Sven Hassel

Sven Hassel
BornBørge Willy Redsted Pedersen
(1917-04-19)19 April 1917
Nyhuse, Frederiksborg County, Denmark
Died21 September 2012(2012-09-21) (aged 95)
Barcelona, Spain
Pen nameSven Hazel
OccupationAuthor
Period1953–2012
GenreWorld War II
Notable works
  • The Legion of the Damned (1953)
  • Wheels of Terror (1958)
  • Comrades of War (1960)
  • SS-General (1960)
  • March Battalion (1962)
  • Assignment Gestapo (1963)
  • Monte Cassino (1963)
  • Liquidate Paris (1967)
  • Reign of Hell (1971)
  • Blitzfreeze (1973)
  • Court Martial (1978)
  • O.G.P.U. Prison (1981)
  • The Bloody Road to Death (1983)
  • The Commissar (1984)
Spouse
Laura Dorthea Guldbæk Jensen
(m. 1951)
ChildrenMichael Hasse Arbing
Website
www.svenhassel.net

Sven Hassel was the pen name of the Danish-born Børge Willy Redsted Pedersen (19 April 1917 – 21 September 2012)[1] known for his novels about German soldiers fighting in World War II. In Denmark he used the pen name Sven Hazel.[2] He is one of the bestselling Danish authors, possibly second only to Hans Christian Andersen.[3][4]

Hassel claimed his authorship was based on being a veteran of the German Wehrmacht who had fought in the Battle of Berlin in 1945 until he surrendered to the Soviets. However, numerous post-war investigations have proved his claims to be false and outright fabrications. In fact Hassel (as Pedersen) was a Danish criminal who did join the German Army but was incarcerated for having lied about his convictions. He was not captured in Berlin because he was in prison in Denmark. In the post war period he gave false testament which led to the arrest and imprisonment of innocent people.

  1. ^ "Kulørt dansk krigsforfatter er død" [Colourful Danish War Author Dies]. Politiken (in Danish). Ritzau. 23 September 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  2. ^ "Millionsælgende dansk forfatter er død" [Million-selling Danish Author Dies]. Berlingske (in Danish). 23 September 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  3. ^ Palma, Rubén (21 October 2012). "Sven Hazel: dansk litteraturs grimmeste ælling" [Sven Hazel: the ugliest duckling of Danish literature]. litteratursiden.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  4. ^ Brøndum, Christian (14 March 2010). "Mordet på den tavse myte" [The Murder of the Silent Myth]. Berlingske Tidende (in Danish).