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Legion of the Damned #1
Legion of the Damned: The iconic anti-war novel about the Russian Front
Sven Hassel's iconic war novel about the Russian Front.'An extraordinary book, which has captured the attention of all of Europe' - NEW YORK TIMES'LEGION OF THE DAMNED is an incredible picture of totalitarianism, of stupefying injustice ... He is graphic, at times brilliantly so, but never brutal or bitter. He is, too, a first-rate storyteller' - WASHINGTON POSTConvicted of deserting the German army, Sven Hassel is sent to a penal regiment on the Russian Front. He and his comrades are regarded as expendable, cannon fodder in the battle against the implacable Red Army. Outnumbered and outgunned, they fight their way across the frozen steppe...This iconic anti-war novel is a testament to the atrocities suffered by the lone soldier in the fight for survival.Sven Hassel's unflinching narrative is based on his own experiences in the German Army. He began writing his first novel, LEGION OF THE DAMNED in a prisoner of war camp at the end of the Second World War.
246 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1953
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2254 people want to read
About the author
Sven Hassel
137 books339 followersHassel served in the Danish merchant navy till 1937, when he moved to Germany to join the army. He served with the second Panzer Division stationed at Eisenach and in 1939 was a tank driver during the invasion of Poland. A year later he attempted to escape because of being mentally exhausted. He was transferred to a Sonderabteilung, a penal unit manned by criminals and dissidents. He served with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment and later the 11th and 27th Panzer Regiments (6th Panzer Division) on all fronts except North Africa and was wounded several times. Eventually he reached the rank of lieutenant and received an Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class. He surrendered to Soviet troops in Berlin in 1945 and spent the following years in various POW camps. He began to write his first book Legion of the Damned while he was interned. He was released in 1949, and was planning to join the French Foreign Legion when he met Dorthe Jensen. They got married in 1951. He went to work in a car factory. In 1957 Sven Hassel suffered from an attack of a sickness caught during the war and was paralyzed for almost two years. After recovery, he began to write more books.
See also Sven Hazel
See also Sven Hazel
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 264 reviews
May 8, 2023
Que gran obra, que frío y cruel realismo.
La gran falta de soldados hace que Hitler usa cualquier posibilidad para llamar a filas.
Criminales, presos políticos y desertores son amnistiados y mandados a la guerra. Todos terminan en un batallón de castigo y son mandados a los peores misiones.
La obedeciencia ciega es de lo más crudo. No menos de veinte veces al día se les recuerda bajo maldiciones e instrucciones prusianas que pertenecen a un regimiento disciplinario y que serán los mejores soldados del mundo.
El Regimiento Blindado no. 27 es obligado a luchar en una guerra en la cual ninguno de sus soldados tiene fé. Sven Hassel fue mandado a un batallón de castigo como soldado raso en el ejercito alemán.
Puede que sea un libro de 4⭐️ pero me ha gustado tanto que, aún con sus defectos, y sus cosas, que las tiene, le pongo las 5⭐️.
Con un realismo cercano y brutal narra las atrocidades de la guerra, los crímenes de los nazis, el humor cínico y tosco de los soldados.
Retumbar de botas claveteadas en el cemento del patio, con producción de chispas fugaces. Vuelta al salir del cuartel e inicio de la marcha por el camino empapado, bordeado de álamos.
En un batallón disciplinario, las conversaciones, la bromas y las canciones están, naturalmente, prohibidas; individuos de cuarta categoría no pueden aspirar a los privilegios del soldado alemán.
Tampoco tenían derecho a llevar el águila o los otros símbolos de honor. Sólo llevaban en la manga derecha, una cinta blanca —¡y que siempre debía permanecer blanca!— cruzada por la palabra SONDERABTEILUNG en letras negras.
"Debíamos de ser los mejores soldados del mundo, todas nuestras marchas eran marchas forzadas. En menos de un cuarto de hora estábamos cubiertos de sudor, nuestros pies empezaban a calentarse y abríamos la boca para poder respirar, pues la nariz por sí sola resultaba incapaz de suministrarnos una cantidad de oxígeno suficiente. El correaje y el fusil impedían que la sangre circulara normalmente en nuestros brazos, produciendo la hinchazón de los dedos. Pero para nosotros todo eso no era más que una insignificancia."
"Podíamos realizar una marcha forzada de veinticinco kilómetros sin experimentar la menor molestia.."
La guerra es el infierno. En parte se trata de una supuesta autobiográfica y en parte ficción histórica. Es la historia de uno de esos soldados, Sven Hassel.
Sven no es un soldado nazi entusiasta. Odia a los nazis. Él deserta y termina en un campo de prisioneros, en 1941, la necesidad de soldados de la Werhmacht es tan aguda que lo liberan en una unidad de prisión.
Luego esa unidad es enviada para unirse a la invasión de la URSS. A través de los ojos de Sven, vemos de primera mano los horrores de la guerra moderna y mecanizada.
También veremos la profunda y fría maldad del régimen nazi. Desde las SS a la Gestapo.
Podemos ver una pequeña, muy, muy pequeña parte del sufrimiento. Mucha acción, corto, ágil y sin pausas de rellenos.
La verdadera magia del libro, sin embargo, no está en la descripción de la lucha o en las historias a menudo divertidas de Sven y sus camaradas. La verdadera magia está en la pérdida lenta, cotidiana e insensible de la humanidad entre Sven y sus camaradas.
Deja helado..✍️
La gran falta de soldados hace que Hitler usa cualquier posibilidad para llamar a filas.
Criminales, presos políticos y desertores son amnistiados y mandados a la guerra. Todos terminan en un batallón de castigo y son mandados a los peores misiones.
La obedeciencia ciega es de lo más crudo. No menos de veinte veces al día se les recuerda bajo maldiciones e instrucciones prusianas que pertenecen a un regimiento disciplinario y que serán los mejores soldados del mundo.
El Regimiento Blindado no. 27 es obligado a luchar en una guerra en la cual ninguno de sus soldados tiene fé. Sven Hassel fue mandado a un batallón de castigo como soldado raso en el ejercito alemán.
Puede que sea un libro de 4⭐️ pero me ha gustado tanto que, aún con sus defectos, y sus cosas, que las tiene, le pongo las 5⭐️.
Con un realismo cercano y brutal narra las atrocidades de la guerra, los crímenes de los nazis, el humor cínico y tosco de los soldados.
