This is Otto Skorzeny, often regarded as Hitlers deadliest general.
Two German students engaging in mensur.
Duels became common in the academic environment too.
Because very few people went to universities, being a student was a status symbol.
It was only in the first half of the 19th century that duelers started taking more precaution.
Practically, though not according to strict rules, the body is altogether covered.
The eyes are protected by iron spectacles, with a strong wire net instead of glasses.
A duel formally begins with an insult, the most common beingdummer Junge(stupid boy).
Student corporations demanded their members fight at least one duel with sharp blades during their university time.
One German student Fritz Bacmeister took part in an estimated 100 mensur bouts.
Many experienced fencers thus accumulated an array of scars.
During the Third Reich, the Nazis forbade mensur, forcing many student fraternities to indulge in secret.
German students pose after a successful mensur duel.
A German student shows a fresh wound received in a mensur duel.
Adolf Hoffmann-Heyden, a German Corpsstudent, showing an extensive fresh fencing scar and some minor old ones.
