LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Arnold Schwarzenegger has opened up about his rough and traumatic upbringing. Schwarzenegger was born and raised in Thal, Austria, under the influence of his military father, Gustav, a former Nazi party official and his conservative and cleanliness-obsessed mother Aurelia, as per a new Netflix documentary named 'Arnold'.
In the first segment of the documentary, Schwarzenegger speaks openly about the difficult reality of his upbringing and the abuse his father inflicted on him and his deceased brother. He recounts the cruelty and beatings they received from their parents and depicts their upbringing as difficult. "Our upbringing was very tough. The brutality that would be at home, the beatings that we got from our parents sometimes," Daily Mail reported.
'Father may have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder'
The issues, according to Schwarzenegger, are mostly attributable to the fact that World War II left Austria with a large population of wounded soldiers who were still experiencing the aftereffects of their trauma. The Hollywood icon suggests that his father "may have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder" and depression which manifested in his abusive behavior towards his family.
'He would scream at three in the morning'
Schwarzenegger recalls his father's erratic and occasionally violent behavior, saying that they always lived in fear of his outbursts. The strictness and discipline imposed on their household were further increased by Gustav Schwarzenegger's position as the county police head. He used extreme measures to impose order and control, even making his children "earn" breakfast. "He would scream at three in the morning and we would wake up and our hearts were pounding because we knew what that meant," he recalled. "He could, at any given time, strike my mother or go crazy. So there was this strange violence."
'Everything was perfectly placed'
Schwarzenegger also discusses his mother's obsession with cleanliness saying that she would painstakingly tidy up the house and make sure that "everything was perfectly placed." If otherwise, she would "go nuts." Back in 2014, Arnold first spoke of his difficult childhood to Fortune Magzine. "My hair was pulled. I was hit with belts. So was the child next door, and so was the child next door. It was just the way it was." He continued, "Many of the children I've seen were broken by their parents which was the German-Austrian mentality. Break the will. They didn't want to create an individual. It was all about conforming"
'I became a rebel'
He further added, "I was one who did not conform and whose will could not be broken. Therefore I became a rebel. Every time I got hit, and every time someone said, "you can't do this," I said, "this is not going to be for much longer, because I'm going to move out of here. I want to be rich. I want to be somebody."' Even after this Arnold who left home and began his career said in the documentary that his early life experiences gave him the motivation he required for his profession. "My dad always said, "Whatever you do Arnold, be useful."
