Matthäus Hetzenauer

Matthäus Hetzenauer (German pronunciation: [maˈtɛːʊs ˈhɛtsənaʊ̯ɐ], 23 December 1924 – 3 October 2004) was an Austrian sniper in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II.

He served in the 3rd Gebirgsjäger Division on the Eastern Front of World War II, and was, with 345 confirmed kills, the most successful German sniper.

He was baptized as a Catholic on Christmas Eve in the medieval parish church and was raised with his two brothers and sister on his parents’ farm above the village.

[a] Hetzenauer trained as a sniper from March to July 1944 at the Truppenübungsplatz Seetaler-Alpe in Steiermark, before being assigned as a Gefreiter to the 3rd Gebirgsjäger Division.

[6] Sixty years after the war, Hetzenauer become an inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s film Inglourious Basterds.

Brixen im Thale's parish deanery, where Hetzenauer spent much of his youth.