Retumbar de botas claveteadas en el cemento del patio, con producción de chispas fugaces. Vuelta al salir del cuartel e inicio de la marcha por el camino empapado, bordeado de álamos.
En un batallón disciplinario, las conversaciones, la bromas y las canciones están, naturalmente, prohibidas; individuos de cuarta categoría no pueden aspirar a los privilegios del soldado alemán.
Tampoco tenían derecho a llevar el águila o los otros símbolos de honor. Sólo llevaban en la manga derecha, una cinta blanca —¡y que siempre debía permanecer blanca!— cruzada por la palabra SONDERABTEILUNG en letras negras.
"Debíamos de ser los mejores soldados del mundo, todas nuestras marchas eran marchas forzadas. En menos de un cuarto de hora estábamos cubiertos de sudor, nuestros pies empezaban a calentarse y abríamos la boca para poder respirar, pues la nariz por sí sola resultaba incapaz de suministrarnos una cantidad de oxígeno suficiente. El correaje y el fusil impedían que la sangre circulara normalmente en nuestros brazos, produciendo la hinchazón de los dedos. Pero para nosotros todo eso no era más que una insignificancia."
"Podíamos realizar una marcha forzada de veinticinco kilómetros sin experimentar la menor molestia.."
La guerra es el infierno. En parte se trata de una supuesta autobiográfica y en parte ficción histórica. Es la historia de uno de esos soldados, Sven Hassel.
Sven no es un soldado nazi entusiasta. Odia a los nazis. Él deserta y termina en un campo de prisioneros, en 1941, la necesidad de soldados de la Werhmacht es tan aguda que lo liberan en una unidad de prisión.
Luego esa unidad es enviada para unirse a la invasión de la URSS. A través de los ojos de Sven, vemos de primera mano los horrores de la guerra moderna y mecanizada.
También veremos la profunda y fría maldad del régimen nazi. Desde las SS a la Gestapo.
Podemos ver una pequeña, muy, muy pequeña parte del sufrimiento. Mucha acción, corto, ágil y sin pausas de rellenos.
La verdadera magia del libro, sin embargo, no está en la descripción de la lucha o en las historias a menudo divertidas de Sven y sus camaradas. La verdadera magia está en la pérdida lenta, cotidiana e insensible de la humanidad entre Sven y sus camaradas.
Deja helado..✍️
September 22, 2022
"Dar asta e razboiul in toata splendoarea lui, monstruos pana la absurd."
Un roman care imi aduce aminte de copilarie, imaginea pe care o vad in fata ochilor fiind aceea in care ma chinuiam sa ajung la raftul al 3-lea din biblioteca unde se afla aceasta carte, iar atunci cand intrebam de ea mi se raspundea mereu cu sintagma 'cand o sa mai cresti'. De crescut am crescut dar abia acum mi-am adus aminte de ea. :)
Autorul, nascut in Danemarca, s-a mutat in 1937 in Germania pentru a se inrola ca voluntar in armata. In 1945 s-a predat trupelor sovietice de la Berlin si si-a petrecut urmatorii ani in lagare de prizonieri. La cartea de fata a inceput sa lucreze in timpul cand se afla inchis.
In 1949 a fost eliberat iar "Legiunea blestematilor" a fost publicata in 1953. Exista si o ecranizare a cartii sub titlul "The Misfit Brigade" (1987).
Alte romane de succes ale autorului sunt "Gestapo", "General SS", "Blindatele mortii" sau "Curtea martiala".
Romanul de fata incepe cu o dedicatie pentru soldatii necunoscuti cazuti pe front, in special pentru camarazii sai din regimentul 27 Blindate.
Actiunea debuteaza cu momentul in care eroul este judecat in fata Consiliului de Razboi pentru dezertare. El este condamnat la 15 ani de munca silnica si ajunge in Lagarul Disciplinar S.S. de la Lengries. Scapa de la condamnarea de moarte cu ajutorul declaratiei unei femei bune la suflet care il salveaza.
Lagarul este un loc groaznic unde sunt batuti, chinuiti, umiliti in toate felurile atat barbati cat si femei la un loc. Sunt torturati fara mila cu o cruzime de nedescris, multi ajungand sa se sinucida.
Este transferat apoi in lagarul din Fagen unde se ofera voluntar sa dezamorseze bombe. Reuseste sa supravietuiasca si aici si primeste o gratiere pentru a face parte dintr-un batalion disciplinar. Aici isi face 4 tovarasi si romanul continua cu aventurile lor de pe front, cu descrierea luptei din Rusia, gerul de-acolo, conditiile vitrege, masacrul si cel mai cumplit, cu pierderea rand pe rand a prietenilor sai.
Deoarece este in ton cu evenimentele din ziua de azi am retinut un citat despre orasul Harkov:
"Harkovul era un oras mare, cam cat Copenhaga si locuit, la inceputul conflictului, de aproape 900.000 de oameni. Era unul dintre cele mai frumoase orase ale Uniunii Sovietice, la fel de renumit ca Moscova si Odessa. [...] Harkov a fost restlos vernichtet. Nimicit cu desavarsire."
M-au pus pe ganduri portretele pe care autorul le face lui Hitler si Stalin: "Hitler era un isteric, Stalin un tip ambitios care avea destul de mult bun-simt sa nu se joace cu revolutiile, ci sa-si urmeze propria poteca, vesnic gata sa se apere cu o pricepere aproape stiintifica, o rabdare fara margini si-o neincredere pe masura. Stalin nu era un prost si probabil nici un sfintisor."
Romanul este un must-read desi poate parea pentru unii o lectura foarte masculina si neplacuta pentru atrocitatile pe care le descrie de pe front. Finalul mai ales este sfasietor si iti vine sa te gandesti ca e doar fictiune insa, undeva in interior stii ca e adevarul. Groaznicul adevar.
Atasez si cateva citate pe care le-am retinut si care vorbesc de la sine:
"Oamenilor corecti nu ai ce sa le reprosezi. Si din astia sunt multi pe pamant..."
"Sa te invartesti in jurul adversarului fara sa scoti un sunet e o forma eficienta de "razboi al nervilor."
"Daca razboi = dezordine si dezordine = iresponsabilitate atunci razboi = iresponsabilitate."
"In Balcani, afacerile sunt mai infloritoare decat oriunde in Europa, si asta pentru ca in comert se practica metoda directa: eu fur de la tine, tu furi de la mine, fara probleme!"
