Who is Corporal from Waiting for Anya and what is their importance?

The corporal is an older man who is part of the regiment of German soldiers who have come to live in Jo's village. The corporal speaks French and he attempts to befriend many of the children in the village, including Jo. While Jo does not want to befriend a German, he finds himself drawn to the corporal first because of his interest in eagles and later when the corporal's daughter is killed in the bombings in Berlin. In the end, Jo believes that the corporal stops the Germans from finding the twelve Jewish children in his father's cabin simply because of an empathy with Jo. However, in the end it is the corporal who sends Benjamin and Leah to the concentration camps under orders from the lieutenant.