Ackermann family (Anime)

The Ackermann family (アッカーマン家) was once a family of warriors who protected the king, and one of the few bloodlines immune to the Royal family's power. After turning their backs on the monarchy, they were harshly persecuted and are currently on the verge of extinction.

History
At one point, the Ackermanns were the King's sword and one of their vital supporters. However, they betrayed the monarchy along with the Oriental clan. Later on the branch family would move down south around Shiganshina but became rather poor since someone was interfering with their business. In the year 844, the Ackermanns were in their house deep in the woods, expecting a visit from their usual doctor, Grisha Jaeger. Mikasa's mother showed her daughter an embroidery style which she said was passed through generations in their clan, and told her she too would pass it on once she had a child. Mikasa innocently asked how to have a child, which her father dismissed by telling her to ask Dr. Jaeger once he arrived. Shortly after, the door was knocked and when Mikasa's father opened it, he was suddenly stabbed in the stomach by a stranger.

A group of three men entered the house, with one of them brandishing an axe as a threat. Seeing her husband on the floor, Mikasa's mother grabbed a nearby scissor and tried to fend off the man, telling a frozen Mikasa to run off; before she was struck in the shoulder by the axe-wielding bandit.

In a nearby house, two bandits argued about killing the mother, before a child suddenly opened the door. Eren, having been brought by Grisha to the Ackermanns' house earlier, tracked the bandits and feigned being lost in the woods, before he, with a small knife, sliced open a bandit's throat and charged the second one, killing him with a makeshift spear. After he freed Mikasa, the third bandit arrived and attempted to strangle Eren. Mikasa watched frozen in fear, as Eren urged her to fight back. She picked up the knife realizing the world is a cruel place, and with a sudden surge, she went for a killing blow at the last bandit.

The Struggle for Trost arc
During the Battle of Trost District, Mikasa Ackermann recalls the time from her childhood when her mother and father were killed by bandits who were hoping to sell her and her mother to potential buyers in the underground city. She is rescued by Eren Jaeger, killing two of the traffickers before Mikasa kills the third after Eren urges her to fight.

Royal Government arc
While being interrogated by Levi on the whereabouts of Eren Jaeger and Historia Reiss, a member from the Military Police reveals Kenny's surname as "Ackermann," much to the surprise of Mikasa and Levi.

Lost in the cruel world
In the year 844, the Ackermanns are visited by Dr. Jaeger for a checkup on the pregnant mother. Their daughter, Mikasa, quickly befriends the doctor's son, Eren. On Dr. Jaeger's subsequent visits, Mikasa's father is distraught at the news that his wife has an infection, and they have to be moved closer to the doctor's house in Shiganshina.

Trivia

 * Ackermann means "one who works the fields" in German.