"Viata a demonstrat ca orice duel cu moartea este dramatic dar te poti masura cu ea si altfel decat prin intermediul razboiului, de pilda, incercand sa salvezi vietile altora."
"Exceptand cativa viciosi, cei mai multi evalueaza razboiul la adevarata lui realitate: murdarie, noroi, suferinta, teama, monotonie. Razboiul e o cale gresita de a atinge culmile existentei omenesti."
Un roman care imi aduce aminte de copilarie, imaginea pe care o vad in fata ochilor fiind aceea in care ma chinuiam sa ajung la raftul al 3-lea din biblioteca unde se afla aceasta carte, iar atunci cand intrebam de ea mi se raspundea mereu cu sintagma 'cand o sa mai cresti'. De crescut am crescut dar abia acum mi-am adus aminte de ea. :)
Autorul, nascut in Danemarca, s-a mutat in 1937 in Germania pentru a se inrola ca voluntar in armata. In 1945 s-a predat trupelor sovietice de la Berlin si si-a petrecut urmatorii ani in lagare de prizonieri. La cartea de fata a inceput sa lucreze in timpul cand se afla inchis.
In 1949 a fost eliberat iar "Legiunea blestematilor" a fost publicata in 1953. Exista si o ecranizare a cartii sub titlul "The Misfit Brigade" (1987).
Alte romane de succes ale autorului sunt "Gestapo", "General SS", "Blindatele mortii" sau "Curtea martiala".
Romanul de fata incepe cu o dedicatie pentru soldatii necunoscuti cazuti pe front, in special pentru camarazii sai din regimentul 27 Blindate.
Actiunea debuteaza cu momentul in care eroul este judecat in fata Consiliului de Razboi pentru dezertare. El este condamnat la 15 ani de munca silnica si ajunge in Lagarul Disciplinar S.S. de la Lengries. Scapa de la condamnarea de moarte cu ajutorul declaratiei unei femei bune la suflet care il salveaza.
Lagarul este un loc groaznic unde sunt batuti, chinuiti, umiliti in toate felurile atat barbati cat si femei la un loc. Sunt torturati fara mila cu o cruzime de nedescris, multi ajungand sa se sinucida.
Este transferat apoi in lagarul din Fagen unde se ofera voluntar sa dezamorseze bombe. Reuseste sa supravietuiasca si aici si primeste o gratiere pentru a face parte dintr-un batalion disciplinar. Aici isi face 4 tovarasi si romanul continua cu aventurile lor de pe front, cu descrierea luptei din Rusia, gerul de-acolo, conditiile vitrege, masacrul si cel mai cumplit, cu pierderea rand pe rand a prietenilor sai.
Deoarece este in ton cu evenimentele din ziua de azi am retinut un citat despre orasul Harkov:
"Harkovul era un oras mare, cam cat Copenhaga si locuit, la inceputul conflictului, de aproape 900.000 de oameni. Era unul dintre cele mai frumoase orase ale Uniunii Sovietice, la fel de renumit ca Moscova si Odessa. [...] Harkov a fost restlos vernichtet. Nimicit cu desavarsire."
M-au pus pe ganduri portretele pe care autorul le face lui Hitler si Stalin: "Hitler era un isteric, Stalin un tip ambitios care avea destul de mult bun-simt sa nu se joace cu revolutiile, ci sa-si urmeze propria poteca, vesnic gata sa se apere cu o pricepere aproape stiintifica, o rabdare fara margini si-o neincredere pe masura. Stalin nu era un prost si probabil nici un sfintisor."
Romanul este un must-read desi poate parea pentru unii o lectura foarte masculina si neplacuta pentru atrocitatile pe care le descrie de pe front. Finalul mai ales este sfasietor si iti vine sa te gandesti ca e doar fictiune insa, undeva in interior stii ca e adevarul. Groaznicul adevar.
Atasez si cateva citate pe care le-am retinut si care vorbesc de la sine:
"Oamenilor corecti nu ai ce sa le reprosezi. Si din astia sunt multi pe pamant..."
"Sa te invartesti in jurul adversarului fara sa scoti un sunet e o forma eficienta de "razboi al nervilor."
"Daca razboi = dezordine si dezordine = iresponsabilitate atunci razboi = iresponsabilitate."
"In Balcani, afacerile sunt mai infloritoare decat oriunde in Europa, si asta pentru ca in comert se practica metoda directa: eu fur de la tine, tu furi de la mine, fara probleme!"
"Viata a demonstrat ca orice duel cu moartea este dramatic dar te poti masura cu ea si altfel decat prin intermediul razboiului, de pilda, incercand sa salvezi vietile altora."
"Exceptand cativa viciosi, cei mai multi evalueaza razboiul la adevarata lui realitate: murdarie, noroi, suferinta, teama, monotonie. Razboiul e o cale gresita de a atinge culmile existentei omenesti."
January 27, 2020
After 100 pages read from this book I've already said to myself that I DO not like this book, because it's too boring even though it's about WW2, which is my obsession. But at some point, the main character, Sven, said that people think that war is someting wow, something romantic and they always expect great stories from it. But the only thing that a war does is destroying people and their humanity and minds. It simply leaves them empty. When I read that I realised that I was thinking the same way and I started to look at the book in a different way. At the end, when I closed it, I was sad and I was about to cry. Soon enough I found out that I was happy when the characters were happy, I was sad when they were having a hard time or when someone died. Barbara's death shocked me the most, even though she wasn't that important. In my opinion, If a book can make me feel this way than it's a good book. What I liked the most was the way in which the author described the minds of those soldiers, their fears and their action. All in all, I loved the way he described the war and the unconsciousness of some people who thought they could win no matter what!
It was a good book, and even if it's not real, or it's all lies or whatever all those people say about "Legion of the damned". I still love it!
It was a good book, and even if it's not real, or it's all lies or whatever all those people say about "Legion of the damned". I still love it!
June 10, 2024
Șocantă, o radiografie în cuvinte simple a ororilor de care suntem capabili, a distrugerilor și durerii. M-a surprind să citesc despre București, nu mă așteptam. Modul simplu în care autorul relatează tot ceea ce a trăit face ca fiecare etapă să fie intensă, dar cel mai emoționat și uman moment mi s-a părut cel în care Porta cântă la orgă în biserică.
July 15, 2008
First read this about 25 years ago when I went through a period of reading a bunch of Sven Hassel books. Now they've reissued them I thought I'd read it again.
