Wilhelm Butz (1917 - 1944) was a German Soldat (Private) who served in the Wehrmacht during World War II and was stationed in France during the tide of the war. He was executed by German soldiers after he gave up information to the Basterds unit following a skirmish in which his unit was decimated.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Wilhelm Friedrich Butz was born in Leipzig, Germany, in 1917, to a middle-class family. His father, Johann Butz, was a World War I veteran who worked as a machinist, while his mother, Greta, was a homemaker. Raised in a strict, nationalist household, Wilhelm was instilled with a deep respect for order and duty from an early age. He was an intelligent but unremarkable student, excelling more in physical activities than academics.
Growing up in the economically unstable years of the Weimar Republic, Wilhelm witnessed firsthand the struggles of his family and neighbors, fostering in him a quiet resentment toward Germany’s post-war humiliation. By the time Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1933, Wilhelm, like many young men of his generation, was swept up in the wave of nationalism. He joined the Hitler Youth at 16, where he received his first taste of military discipline and ideology.
Military Career[]
By 1938, at age 21, Wilhelm was conscripted into the Wehrmacht as part of Germany’s expanding military efforts. After basic training, he was assigned to Feldwebel Werner Rachtman’s unit, an infantry division stationed in occupied France. He became a good friend of Ludwig Weber as well and would play chess with him at times.
Wilhelm was not particularly ruthless or exceptional in his service, but he followed orders well and kept his head down.
Encounter with the Basterds[]
Wilhelm Butz’s fate was sealed when he and his comrades, were captured by the infamous American-Jewish guerrilla unit, the Basterds, in a French dense forest on patrol.
The Basterds, led by Lieutenant Aldo Raine, interrogated Rachtman first, demanding the locations of other nearby German troops. When Rachtman refused, he was beaten to death by the feared "Bear Jew", Donny Donowitz.
As the tension escalated, Ludwig attempted to flee, only to be gunned down by Private Hirschberg. This left Wilhelm Butz as the last surviving prisoner.
Terrified and desperate to live, Wilhelm complied with Raine’s demand and quickly revealed the locations of nearby German patrols. True to his word, Raine spared Butz’s life—but not before marking him permanently. As a punishment for his role in the Nazi regime, Aldo carved a swastika into Butz’s forehead, ensuring that he could never hide his past. He stood stoic during the ordeal but was made to return back to the OKW to give his side of the story.
Execution by German Forces[]
A drug-addled Adolf Hitler, already consumed by paranoia, saw Butz’s survival and his defection as evidence of treachery. Though Butz pleaded that he had only revealed German positions under duress, the Nazi leadership refused to tolerate what they viewed as betrayal in the face of the enemy.
Wilhelm was executed by foot soldiers in early 1944, one of the many victims of Hitler’s increasing distrust of his own men.