The Tragic Fate of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Brother: How Childhood Abuse Tore Them Apart
By James H. Sterling
By 1968, Arnold had moved to California to pursue bodybuilding glory under Joe Weider, winning his first Mr. Olympia title in 1970. Meinhard remained behind in Europe. He moved to Germany and later returned to Austria, working various jobs and attempting to build an independent life. He fell in love with a local woman named Erika Kneigl, who became pregnant with their son. Yet Meinhard could never shake the emotional collapse brought on by his upbringing. His reliance on alcohol escalated rapidly.
On the night of May 20, 1971, Meinhard was driving alone near Kitzbühel, Austria. Heavily intoxicated, he lost control of his vehicle on a rural road and struck a concrete telephone pole. The impact killed him instantly. He was 24 years old.
Arnold received the news while training in Los Angeles. Shocked and grieving, Arnold made the controversial decision not to attend Meinhard's funeral in Austria. Critics and commentators long framed this absence as ruthless careerism, but Arnold later clarified that he could not bear returning to the domestic arena that had created the catastrophe. He was terrified that re-entering the Austrian orbit would drag him back into the psychological quicksand he had fought so hard to escape. Gustav Schwarzenegger died of a stroke just eighteen months later, in December 1972; Arnold did not attend his father's funeral either.
James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.