There seems to be a bit of confusion over how much of his books are autobiographical and how much "based on events" or just plain made up. From what I can gather this is the most autobiographical of the lot though and the first one he wrote.
An antiwar book that shows how he was brutalised and in turn found moments of humanity in the horror. Episodic and in some instances frustratingly brief. The horror and futility is balanced by a dark humour, and like most of this type of book a love for his comrades.
There seems to be a bit of confusion over how much of his books are autobiographical and how much "based on events" or just plain made up. From what I can gather this is the most autobiographical of the lot though and the first one he wrote.
An antiwar book that shows how he was brutalised and in turn found moments of humanity in the horror. Episodic and in some instances frustratingly brief. The horror and futility is balanced by a dark humour, and like most of this type of book a love for his comrades.
April 22, 2018
War is hell. Sherman said it, but it might just as well have been said by a German tank soldier on the Eastern Front in the Second World War. Partially auto-biographical, and partly historical fiction, Legion of the Damned is the story of one such soldier, Sven.
Sven isn't an eager soldier. He hates the Nazis. He deserts and winds up in a prison camp, but by 1941, the Werhmacht's need for soldiers is so acute that he is released into a prison unit. And then that unit is sent to join the invasion of the USSR. Through Sven's eyes we see the horrors of modern, mechanized warfare first hand. We also see the profound wrong-ness of the Nazi regime.
The book is entertaining and, at times, very exciting. One of my very favorite sections was the description of the great tank battle at Kursk from the perspective of Sven within his Tiger tank. (As I read I could feel him almost peeing his pants in sheer terror!)
The real magic of the book, however, is not in the depiction of the fighting or in the often amusing stories of Sven and his comrades behind the lines. The real magic is in the slow, everyday, callous loss of humanity among Sven and his comrades.
The most moving part for me is when Sven and his tank finally kill a particularly hard to kill Russian soldier. Their tank spooks this soldier out of his foxhole. Sven opens up with teh machine gun but misses. Then The Old Un and Stege join in. They even break out the flame thrower. They try and try and try, but no one can get poor Ivan. No one can kill him. It becomes a point of pride. Finally they trap him in a house and set it ablaze, killing the Russian. At that moment, Sven realizes what had happened:
"A point of honor. How could I? How could I kill a man just for the sake of my pride? But that is what I did, and I regret it. War with its everlasting murdering and noise and flames and destruction had stealthily poisoned me."
By this point of the war (I think late 1943) Sven is a shell of the man that he used to be. The strain and stress are taking a brutal toll. He and his comrades were, in fact, the walking dead. They had lost that spark that makes them vital and human and were just automatons. And by 1944 it was only worse.
I think that is the story that Sven wanted to tell with his books. And, as a German, he was uniquely positioned to tell that story. War is hell. It is dehumanizing. There is nothing glamorous or romantic about it. It is dirty and miserable and terrible. War is hell, and we should all remember it. What better legacy for a former Wehrmacht Unteroffizier to leave behind?
4 stars out of 5. Great message and at times very exciting to read. It was the perfect book to read on a travel day.
Sven isn't an eager soldier. He hates the Nazis. He deserts and winds up in a prison camp, but by 1941, the Werhmacht's need for soldiers is so acute that he is released into a prison unit. And then that unit is sent to join the invasion of the USSR. Through Sven's eyes we see the horrors of modern, mechanized warfare first hand. We also see the profound wrong-ness of the Nazi regime.
The book is entertaining and, at times, very exciting. One of my very favorite sections was the description of the great tank battle at Kursk from the perspective of Sven within his Tiger tank. (As I read I could feel him almost peeing his pants in sheer terror!)
The real magic of the book, however, is not in the depiction of the fighting or in the often amusing stories of Sven and his comrades behind the lines. The real magic is in the slow, everyday, callous loss of humanity among Sven and his comrades.
The most moving part for me is when Sven and his tank finally kill a particularly hard to kill Russian soldier. Their tank spooks this soldier out of his foxhole. Sven opens up with teh machine gun but misses. Then The Old Un and Stege join in. They even break out the flame thrower. They try and try and try, but no one can get poor Ivan. No one can kill him. It becomes a point of pride. Finally they trap him in a house and set it ablaze, killing the Russian. At that moment, Sven realizes what had happened:
"A point of honor. How could I? How could I kill a man just for the sake of my pride? But that is what I did, and I regret it. War with its everlasting murdering and noise and flames and destruction had stealthily poisoned me."
By this point of the war (I think late 1943) Sven is a shell of the man that he used to be. The strain and stress are taking a brutal toll. He and his comrades were, in fact, the walking dead. They had lost that spark that makes them vital and human and were just automatons. And by 1944 it was only worse.
I think that is the story that Sven wanted to tell with his books. And, as a German, he was uniquely positioned to tell that story. War is hell. It is dehumanizing. There is nothing glamorous or romantic about it. It is dirty and miserable and terrible. War is hell, and we should all remember it. What better legacy for a former Wehrmacht Unteroffizier to leave behind?
4 stars out of 5. Great message and at times very exciting to read. It was the perfect book to read on a travel day.
May 12, 2023
This is the first one from the famous series of fourteen WWII novels written by someone who was a war combatant. The story was published for the first time in 1953 (well, that's already 70 years ago...) and it's about German soldiers on the Eastern Russian front. I presume this is far from being everyone's cup of tea, but for the teenagers of my generation it was quite a pleasure to lend to each other the four-five books which were translated in Romanian and to compare them. Of course, girls were not part of it...
December 12, 2024
This book is about a legion of convicted criminals sent to fight in the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union instead of being executed. The soldiers face certain death while cursing the Nazi regime that has started the war. Anti-war novels like the Naked and the Dead were more literary but this book has more action scenes with the moralizing. The tone is not preachy but a bitter denouncement of war from the perspective of s soldier forced to fight for a cause they hate. The author paints a vivid picture of what it was like on the Eastern Front as they march to their inevitable doom in what becomes a struggle for survival. What resonates with me is how politicians start these wars and it is the common people that suffer the most.
December 4, 2011
It is a must read novel for as many people as possible, especially for the ones that did not participated in any war. Its purpose is to spoil the heroic vision regarding wars and to show that there is nothing good in such an action. Perhaps the human kind would avoid in the future such events if as many as possible people would read similar books. In this context it makes no sense to discuss anything about style or literary value. The book must have 5 star rating.
My copy of this book is in Romanian.
