Sven Hassel, 1917–2012
The novelist who humanized German soldiers
Sven Hassel’s pulp novels achieved something remarkable: They made readers root for the German soldiers of World War II. Loosely based on his own combat experiences, the Danish writer’s 14 books were written from the perspective of the disillusioned soldiers serving in a Nazi penal brigade—a Third Reich version of The Dirty Dozen. These grunts despise Hitler, kill their superior officers, and bed scores of willing local women. But mostly they gun down battalions of enemy soldiers, mainly Russians, on the Eastern Front. Hassel’s graphic mix of sex and violence won over teenage boys everywhere, and his novels sold more than 53 million copies worldwide.
Hassel’s own life story reads like a work of pulp fiction. Born in Fredensborg, Denmark, he left school at 14 to join the merchant navy and served a mandatory year in the Danish military in 1936. Struggling to find work after being demobilized, the 20-year-old Hassel traveled to neighboring Germany, “which was by then in the grip of Nazi rule, to join the army,” said The Times (U.K.). He enlisted in an armored cavalry division and drove a tank during the 1939 invasion of Poland. He grew sick of war and attempted to desert, only to be “recaptured and then assigned to a penal brigade in a Panzer division, like the one he describes in his books,” said The New York Times. A Danish journalist disputed that account, claiming that Hassel actually spent the war in Copenhagen working for the Nazi authorities. But the author insisted that he served on almost every front during the war, and had the battle scars—plus two Iron Cross medals—to prove it.
Even before he was released from an allied prisoner of war camp in 1949, Hassel began work on his first novel, Legion of the Damned, which was published in English in 1957, said The Guardian (U.K.). Although his books were filled with action, he said he never wanted to glorify combat. “I write to warn the youth of today against war,” he said. “I am writing the story of the small soldiers, the men who neither plan nor cause wars but have to fight them.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 11, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - bathroom blues, family feud, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 blustery cartoons about the Stormy Daniels testimony
Cartoons Artists take on gag orders, lurid details, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Idea of You review: 'impossible escapism' starring Anne Hathaway
The Week Recommends Steamy romcom about a 40-year-old who falls for a boy band singer
By The Week UK Published
-
Benjamin Zephaniah: trailblazing writer who 'took poetry everywhere'
Why Everyone's Talking About Remembering the 'radical' wordsmith's 'wit and sense of mischief'
By The Week UK Published
-
Shane MacGowan: the unruly former punk with a literary soul
Why Everyone's Talking About The Pogues frontman died aged 65
By The Week UK Published
-
'Euphoria' star Angus Cloud dies at 25
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Legendary jazz and pop singer Tony Bennett dies at 96
Speed Read
By Devika Rao Published
-
Martin Amis: literary wunderkind who ‘blazed like a rocket’
feature Famed author, essayist and screenwriter died this week aged 73
By The Week Staff Published
-
Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian folk legend, is dead at 84
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Barry Humphries obituary: cerebral satirist who created Dame Edna Everage
feature Actor and comedian was best known as the monstrous Melbourne housewife and Sir Les Patterson
By The Week Staff Published
-
Mary Quant obituary: pioneering designer who created the 1960s look
feature One of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th century remembered as the mother of the miniskirt
By The Week Staff Published