 Schaefer had a son, an HJ, who was killed while manning an AA gun in an Allied bombing raid and has seen far more of the war than Dieter, being a veteran of Stalingrad.He constantly criticizes Dieter's blind devotion to Hitler, truthfully saying that the war is lost for Germany and that simply living to see the end of it is the best thing any German soldier can hope for.Despite their constant arguing, Dieter gradually begins to form a father-son relationship with Schaefer.