Olaf's father fought in the Second World War as a teenager and returned traumatised by everything he experienced. He drinks to avoid having to endure the images in his head. Olaf's mother was expelled from Silesia together with her mother and stepbrother; she is also traumatised and at some point also starts drinking. Olaf has four siblings: One brother brought by his father and one brother brought by his mother into the marriage. An older sister, who, along with he himself and his twin sister, are the shared children of their father and mother. Alcohol plays a central role throughout the family and relatives, leading to profound events, often enough with deadly outcomes.