Schwarzenegger remembers his Nazi father in plea to Russia to end Ukraine invasion

Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger invoked his Nazi father in a nine-minute video posted to social media Thursday calling on Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine.

The 74-year-old Schwarzenegger, Austrian by birth, opened the video by saying that it was being sent "through various different channels to reach my dear Russian friends," an attempt to break through Russian state propaganda.

He talked candidly about his father, Gustav Schwarzenegger, who was a Nazi soldier during World War II and was part of the invasion of Leningrad, during which he was wounded by shrapnel, according to his son.

"When my father arrived in Leningrad, he was all pumped up on the lies of his government, and when he left Leningrad, he was broken, physically and mentally," Schwarzenegger said. "He lived the rest of his life in pain. Pain from a broken back, pain from the shrapnel that always reminded him of these terrible years. And pain from the guilt that he felt.

"To the Russian listening to this broadcast, you already know much of the truth that I've been speaking. You've seen it with your own eyes. I don't want you to be broken like my father. This is not the war to defend Russia that your grandfathers or your great grandfathers fought. This is an illegal war."

He drew a parallel between the false justifications for the Nazi invasion of Russia during WWII and those of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I know that your government has told you that this is a war to denazify Ukraine. Denazify Ukraine? This is not true. This is a country with a Jewish president. A Jewish president, I might add, whose father, three brothers, were all murdered by the Nazis. You see, Ukraine did not start this war. Neither did nationalists or Nazis. Those in power in the Kremlin started this war. This is not the Russian people's war."

He also described his emotional connection to Russia, when as a 14-years-old, he met Russian weightlifting champion Yuri Petrovich Vlasov at a competition in Vienna in 1961. He put Vlasov's photo up in his bedroom and refused to take it down.

"I went up and put his photo above my bed to inspire me when I started lifting weights," Schwarzenegger said. "My father told me to take down that picture, and to find a German or Austrian hero. He got really angry, and we argued back and forth. He didn't like Russians because of his experience in the Second World War. You see, he was injured in Leningrad. The Nazi army that he was part of did vicious harm to the great city and its brave people. But I did not take the photograph down. Because it did not matter to me what flag Yuri Vlasov carried."

Schwarzenegger described again meeting Vlasov when he filmed the 1988 movie "Red Heat" in Red Square, the first Hollywood movie to ever film there.

"Ever since I was 14 years old, I've had nothing but affection and respect for the people of Russia. The strength and the heart of the Russian people has always inspired me. And that is why I hope you will let me tell you the truth about the war in Ukraine, and what is happening there."

In:
• Ukraine
• Russia
• Arnold Schwarzenegger