[3][4] According to documents obtained in 2003 from the Austrian State Archives by the Los Angeles Times,[a] Schwarzenegger applied to join the Sturmabteilung (SA), the Nazi Party's (NSDAP) paramilitary wing, on 1 March 1939.

[citation needed] Schwarzenegger had served in the Austrian Army from 1930 to 1937, achieving the rank of section commander and, in 1937, he became a police officer.

After enlisting in the Wehrmacht in November 1939, Schwarzenegger, according to his Soldbuch, had gained the rank of Stabsfeldwebel[6] (sergeant major) of the Feldgendarmerie, which acted as military police units.

Initially treated at a military hospital in Łódź, according to the records, Schwarzenegger also suffered recurring bouts of malaria, which led to his discharge in February 1944.

Ursula Schwarz, a historian at Vienna's Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance, has argued that Schwarzenegger's career was fairly typical for his generation,[8] and that no evidence has emerged directly linking him with participation in war crimes or abuses against civilians.

[citation needed] Schwarzenegger married war widow Aurelia "Reli" Jadrny (29 July 1922 – 2 August 1998) on 5 October 1945, in Mürzsteg, Steiermark, Austria.

The Center found his father's army records and NSDAP party membership, but did not uncover any connection to war crimes or the paramilitary organization, the Schutzstaffel (SS).