My copy of this book is in Romanian.
March 27, 2021
This book was hard to read. I considered not even reviewing it but here goes.
Alright, after mulling this one over for awhile I've decided it's a pretty decent book. This is an anti war novel generated by a German soldier. It is probably one of the better cases against war I have ever read. War is an ugly beast that eats everything in its path except for the sorry bastards at the top who profit from said war. The same is true for every nation and every political faction. The only people who benefit from war have never seen it, never known anyone who has seen it, would never allow their children to be veterans in it. I'm getting riled up again just thinking about it. It's the same now as it was then, war is shit.
Why three stars?
This was a challenge to get through the beginning is really slow and its written by someone who you really have no sympathy for. You don't want to have sympathy. It's hard to read a book about a German soldier written by said German soldier about WWII, it just is. There is no way to sugar coat it it's a dreadful and anxiety filling situation. It also takes place across many points in the war from Germany to almost North Africa to Russia. There's time in prison camps, betrayal by fellow Germans, loss of friends.
By the third quarter of this book I was sold. That's when the anti war sentiment really solidifies. It seeps in earlier but at the third quarter mark it becomes so blaring that you can't ignore it anymore, you're not watching a man simply trying to survive the war. He's trying to survive in his own mind, his place in the world. All of the soldiers in that small group knows what they are. They're the enemy and the world hates them, they even hate themselves to the point of saying they're all bound for hell and not as a joke. They believe it.
The humanity shown between the Russians and the Germans despite the ugliness of the conflicts is something that really stuck with me. There's a point where a German surrenders to Russia and the Russians send him back alive with a heart-filled letter. I won't ruin it for you and tell you what the letter said but I never in my life would have imagined in that hellish conflict that such a thing could happen. That such a mercy could happen between enemies. Never.
I don't know what else to add, I know that I'll be dwelling on this book for a long time. Its not for everyone, it is a struggle. It will challenge you in ways you never knew you could be. It is a battle of will to read it. I'll never read it again but I'm glad I did if only to learn more about my own humanity.
There it is and there you have it.
Alright, after mulling this one over for awhile I've decided it's a pretty decent book. This is an anti war novel generated by a German soldier. It is probably one of the better cases against war I have ever read. War is an ugly beast that eats everything in its path except for the sorry bastards at the top who profit from said war. The same is true for every nation and every political faction. The only people who benefit from war have never seen it, never known anyone who has seen it, would never allow their children to be veterans in it. I'm getting riled up again just thinking about it. It's the same now as it was then, war is shit.
Why three stars?
This was a challenge to get through the beginning is really slow and its written by someone who you really have no sympathy for. You don't want to have sympathy. It's hard to read a book about a German soldier written by said German soldier about WWII, it just is. There is no way to sugar coat it it's a dreadful and anxiety filling situation. It also takes place across many points in the war from Germany to almost North Africa to Russia. There's time in prison camps, betrayal by fellow Germans, loss of friends.
By the third quarter of this book I was sold. That's when the anti war sentiment really solidifies. It seeps in earlier but at the third quarter mark it becomes so blaring that you can't ignore it anymore, you're not watching a man simply trying to survive the war. He's trying to survive in his own mind, his place in the world. All of the soldiers in that small group knows what they are. They're the enemy and the world hates them, they even hate themselves to the point of saying they're all bound for hell and not as a joke. They believe it.
The humanity shown between the Russians and the Germans despite the ugliness of the conflicts is something that really stuck with me. There's a point where a German surrenders to Russia and the Russians send him back alive with a heart-filled letter. I won't ruin it for you and tell you what the letter said but I never in my life would have imagined in that hellish conflict that such a thing could happen. That such a mercy could happen between enemies. Never.
I don't know what else to add, I know that I'll be dwelling on this book for a long time. Its not for everyone, it is a struggle. It will challenge you in ways you never knew you could be. It is a battle of will to read it. I'll never read it again but I'm glad I did if only to learn more about my own humanity.
There it is and there you have it.
June 30, 2014
-En realidad tampoco estuvo en casi ninguno de los escenarios que nos presenta, pero qué más da.-
Género. Novela.
Lo que nos cuenta. El Gefreiter Sven Hassel es condenado a quince años de trabajos forzados por deserción en una vista celebrada el último año de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Primero sufrirá la dureza del Campo Disciplinario de Lengries , después tendrá que desactivar bombas durante su estancia en el Campo de Fagen, volverá a Lengries para trabajos forzados en sus minas y canteras y, finalmente, es destinado a servir una compañía disciplinaria desde la que, tras un duro periodo de instrucción, es trasladado formar parte de un escuadrón en el que, a pesar de la dureza de la guerra, las cosas no son cómo Sven está acostumbrado a que sean y que será desplegado en el Frente Oriental.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Novela.
Lo que nos cuenta. El Gefreiter Sven Hassel es condenado a quince años de trabajos forzados por deserción en una vista celebrada el último año de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Primero sufrirá la dureza del Campo Disciplinario de Lengries , después tendrá que desactivar bombas durante su estancia en el Campo de Fagen, volverá a Lengries para trabajos forzados en sus minas y canteras y, finalmente, es destinado a servir una compañía disciplinaria desde la que, tras un duro periodo de instrucción, es trasladado formar parte de un escuadrón en el que, a pesar de la dureza de la guerra, las cosas no son cómo Sven está acostumbrado a que sean y que será desplegado en el Frente Oriental.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
September 10, 2019
elyunquedehefesto.blogspot.com/2019/0...
Aún a día de hoy existe una gran controversia sobre si Sven Hassel era quien afirmaba ser o simplemente un oportunista que falsificó y reinventó su pasado tal y como defendía el polémico periodista ultraderechista danés Erik Haaest. Pero en todo caso, el valor y el análisis de sus obras no debe verse afectado por ninguna polémica. Su primera novela, ‘La legión de los condenados’ y el resto de libros que le siguieron están sin duda más inspirados que basados en hechos reales, pero este, es el que más realidad refleja y más dolor transmite.
Si leemos con mucha atención podremos diferenciar una primera parte de la novela, (no demasiado extensa) en la que Sven es condenado por traición y enviado a un campo de concentración donde se presenta voluntario para desactivar bombas con la esperanza de obtener un perdón que nunca llega. Este breve tramo del libro mantiene un tono sombrío que emana dolor y pesimismo sin permitirse ni una sola pincelada de humor negro como las que aparecerán más adelante. Algún tiempo después es liberado y enviado a un pelotón de castigo a causa de la necesitad de hombres en la Werhmacht y desde este momento la obra cambia ligeramente de cariz, se aligera levemente el ánimo (sin llegar a ser alegre o divertido) y asistimos a una historia bélica que exuda en cada página crítica y rencor, principalmente hacia su propio bando, el del ejército alemán.
