FAQ

IS THE SVEN HASSEL SERIES BASED ON FICTION, REAL EVENTS, OR BOTH?

Both! The series is deeply rooted in Sven Hassel’s personal experiences during World War II, yet seamlessly interwoven with fiction. For Hassel, writing these novels served as a vital form of catharsis. Consequently, his work should not be interpreted as an autobiography, nor should it be read as a historical documentary; the novels are, first and foremost, works of fiction.
While Hassel drew extensively from his own encounters and those of his comrades, he also exercised what he termed “the author’s legitimate right to free fantasy.” Despite this creative liberty, all the main characters are inspired by—or directly based on—real individuals. Interestingly, Hassel channeled different facets of his own wartime journey into two distinct characters throughout the series: “Sven” and “Lieutenant Löve.”

 

WHAT ORDER SHOULD THE BOOKS BE READ IN?

You can read the books in any order, as they do not follow a strict chronological timeline. However, if you prefer to read them in publication order, the sequence is as follows:

Legion of The Damned
Wheels of Terror
Comrades of War
March Battalion
Assignment Gestapo
Monte Cassino
Liquidate Paris!
SS General
Reign of Hell
Blitzfreeze
Bloody Road to Death
Court Martial
O.G.P.U. Prison
The Commissar

 

ARE THERE ANY UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPTS?

In his final years, Hassel began working on a 15th novel, leaving behind 50 unedited pages before his death. Intended to be titled The Delightful Defeat, this final installment was set during the closing days of World War II and centered on the fall of Berlin. Though the book was never finished, these remaining 50 pages have since been published in special editions across Norway, Denmark, and Finland.

 

WHAT WAS SVEN HASSEL’S WRITING PROCESS LIKE?

He liked to write in the afternoons. To refine the stories, chapters were read aloud to friends and family for feedback. Hassel would then meticulously rewrite the manuscript on his loved typewriter, incorporating handwritten edits and notes. This rigorous cycle was repeated until the book met his standards. This meant that each novel took two to three years to complete.

 

IS SVEN HASSEL A PEN NAME?

Yes, his given surname at birth was Pedersen. He used “Hassel” as a pen name to protect himself in post-war Denmark, where his German military service made it hard to keep a job. He later legally changed his surname to Hassel.
As he explained in a 2010 interview: “It was necessary to write under a pseudonym after the war… you could easily get fired from work because of this. Having a pen name has been used against me many times, but plenty of writers throughout history have done the exact same thing.”

 

WHY IS HASSEL SPELLED HAZEL IN SOME COUNTRIES?

Because “Hassel” was a protected surname under Danish law, his publishers altered the spelling to “Hazel” for editions distributed in Denmark, Norway, and Iceland, while retaining “Hassel” in all other international markets. Although he legally adopted the “Hassel” spelling in later years, the “Hazel” variant was maintained in those three Nordic countries to preserve established brand recognition and reader continuity.

 

HOW DID SVEN HASSEL AS A DANE END UP IN THE GERMAN WEHRMACHT?

Driven by widespread unemployment in 1930s Denmark, Hassel relocated to Germany in search of work, ultimately enlisting in the Wehrmacht. Because the German armed forces strictly required foreign recruits to have a father of German or Austrian descent, Hassel secured his spot—and subsequent German citizenship—by falsely claiming his father was of Austrian origin.

 

DID SVEN KEEP IN TOUCH WITH HIS COMRADES AFTER THE WAR?

Only a few members of the platoon survived the war: Sven, Tiny, the Legionnaire, Heide, and Gregor Martin.
Following the conflict, Martin proved to be a natural entrepreneur, building a large transportation company, while Julius Heide became a major in the East German army.
“I kept in touch with Heide, the Legionnaire, and Tiny for many years,” Hassel explained in his final interview in 2010. “The Legionnaire and Tiny both joined the French Foreign Legion and eventually ended up in a home for retired legionnaires. But they all passed away a long time ago.”.

 

WHEN AND WHERE DID TINY, JULIUS HEIDE, AND THE LEGIONNAIRE PASS AWAY?

Remarkably, all of them survived the war. Tiny and the Legionnaire eventually passed away at a retirement home for veteran legionnaires in France, while Julius Heide died in East Germany. To learn more about these men and the other figures who inspired his work, explore the detailed character profiles featured on this site.

 

WHAT HAPPENED TO CHIEF MECHANIC WOLF?

Chief Mechanic Wolf caught a Gauleiter (a regional leader of the Nazi party) and attempted to sell him to the Americans. To his intense frustration, the plot was foiled, and he ended up in prison.

 

WHAT IS THE NAME OF ODIN’S PIG?

In “Liquidate Paris!” there is a tremendously funny passage talking about Odin’s pig. He was named Serimer.

 

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO PORTA’S CAT, STALIN?

In one of the novels, Porta recounts how his red-haired cat, named Stalin, tried to desert to the Soviet side due to his communist convictions, only to be tragically run over by a train.

 

WHERE WERE SVEN’S COMRADES BURIED? CAN I VISIT THEIR GRAVE?

Unfortunately, no graves exist for men like Porta and Old ‘Un. It was not an era for tombstones; all that marked their final resting places were wooden crosses, long since rotted away. Like so many burial sites of that period, they rapidly disintegrated and vanished into the landscape.

 

WHEN WAS THE FILM MADE AND WILL THERE BE A NEW MOTION PICTURE IN THE FUTURE?

Although the film Wheels of Terror was produced in 1986, Hassel’s dedicated readership still hopes for a modern cinematic adaptation, whether for the big screen or a streaming series.