Sven Hassel, a Danish writer, was born in Fredericksborg, Denmark, in 1917. At the age of 20, he joined the Danish merchant marine, and a year later, he relocated to Germany. He eventually found himself in the German army, serving in a tank unit during the German invasion of Poland in 1939.
Despite not being a German citizen, Hassel attempted to desert the army and return to Denmark in 1940. However, he was caught by German military police, court-martialed, and sentenced to serve in a "Sonderabteilung", a penal battalion comprising convicted criminals, deserters, and other soldiers deemed expendable.
Hassel was sent to the Russian front, where he served with various tank units, was wounded multiple times, and eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant. He received the Iron Cross for his bravery in combat. As the war drew to a close, Hassel surrendered to Soviet troops in Berlin in 1945 and spent several years in Russian POW camps before being released in 1949.
During his time in the camps, Hassel began writing stories about his experiences, and after his release, he published some of his work. In 1951, he planned to join the French Foreign Legion but instead married a German woman and secured a job at an automobile factory.
In 1957, Hassel suffered a recurrence of an illness contracted during the war, leaving him paralyzed for two years. After his recovery, he resumed writing and eventually built a successful career as a novelist.
Sven Hassel passed away in September 2012 in Barcelona, Spain, where he had resided since 1964.