La obra está bien escrita. No contiene acción a raudales pero la forma de narrar, sus reflexiones intercaladas con los hechos y el morbo intrínseco de estas historias tan duras y nunca amables, lo convierten en un libro entretenido y a veces muy emocionante que esconde algunas frases memorables que transmiten perfectamente el mensaje del autor. Os digo mi favorita:
“Mi deseo de libertad no sigue la trayectoria de las balas de fusil.”
Aunque a lo largo de la novela encontraréis ese fuerte sentimiento de camaradería entre soldados, (intrínseco al género bélico), episodios de crueldad propios de la guerra mecanizada y vivencias de distinto tipo en un desolador frente ruso, el punto fuerte de la obra es la forma en que logra reflejar la manera en que poco a poco, Sven y sus compañeros, a causa de la tensión, el sueño, el hambre y las penalidades, van perdiendo su humanidad y su sensibilidad adormeciendo sus conciencias y quedándose vacíos.
Estamos por tanto ante una novela de lectura obligada para cualquiera que desee adentrarse en la trágica Segunda Guerra Mundial desde las filas alemanas.
Aprovecho para decir que no he encontrado ni una sola portada de ninguna edición que no insinúe prácticamente lo contrario a lo que es la obra ya que todas parecen reflejar que lo que tras ellas se encuentra es una heroica aventura del ejército nazi o incluso, de miembros de las SS.
Aún a día de hoy existe una gran controversia sobre si Sven Hassel era quien afirmaba ser o simplemente un oportunista que falsificó y reinventó su pasado tal y como defendía el polémico periodista ultraderechista danés Erik Haaest. Pero en todo caso, el valor y el análisis de sus obras no debe verse afectado por ninguna polémica. Su primera novela, ‘La legión de los condenados’ y el resto de libros que le siguieron están sin duda más inspirados que basados en hechos reales, pero este, es el que más realidad refleja y más dolor transmite.
Si leemos con mucha atención podremos diferenciar una primera parte de la novela, (no demasiado extensa) en la que Sven es condenado por traición y enviado a un campo de concentración donde se presenta voluntario para desactivar bombas con la esperanza de obtener un perdón que nunca llega. Este breve tramo del libro mantiene un tono sombrío que emana dolor y pesimismo sin permitirse ni una sola pincelada de humor negro como las que aparecerán más adelante. Algún tiempo después es liberado y enviado a un pelotón de castigo a causa de la necesitad de hombres en la Werhmacht y desde este momento la obra cambia ligeramente de cariz, se aligera levemente el ánimo (sin llegar a ser alegre o divertido) y asistimos a una historia bélica que exuda en cada página crítica y rencor, principalmente hacia su propio bando, el del ejército alemán.
La obra está bien escrita. No contiene acción a raudales pero la forma de narrar, sus reflexiones intercaladas con los hechos y el morbo intrínseco de estas historias tan duras y nunca amables, lo convierten en un libro entretenido y a veces muy emocionante que esconde algunas frases memorables que transmiten perfectamente el mensaje del autor. Os digo mi favorita:
“Mi deseo de libertad no sigue la trayectoria de las balas de fusil.”
Aunque a lo largo de la novela encontraréis ese fuerte sentimiento de camaradería entre soldados, (intrínseco al género bélico), episodios de crueldad propios de la guerra mecanizada y vivencias de distinto tipo en un desolador frente ruso, el punto fuerte de la obra es la forma en que logra reflejar la manera en que poco a poco, Sven y sus compañeros, a causa de la tensión, el sueño, el hambre y las penalidades, van perdiendo su humanidad y su sensibilidad adormeciendo sus conciencias y quedándose vacíos.
Estamos por tanto ante una novela de lectura obligada para cualquiera que desee adentrarse en la trágica Segunda Guerra Mundial desde las filas alemanas.
Aprovecho para decir que no he encontrado ni una sola portada de ninguna edición que no insinúe prácticamente lo contrario a lo que es la obra ya que todas parecen reflejar que lo que tras ellas se encuentra es una heroica aventura del ejército nazi o incluso, de miembros de las SS.
May 31, 2025
Classic Men's Fiction Depiction of the Eastern Front Posing as Memoir
"Legion of the Damned" is a fast-paced action novel about a German penal battalion fighting on the Eastern Front in WWII. It purports to be a memoir of a Danish soldier who fought for the Germans. However, as Hassel published follow-on novels to milk the success of his "memoir" it became obvious that the story, as well as the author's "personal experiences" during the war, were fabrications. Nevertheless, "Legion of the Damned," published in 1953, and written in a style best described as post-war men's pulp sex/gore/violence exploitation literature, is considered a classic and iconic anti-war novel. It sold very well globally, led to over a dozen sequels (including that other classic in the series, "Wheels of Terror" that was made into a movie), and turned Sven Hassel into Denmark's best-selling author of all time.
The novel is written in the first person, a character referred to as "Sven" and purported to be the author himself. It follows Sven from a German court martial proceeding where he and his girlfriend are being tried (him for deserting his Wehrmacht unit for a liaison with his girlfriend, and her for aiding a soldier in his desertion) through a series of misadventures (all meant to convey the hopelessness and horror of war) culminating in his unit's eventual defeat and disintegration as the German army is driven from Soviet soil. There are some signs along the way that this "memoir"--while well-written and mesmerizing in its graphic violence, vivid and vicious portrayals of Nazi and Russian brutality, and the grim sexual encounters of its doomed denizens--is certainly not true but a cleverly written piece of war fiction. Some scenes are ridiculous, there are some plot holes along the way, and that our Sven seems to have undergone every type of experience possible in his war that I have ever read in all the other autobiographies of German soldiers put together... well... German veterans of the war never took "Legion of the Damned" seriously. Hassel's fans were largely Americans and Brits who longed to hear revisionist stories of "good Germans" who simply got caught up in the indifferent machinery of history and were never fooled by Hitler and his gang of thugs, thieves and psychopaths.
One suspects the author may have been writing this "memoir" to sanitize his real wartime antics... which were probably ridiculous and unheroic despite his attempts to embellish the record.
