Sven Hassel was born Sven Pedersen in Fredensborg, Denmark on April 19, 1917. He joined the Danish merchant navy at age 14 and served a mandatory stretch in the Danish military before joining the German army in 1937. He adopted his mother's maiden name, Hassel, when he began writing. His first novel, The Legion of the Damned, was published in 1953. His other works include Assignment Gestapo, Liquidate Paris, Blitzfreeze, O. G. P. U. Prison, and The Commissar. He died on September 21, 2012 at the age of 95.
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