Arnold Schwarzenegger Had a Tough Childhood in Austria
Born in the small town of Thal, Austria, in 1947, Schwarzenegger describes his parents as loving but strict. His mother was obsessed with cleanliness, and his father brought his military-inspired ideas about life into the home.
Arnold and his brother, Meinhard, were encouraged to compete with each other often, Schwarzenegger says. He also remembered being physically abused by his father and feared when he would come home drunk late at night.
“He was a tyrant and a tough police officer. There was no screwing around,” Schwarzenegger says in Episode 1 of the docuseries.
“Austria was a country of broken men,” he added. “I think there were times when my father really struggled. When we got smacked or my father would use the belt and hit us with it, well, the kid next door was also hit by his father. Everyone was going through the same thing.”
But Terminator star doesn’t hold his tough upbringing against his parents.
“What I hated as a kid was good, because that’s what drove me to get out of there,” he says.
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