of his government. When he left Leningrad, he was broken — physically and mentally. He lived the rest of his life in pain — pain from a broken back, pain from the shrapnel that always reminded him of those terrible years and pain from the guilt that he felt. To the Russian soldiers listening to this broadcast: You already know much of the truth that I’m speaking. You’ve seen it in your own eyes. I don't want you to be broken like my father."
Arnold Schwarzenegger's Relationship With All His Children
Unlike his relationship with his father, Schwarzenegger is extremely close to all his children. He's even close to Chris Pratt, the husband of his eldest daughter Katherine. The retired bodybuilder said that Pratt's kindness to his daughter "is the most important thing" for him. However, he was "blown away" by the fact that his daughter picked a guy who's taller than him. Luckily, he was taken by Pratt because he wanted an "inside scoop to the Pumping Iron."
As for his second child Christina, they most likely bond over their love for film and philanthropy. Christina is an executive producer and mental health advocate. Schwarzenegger is also close to his sons — Patrick who followed in his footsteps as an actor, the introverted Christopher, and his love child Joseph Baena who's also a bodybuilder.