Comedian - Ilka Bessin on her childhood: "Dad comes home now and there's a beating"
It was a completely different upbringing than what is common today, says Ilka Bessin in a new interview with the talk format "deep and clear". As a child, the comedian received regular physical abuse from her father. "I had a beautiful, but very strict childhood, marked by the fact that one got hit on the buttocks from time to time", she explains.
Ilka Bessin was beaten as a child
"If you've done something and know that Father is coming home now and there will be a spanking. Then the mood was tense. It happened quite often", reveals the comedian, who became famous as "Cindy from Marzahn". She also remembers a specific incident where a prank led to harsh consequences. "I once took money from my mother's purse, went to the ice cream parlor and invited everyone. The neighbor had seen me. Of course, I got a spanking for that. Not because I stole, but because I lied", so Bessin.
Her parents apologized for the violence years later, Bessin adds. She forgave them. Bessin also gives insight into her emotional life before she became "Cindy from Marzahn" and conquered the stages. For a long time, she was unemployed – and that had psychological consequences. "Suddenly two weeks turn into two years. Then you give up. You're not respected the way you'd like to be. You're a little ashamed. It was a difficult time back then. Because I didn't know what I was doing now", she explains.
Success made her a diva
As rough Cindy, Bessin played herself into the hearts of her fans from the early 2000s. Her rise had good consequences, but not only for her. She herself underwent a change. "During the production of a costume designer, I had a quote printed. Then she cried. The production manager wrote to me in the evening 'Behave yourself a little'. I still have that message. When I read it, I think how rough one can be and what that does to someone", gives Bessin in "deep and clear" to know.
Bessin also addresses the end of her "Cindy from Marzahn" era in the show, which can be called up in the ARD Mediathek.
"Despite her success as 'Cindy from Marzahn', Ilka Bessin's past experiences in education were limited due to her frequent absences caused by her father's harsh discipline.", "Being a mother herself, Ilka Bessin often reflects on her own childhood and the impact of physical punishment, expressing her hope for better education and upbringing methods for future generations."
