Totuus Sven Hasselista
Saku Levonpera
sitten soc.history.war.world-war-ii -ryhmästä. Postitin kirjeen
tällaisenaan myös sfnet.keskustelu.maanpuolustus-ryhmään viime joulukuussa.
Useat teistä ovat varmaankin
perillä tämän riemukkaan ja rikaskielisen kirjailijan oikeasta taustasta,
mutta ajattelin lähettää eteenpäin tiedoksi ettei käy niinkuin
paikallisradion toimittajalle, että munaa itsensä esittämällä Sven Hasselin
suurena sotilaana jonka todellisiin kokemuksiin kirjansa perustuvat. Omaa
lukunautintoani totuuden paljastuminen ei pilannut, olinhan epäillyt tätä
aikaisemmin useistakin seikoista mm. siitä että Sven Hasselin yksikköä
raahataan joka maineikkaan taistelun paikalle ja että SH kavereineen
murtautui ulos Stalingradista ja patikoivat takaisin omiensa luokse.
Saku
-----------------
Hassel was mentioned some months ago, and at the time I wrote a post on
his background. I repeat most of it here for the benefit of those who
did not see it the first time around.
The initial post mentioned seeing a link to a homepage by Erik Haaest,
an author who has written about Hassel and his dubious background. The
tone of the homepage is unfortunately somewhat shrill, but the essence
is quite truthful. The book "Hassel" by Haaest is a very well-researched
book, which certainly deserves wider circulation than it has received.
Most of the post is based at least partly on "Hassel."
Sven Hassel did not serve in the 27th Panzer Regt, nor in a penal unit
The name Sven Hassel is a pseudonym; his real name is (or was) Boerge
Villy Redsted Pedersen, later changed to Boerge Villy Redsted Arbing.
He appeared on the scene in Denmark around 1949/50, claiming to be a war
veteran, and presented a bulky manuscript to an editor. This, with some
assistance from another writer was turned into "De Fordoemtes Legion,"
("Legion of the Damned," in English.
The book was a success, and more followed (all subsequent books were
written by "Hassel/Hazel" himself). Incidentally, many people think that
this first book is by far the best of the lot. No doubt it also contains
more "true" veteran's tales than any of the others.
What was interesting was that he claimed (not only on the book jackets,
but in actuality) to be writing autobiographically. The books were
tranlated into a number of languages, causing Hassel to become a minor
celebrity in Denmark, for being the first writer to surpass the national
icon, Hans Christian Andersen, in worldwide sales. This was around the
mid fifties.
Unfortunately, the publicity called attention to the man himself, and
journalists began investigating. What they found was a somewhat
different picture.
Boerge Villy Redsted Pedersen was a minor criminal in occupied Denmark
during the war. He had attempted to enter the Officers' Academy before
the war, but was rejected. At several instances during the war, he was
caught posing as an officer, usually in a bought or manufactured
uniform.
One instance was especially memorable: A young woman approached a Danish
policeman in Copenhagen (this was before August 1943, while the Germans
allowed the Danes to retain their police), having been terrified by a
uniformed member of the Gestapo, who had attempted to arrest her. The
policeman was naturally dubious, since the Gestapo, being a secret
police, never wore uniforms. When he inquired as to whether this
so-called Gestapo member had shown any ID, the woman answered
affirmatively. When the woman then told him that the name on the paper
(the Ausweiss) was Heinrich Himmler, he told her to get lost, or words
to that effect. A few minutes later, the woman returned, saying that the
man who had tried to arrest her was sitting around the corner in a cafe.
The policeman then arrested Boerge Villy Redsted Pedersen (BVRP), and
handed him over to the Germans. The uniform was one he had manufactured
out of bits and pieces, to look superficially like a SS-uniform,
complete with Iron Crosses of the 1st and 2nd grade. Interestingly
enough, some of Hassel's book jackets carry a picture of him in this
uniform. The Ausweis turned out not to identify BVRP/Hassel as Heinrich
Himmler, but to indicate that it was authorized by the Reichsfuhrer
himself. This was a distinction that did not mollify the Germans, who
sentenced him to a prison sentence of 6 months (IIRC) for that stunt.