Sven Hassel was the pen name of Børge Willy Redsted Pedersen, Denmark's most successful commercial novelist and a colorful, controversial character whose biographical details are sketchy at best. His talented wife, Laura Dorothea Guldbaek Arbing, edited his first two novels and likely wrote much of the rest. She deserves credit for at least being "co-author" on the later books in the series.
What Pederson/Hassel did during the war has always been subject to debate. It is known that a person of his name was arrested in a motor vehicle incident where he was puportedly the driver for a leader in the Danish Nazi-party, DNSAP. He also had a criminal record for petty crimes and impersonating an officer. Did he ever serve in the German Army during the war? He has offered proof but many people have their doubts. He never did serve in a penal battalion and it is known that the 27th Panzer Regiment of the "memoir" never was a penal unit but a regular Wehrmacht tank regiment. There are many details in this book that trained researchers have debunked. And German veterans who served in the same regions never bought it. Oh, well... as novels go it's not a bad read. Depressing, graphic, and cynical, but not a bad read for all that. It's fast-paced and interesting for people who like gritty war novels written from a common soldier's point of view.
Hassel tried to paint all of the "good guys" of the Wehrmacht penal battalions as decent, moderate socialists who hated Hitler and shared with the regular Wehrmacht units a uniform hatred of the Waffen SS combat units. I highly doubt that. I've never found that to be the case in the other autobiographies of German soldiers who served. And while there were dozens of truly hated SS units whose job was to hunt for Jews and partisans, the combat-focused Waffen SS units, while fanatical, were always respected for their military acumen. Retreating, surrounded, or struggling Wehrmacht units on the Eastern front would not turn down help from the SS... nor would they shoot at them as depicted in this "memoir."
Recommended if you really like this sort of carnage. The sexual scenes in this 1953 novel are not particularly graphic (I assume the later books in this series are). Soldiers do have a twisted sense of humor about such things which is not unrealistically portrayed here. But the violence in this is, indeed, graphic. I will read his next novel, "Wheels of Terror," considered a classic war novel, made into a film, and never intended to come across as a memoir. I have read that the rest of the formulaic books in the series were largely written by Pederson/Hassel's wife, Laura Dorothea Guldbaek Arbing. But like almost everything else about Sven Hassel, that may not be true either!
Enjoy... if you like these kinds of novels, you will. Enjoy it, I mean.
"Legion of the Damned" is a fast-paced action novel about a German penal battalion fighting on the Eastern Front in WWII. It purports to be a memoir of a Danish soldier who fought for the Germans. However, as Hassel published follow-on novels to milk the success of his "memoir" it became obvious that the story, as well as the author's "personal experiences" during the war, were fabrications. Nevertheless, "Legion of the Damned," published in 1953, and written in a style best described as post-war men's pulp sex/gore/violence exploitation literature, is considered a classic and iconic anti-war novel. It sold very well globally, led to over a dozen sequels (including that other classic in the series, "Wheels of Terror" that was made into a movie), and turned Sven Hassel into Denmark's best-selling author of all time.
The novel is written in the first person, a character referred to as "Sven" and purported to be the author himself. It follows Sven from a German court martial proceeding where he and his girlfriend are being tried (him for deserting his Wehrmacht unit for a liaison with his girlfriend, and her for aiding a soldier in his desertion) through a series of misadventures (all meant to convey the hopelessness and horror of war) culminating in his unit's eventual defeat and disintegration as the German army is driven from Soviet soil. There are some signs along the way that this "memoir"--while well-written and mesmerizing in its graphic violence, vivid and vicious portrayals of Nazi and Russian brutality, and the grim sexual encounters of its doomed denizens--is certainly not true but a cleverly written piece of war fiction. Some scenes are ridiculous, there are some plot holes along the way, and that our Sven seems to have undergone every type of experience possible in his war that I have ever read in all the other autobiographies of German soldiers put together... well... German veterans of the war never took "Legion of the Damned" seriously. Hassel's fans were largely Americans and Brits who longed to hear revisionist stories of "good Germans" who simply got caught up in the indifferent machinery of history and were never fooled by Hitler and his gang of thugs, thieves and psychopaths.
One suspects the author may have been writing this "memoir" to sanitize his real wartime antics... which were probably ridiculous and unheroic despite his attempts to embellish the record.
Sven Hassel was the pen name of Børge Willy Redsted Pedersen, Denmark's most successful commercial novelist and a colorful, controversial character whose biographical details are sketchy at best. His talented wife, Laura Dorothea Guldbaek Arbing, edited his first two novels and likely wrote much of the rest. She deserves credit for at least being "co-author" on the later books in the series.
What Pederson/Hassel did during the war has always been subject to debate. It is known that a person of his name was arrested in a motor vehicle incident where he was puportedly the driver for a leader in the Danish Nazi-party, DNSAP. He also had a criminal record for petty crimes and impersonating an officer. Did he ever serve in the German Army during the war? He has offered proof but many people have their doubts. He never did serve in a penal battalion and it is known that the 27th Panzer Regiment of the "memoir" never was a penal unit but a regular Wehrmacht tank regiment. There are many details in this book that trained researchers have debunked. And German veterans who served in the same regions never bought it. Oh, well... as novels go it's not a bad read. Depressing, graphic, and cynical, but not a bad read for all that. It's fast-paced and interesting for people who like gritty war novels written from a common soldier's point of view.
Hassel tried to paint all of the "good guys" of the Wehrmacht penal battalions as decent, moderate socialists who hated Hitler and shared with the regular Wehrmacht units a uniform hatred of the Waffen SS combat units. I highly doubt that. I've never found that to be the case in the other autobiographies of German soldiers who served. And while there were dozens of truly hated SS units whose job was to hunt for Jews and partisans, the combat-focused Waffen SS units, while fanatical, were always respected for their military acumen. Retreating, surrounded, or struggling Wehrmacht units on the Eastern front would not turn down help from the SS... nor would they shoot at them as depicted in this "memoir."
Recommended if you really like this sort of carnage. The sexual scenes in this 1953 novel are not particularly graphic (I assume the later books in this series are). Soldiers do have a twisted sense of humor about such things which is not unrealistically portrayed here. But the violence in this is, indeed, graphic. I will read his next novel, "Wheels of Terror," considered a classic war novel, made into a film, and never intended to come across as a memoir. I have read that the rest of the formulaic books in the series were largely written by Pederson/Hassel's wife, Laura Dorothea Guldbaek Arbing. But like almost everything else about Sven Hassel, that may not be true either!
