Born in Berlin, Germany, Schwarzer emigrated with his family to the United States.
Schwarzer served in the United States Army during World War II, beginning in 1943.
He received an Artium Baccalaureus degree, (cum laude), at the University of Southern California in 1948, and a Bachelor of Laws with honors from Harvard Law School in 1951, where he was a member of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, and where he also served as a teaching fellow from 1951 to 1952.
Schwarzer was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 23, 1976, and received his commission the same day.
[4] In 1988 Schwarzer dropped the last charges of child molestation against Gary Hambright, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, who worked in the Presidio Army Base day-care center that, at one point, had over 10 charges of child sexual assault.