He also worked some time as a police informer, apparently being quite
good at it, with a natural penchant for making up stories and identities
on the spot; a talent which serves a man well in that sort of
profession. He then gained employment as an informer with the HIPO, the
HILFSPOLIZEI, or auxiliary police, a force of Danes, employed by the
Germans to combat the Danish Resistance. With the liberation in 1945, he
was sentenced to prison again, on charges of treason. He did not appear
again until his release in 1949, when he changed his name to Boerge
Villy Redsted Arbing. He also posed as a Frenchman named L'Arbin, for a
short while, until he found his true calling as a writer.
As to the content of the books, there is little doubt that most is just
pure fiction. But it is also true that Hassel has spoken with veterans,
and is undoubtedly incorporating bits and pieces of stories, true and
false, told to him. With the first edition of "Likvider Paris" (I am not
familiar with the English title, but it would be akin to "Liquidate
Paris"), Hassel was caught by his editor in flagrant plagiarism, having
copied a passage about the assassination attempt on Hitler directly from
another book. He then had to cite the right author in subsequent
editions (Fabian von Schlabrendorf, unless I am much mistaken).
(Indeed, if the events mentioned in the Hassel books were true, he would
no doubt have been prosecuted in Denmark for war crimes long ago. The
authorities know he is writing fiction. He was unmasked in 1963 by a
reporter on national radio, and has practically not appeared in any
media in Denmark since.)
Readers will note that Hassel kills off all of his comrades in "The
Legion of the Damned," making it necessary to resurrect them in the
following books, only to be killed off at various times (in varying
circumstances) when it suits the author. One might also try to keep
track of Hassel and his friends during the war, but that is a daunting
task, since they are able to appear several places at the same time.
Take June 6, 1944. Depending on which book you read, you will find
Hassel on the Eastern Front, in a hospital in Hamburg, in Italy, and
guarding a prison in Germany, all on the same day! No wonder it took so
long to beat the Germans. ;-)
-----------------
Soren Rasmussen
Marko Salonen
> Useat teistä ovat varmaankin
> perillä tämän riemukkaan ja rikaskielisen kirjailijan oikeasta taustasta,
> mutta ajattelin lähettää eteenpäin tiedoksi ettei käy niinkuin
> paikallisradion toimittajalle, että munaa itsensä esittämällä Sven Hasselin
> suurena sotilaana jonka todellisiin kokemuksiin kirjansa perustuvat. Omaa
> lukunautintoani totuuden paljastuminen ei pilannut, olinhan epäillyt tätä
> aikaisemmin useistakin seikoista mm. siitä että Sven Hasselin yksikköä
> raahataan joka maineikkaan taistelun paikalle ja että SH kavereineen
> murtautui ulos Stalingradista ja patikoivat takaisin omiensa luokse.
>
> Saku
(kirje snip)
Ei Hasselin kirjoja saa todellakaan ottaa liian tosissaan.
Asiasta enemmän kiinnostuneiden ajankuluksi ja riemuksi pari linkkiä:
http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/7210/
Erik Haaestin sivu. Hasselin mustamaalaamista(?) kovalla kädellä.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/6713/
Porta's Kitchen. Esittää sitten täysin vastakkaisia näkemyksiä
Kaipa totuus tästäkin vielä joskus löytyy tuolta ulkoa :)
-meik
--
marko....@iki.fi www.iki.fi/fake
"Modesty gets a man praise, but I prefer cash."
--
Saku Levonpera
Marko Salonen wrote in message <36B42ABF...@iki.fi>...
>
>Ei Hasselin kirjoja saa todellakaan ottaa liian tosissaan.
