10 Most Disturbing Backstories Behind Quentin Tarantino Movie Side Characters
7. Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz
Hugo Stiglitz was a man of few words, but his actions spoke loudly.
Perhaps the decision to write a German member of the Basterds was influenced by the need to paint some Germans in a more favourable light... but regardless of origin, Hugo Stiglitz was a total badass. He was famed for killing up to thirteen Gestapo officers in brutal ways. By the time we meet him, he's already well entrenched with the Basterds, and his kill count his likely a lot higher.
Tarantino gave him just enough of a backstory to make his hatred of the Nazis feel personal. As an enlisted man he served as a sergeant, but before long went on a wild rampage, strangling German officers with piano wire or suffocating them with his fists. Presumably his actions were motivated out of a general disdain for fascism.
As the plot develops, however, we find out Hugo has a particular hatred for members of the SS. The sight of Major Hellstrom in the underground bar scene, trigged his memory of being whipped and tortured before the Basterds managed to free him.