Nick Wilder reveals family drama: his father and the Waffen SS!

Nick Wilder reveals family drama: his father and the Waffen SS!

Nick Wilder, known as “Mr. Kaiser” and Doc Sander on the dream ship, embarks on an extraordinary journey into the depths of his family history. When he was just 15 years old, in history class he was confronted with the atrocities of the Waffen-SS, a part of the NSDAP paramilitary organization that was active from 1933 to 1945 and is held responsible for numerous war crimes. These shocking realizations made him question his own history. [Wikipedia] describes that the Waffen-SS grew to over 38 divisions during World War II and was involved in numerous massacres, which greatly influenced Wilder's childhood.

What was particularly painful for Wilder was the discovery that his own father had helped set up the storm department on Fehmarn and held the rank of Untersturmführer. “I was afraid of my father as a child and never spoke to him about it,” he admits. This silence led to a trauma that Wilder is now processing in a fictional novel called “Fatherly Love”. It is being written together with the American co-author Richard Opper and is announced for January 15th, 2024, but the book will be presented on November 10th in Fehmarn. [ln-online] reports that the story takes place in Tönning and deals with the consequences of family secrets and the search for paternal recognition.

A personal struggle

The protagonist of the book, similar to Wilder, fights for the recognition of his Holocaust-denying father. “It's about generational guilt and the darkness that remains after war,” explains Wilder. Many issues surrounding his father remained unaddressed after his death in 1998. “I wanted to understand my father's coldness and harshness and faced my childhood fears,” says the actor, describing the writing process that took him from anger to sadness to compassion.

“I think my father would be silent when he read the book, but maybe he would become more thoughtful,” reflects Wilder. With this work he attempts to confront the shadows his father left him. The reading will take place on November 10th at 6:30 p.m. in the Senator Thomsen House in Burg auf Fehmarn. Tickets cost 15 euros and advance sales begin on November 3rd at 8 a.m. in the Fehmarn town hall.

A look into the future

Wilder, who now lives in Montana with his wife, actress Christine Mayn, is excited about the reaction to his book. Through his experiences and coming to terms with the past, he has gained deeper insight into complex topics such as family trauma and the difficulties of understanding a parent burdened by their history. The way in which the well-known actor puts his memories and fears into literary form could be an important step not only for him, but also for many readers in coming to terms with their own stories.

His novel Father's Love could serve as a key to breaking the silence about the dark period of history and opening new perspectives on generations of guilt and memories. Soon everyone will be able to get an idea of ​​it when the book is published and the reading takes place on Fehmarn. The time has come for an honest discussion.