In one of his first scenes, he attempts to stuff as many books as he can into his luggage. Bookworm: Providing the situation does not merit a gun, Friedhelm Winter is never seen without a book.Big Damn Hero: As written above Charlotte is rescued just in time by Lilija from being raped by a Soviet soldier.Battleaxe Nurse: Hildegard, close to the end of the war as she begins to take out her reaction to the Germans losing the war on Charlotte.It is unknown whether any of the partisans survived. Battle Discretion Shot: After Viktor leaves the partisans, Germans run past him to invade their hideout, accompanied by screams and gunshots offscreen.Attempted Rape: Charlotte is assaulted and almost raped by a Russian soldier, but is rescued by Lilija.Anguished Declaration of Love: Charlotte to Wilhelm, after she discovers he's alive.On the other hand, he also admires Friedhelm's wit and intelligence. Aloof Big Brother: Wilhelm, who has previous experience from the invasions of Poland and France, and who has attained the rank of Lieutenant, considers his bookish brother, a new recruit, to be too soft for the work of a soldier, and confesses to feeling ashamed of him on occasion.

Even so, they commit various morally questionable acts and outright war crimes over the course of the series: Charly turns in a Jewish nurse to what she knows will be certain death (though the woman survives), Friedhelm executes numerous unarmed people, including a little boy, and even the otherwise noble Wilhelm executes a prisoner and orders Soviet civilians marched through a minefield. All Germans Are Nazis: Averted - none of the five main characters are depicted as loyal to the Nazi party, which would have been highly unusual for the time and is most likely a deliberate case of Artistic License to make them more sympathetic to modern viewers.Action Girl: Alina breaks out of a train bound for a concentration camp with just a knife and sheer grit.Abandoned Hospital: The military hospital where Charlotte is stationed is inevitably evacuated in the wake of the Russian advance.And as the months and years drag by, and the fighting becomes ever more brutal, for these young people the war becomes a desperate struggle not only to survive, but to retain their humanity even while serving an inhumane regime. Of course, it doesn't quite work out like that.

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