>Asiasta enemmän kiinnostuneiden ajankuluksi ja riemuksi pari linkkiä:
>
>http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/7210/
>Erik Haaestin sivu. Hasselin mustamaalaamista(?) kovalla kädellä.
>
>http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/6713/
>Porta's Kitchen. Esittää sitten täysin vastakkaisia näkemyksiä
>
>Kaipa totuus tästäkin vielä joskus löytyy tuolta ulkoa :)
>
>-meik
Noh, minä ainakin uskon Hasseliin (vrt. uskoa joulupukkiin). Tuo Erik
Haaestkin vaikuttaa noiden nerokkaiden "Swine" Hassel-lohkaisujensa kanssa
joltain sensaatiolehden toimittajalta. Pseudonyymejä ja alter egoja
kirjailijat ovat käyttäneet ennenkin, enkä oikein ymmärrä tuota jahtausta.
Ehkä tuo mahdollinen Hipoon kuuluminen herättää kuumia tunteita kaljan
kyllästämässä kansassa.
Saku
A. Asikainen
Levonpera" <Saku.Le...@dlc.fi> =
> [...] minä ainakin uskon Hasseliin (vrt. uskoa joulupukkiin). Tuo Erik
>Haaestkin vaikuttaa noiden nerokkaiden "Swine" Hassel-lohkaisujensa kanssa
>joltain sensaatiolehden toimittajalta. Pseudonyymejä ja alter egoja
>kirjailijat ovat käyttäneet ennenkin, enkä oikein ymmärrä tuota jahtausta.
>Ehkä tuo mahdollinen Hipoon kuuluminen herättää kuumia tunteita kaljan
>kyllästämässä kansassa.
Kehotan tutustumaan Soren Rasmussenin otsikolla "Sven Hassel and his
books" ryhmään soc.history.war.world-war-ii kirjoittamia artikkeleja
(<http://www.deja.com/> jne.). Hänen mukaansa Hassel (oikealta
nimeltään Boerge Villy Redsted Pedersen) oli sodan aikana
pikkurikollinen Tanskassa ja toimi välillä ilmiantajana natseille.
Itse olen lukenut hänen kirjoistaan vain _Rangaistuspataljoonan_, joka
oli melko positiivinen kokemus "kertakäyttökirjallisuudeksi".
--
Arska
<http://www.kolumbus.fi/wfc/>
Saku Levonpera
A. Asikainen wrote in message <37554e0b...@news.kolumbus.fi>...
"Saku Levonpera" <Saku.Le...@dlc.fi> =
>> [...] minä ainakin uskon Hasseliin (vrt. uskoa joulupukkiin). Tuo Erik
>>Haaestkin vaikuttaa noiden nerokkaiden "Swine" Hassel-lohkaisujensa kanssa
>
>books" ryhmään soc.history.war.world-war-ii kirjoittamia artikkeleja
>(<http://www.deja.com/> jne.). Hänen mukaansa Hassel (oikealta
>nimeltään Boerge Villy Redsted Pedersen) oli sodan aikana
>pikkurikollinen Tanskassa ja toimi välillä ilmiantajana natseille.
Aivan, olen lukenut Rasmussenin artikkelit jotka sattuvat pohjautumaan Erik
Haaestin kirjoituksiin. Tarkoitin, että minulle on ihan sama vaikka
Hassel-kirjat olisi kirjoittanut kuu-ukko. Satuhahmo Hasselin olemassaolo
kyseenalaistuu pelkästään jo lukemalla kaikki kirjat. Hurttia huumoria ja
aina jännää sotimista sekä vain löyhiä siteitä todellisuuteen.
>Itse olen lukenut hänen kirjoistaan vain _Rangaistuspataljoonan_, joka
>oli melko positiivinen kokemus "kertakäyttökirjallisuudeksi".
>Arska
Olen kai lukenut jo kaikki (junissa tms. paikoissa joissa keskittyminen on
hankalaa) ja yhdyn mielipiteeseesi. Ei mitään uutta tai loistavaa mutta ihan
mukavaa.
Saku