| Wilhelm | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Vital statistics | |
| Name | Wilhelm |
| Gender | Male |
| Allegiance | Third Reich Wehrmacht |
| Title/Rank | Oberfeldwebel (Staff Sergeant) |
| Nationality | German |
| Fate | Killed by Bridget von Hammersmark |
| Portrayed by | Alexander Fehling |
- “I'm a father. My baby was born today. In Frankfurt. Five hours ago. His name is Max. We were in here drinking, celebrating. They're the ones that came in shooting and killing. It's not my fault!”
- ―Wilhelm tells Aldo what happened in the tavern
Wilhelm was an Oberfeldwebel (Sergeant) in the Wehrmacht, who was celebrating along with 4 other soldiers the birth of his son in a tavern, where two of the Basterds were supposed to meet with Bridget von Hammersmark.
Biography[]
He was born in Germany. He was married and had a baby, Maximilian, who was born in Frankfurt.
Story[]
Chapter Four - OPERATION KINO[]
Wilhelm is seen at a table, in the La Louisiane tavern, in the French village of Nadine, drinking and celebrating the birth of his son, along with four of his comrades. Here, they accompanied Bridget von Hammersmark, who also took part of their guess card game. When the Basterds, disguised as officers enter the tavern, Wilhelm and his party stand up to salute them.
After Bridget joins the Basterds table, a very drunk Wilhelm barges at their table and asks Bridget for an autograph. After getting congratulated by Stiglitz, Wilhelm takes the napkin that Bridget signed and tells everyone how that autograph will be in his son's bedroom and calls von Hammersmark the greatest actress in he world. As he toasts, he spills some beer on Hicox's arm, who brushes it off, to avoid drawing unwanted attention. As the Basterds proceed their talk, a drunk Wilhelm sits at the table and asks Bridget what is she doing in France. Getting sick of his attitude, Hicox orders Wilhelm to leave the table, in a bizarre accent, which Wilhelm calls out on, only for Stiglitz to order Wilhelm's companions to haul him away before he gets arrested for public drunkenness.
From the other room, Dieter Hellstrom intervenes, and questions Hicox's accent, while Wilhelm and his comrades watch. After spinning a convincing story, the Gestapo Major tells Wilhelm's friends to haul him away. For the reminder of the scene, Wilhelm is seen playing cards with his friends and not making other noises.
When the shooting began, Wilhelm runs for the weapons cache, and shoots the rest of the people in the tavern with an MP40, then as he hears the tavern doors closing, he empties the clip in the stairways, before grabbing another weapon. As he demands to know who is there, Aldo responds that they're Americans, and complements Willie's English. After Aldo blows Bridget's cover, Wilhelm gets angry at her and shouts in German at her calling her a traitor. Aldo makes a deal with Wilhelm, to drop their guns, Aldo takes von Hammersmark and leave him be, but Wilhelm refuses to drop his gun. Aldo says that now they're in a Mexican standoff, saying that if Wilhelm fires his gun to kill them, they will drop grenades and that will kill him. After Bridget tells Wilhelm to think of his son, Wilhelm reluctantly drops his gun and tells Aldo to take von Hammersmark and leave. Immediately Bridget shoots him dead with Hicox's gun, killing the young soldier.
Trivia[]
- In the original script, Wilhelm survived after being shot by von Hammersmark and told Landa on the hospital bed that she was a spy. In the script, von Hammersmark also tells The Basterds that she shot Wilhelm to prevent him from revealing that she was a spy for the British.
- The standoff between Aldo and Wilhelm during the La Louisiane scene is similar to a scene in Quentin Tarantino's other movie Kill Bill: Vol. 2 in which Beatrix Kiddo just finds out she is pregnant and is attacked by a hit woman. The two have a standoff in which she makes a deal with the hit woman to let her go as she is pregnant. Sgt. Wilhelm makes a deal with Aldo to let him go as he had become a father that night. The difference in the two scenarios is that Beatrix honors the deal and the hitwoman escapes, while Aldo honors the deal but Bridget von Hammersmark shoots and kills Sgt. Wilhelm after he calls her a traitor.
Behind the scenes[]
Wilhelm was played by Alexander Fehling.
Gallery[]
This article is a stub. You can help Inglourious Basterds Wiki by expanding it. If you don't, Aldo will bring out Sgt. Donny Donnowitz. The Bear Jew.