Enjoy... if you like these kinds of novels, you will. Enjoy it, I mean.
October 2, 2012
There is much controversy on the Internet as to whether Sven Hassel's autobiographical books are true or fiction, whether he was what he claims to be - and whether he exists at all or is a fictional identity created by someone else!
Well, it is obvious that the books cannot be taken at 100% face value. However, taking into account that this, the first book was written 12 years before any of the others, and that it appears to cover his entire wartime experience, my impression to say that it is genuinely autobiographical (something that emphatically cannot be said for all later books!)
The obvious inaccuracies may arise from a desire to protect the identities of those with which he served - it is notable that he only gives biographical details about the deceased. Whether other alterations have been made for more self-serving reasons is open to question...
However, the book cover does the contents a disservice. The author never claims to have served in the SS: he deserted from a regular tank regiment, then, after a spell in a concentration camp, served in a penal battalion. He is no Nazi apologist: his tone towards that ideology is uniformly hostile.
Whether true or not, this is not a tale of daring exploits; it is about the brutality of war and the suffering it causes.
Well, it is obvious that the books cannot be taken at 100% face value. However, taking into account that this, the first book was written 12 years before any of the others, and that it appears to cover his entire wartime experience, my impression to say that it is genuinely autobiographical (something that emphatically cannot be said for all later books!)
The obvious inaccuracies may arise from a desire to protect the identities of those with which he served - it is notable that he only gives biographical details about the deceased. Whether other alterations have been made for more self-serving reasons is open to question...
However, the book cover does the contents a disservice. The author never claims to have served in the SS: he deserted from a regular tank regiment, then, after a spell in a concentration camp, served in a penal battalion. He is no Nazi apologist: his tone towards that ideology is uniformly hostile.
Whether true or not, this is not a tale of daring exploits; it is about the brutality of war and the suffering it causes.
September 10, 2011
I have read this book about 4 times, at large time intervals, and it still has the same powerful impression on me. I admire the story itself beacuse of it's cruelty to the reader, who is spared of nothing.. I think it's an amazing window through which we can see one small, really really small part of the suffering that went back way back during the World Wars..
July 15, 2020
Citind-o cu ochi de cititor ce se apropie de 2000 de cărți citite și aflând, între timp, niște detalii de culise, plus după nițică documentare, fie ea și superficială, am ajuns la concluzia că acesta este probabil cel mai dezlânat roman dintre toate cele scrise de Sven Hassel (cu excepția „Comisarului”, care este complet fictiv, rodul integral al imaginației scriitorului).
Departe, tare departe am fost de entuziasmul de care era cuprins școlarul care citea pentru prima oară despre cum a ajuns Sven în Legiunea Blestemaților, batalionul disciplinar bun la toate, și cum i-a cunoscut pe Joseph Porta sau pe „Bătrânul” Willie Beier. Aventurile se țin lanț și se termină foarte repede, sărind peste distanțe amețitoare în timp și spațiu, imposibil de străbătut de o ființă cu capacități omenești. Fracturi de logică apar adesea, iar acțiunile personajelor par desprinse dintr-un roman fantasy/horror uneori.
Rămân însă tristețea, suferința, repulsia, revolta și sentimentul continuu că războiul este ceva absolut inutil și că rasa umană merită să piară dacă e în stare de asemenea atrocități împotriva semenilor. Și-n sarcina lui Sven Hassel a căzut misiunea de-a transmite mai departe aceste sentimente, în sarcina lui a căzut misiunea de-a înfățișa lumii întregi detaliile grafice ale celui mai sângeros conflict armat al secolului douăzeci și hidoșenia comportamentului monștrilor care l-au iscat și l-au purtat vreme de ani buni, dând complet peste cap mersul lumii și aruncând omenirea cu decenii întregi înapoi.
Mai multe, cred că există material, într-o viitoare recenzie pe Biblioteca lui Liviu.
Departe, tare departe am fost de entuziasmul de care era cuprins școlarul care citea pentru prima oară despre cum a ajuns Sven în Legiunea Blestemaților, batalionul disciplinar bun la toate, și cum i-a cunoscut pe Joseph Porta sau pe „Bătrânul” Willie Beier. Aventurile se țin lanț și se termină foarte repede, sărind peste distanțe amețitoare în timp și spațiu, imposibil de străbătut de o ființă cu capacități omenești. Fracturi de logică apar adesea, iar acțiunile personajelor par desprinse dintr-un roman fantasy/horror uneori.
Rămân însă tristețea, suferința, repulsia, revolta și sentimentul continuu că războiul este ceva absolut inutil și că rasa umană merită să piară dacă e în stare de asemenea atrocități împotriva semenilor. Și-n sarcina lui Sven Hassel a căzut misiunea de-a transmite mai departe aceste sentimente, în sarcina lui a căzut misiunea de-a înfățișa lumii întregi detaliile grafice ale celui mai sângeros conflict armat al secolului douăzeci și hidoșenia comportamentului monștrilor care l-au iscat și l-au purtat vreme de ani buni, dând complet peste cap mersul lumii și aruncând omenirea cu decenii întregi înapoi.
Mai multe, cred că există material, într-o viitoare recenzie pe Biblioteca lui Liviu.
January 20, 2021
Prea masculină, ca să zic așa, pentru mine. Foarte multe descrieri ale întâmplărilor de pe front, mai ales dacă le compar cu momentele de introspecție, iar eu nu vreau să știu cum se conduce un tanc, mulțumesc!
March 26, 2021
Não gostei mesmo nada deste livro...
Nos últimos anos, tenho lido excelentes livros de guerra ou nos quais se fala sobre guerra (como por exemplo as minhas leituras mais recentes de Os Nus e Os Mortos de Norman Mailer ou de Viagem ao Fim da Noite de Louis-Ferdinand Céline). Por causa de muitas dessas experiências positivas, a minha antiga posição de "não gostar" de livros de guerra (que eu fixo em mais ou menos há 10 anos atrás) tem-se vindo lentamente a desvanecer.
Antes de começar a ler este livro, sabia que se comparava Sven Hassel ao autor que escreveu o meu livro de guerra ainda hoje favorito (A Oeste Nada de Novo), dizendo que Hassel seria o Remarque da 2ª guerra mundial. Os motivos atrás expostos deram-me a confiança necessária para tentar esta leitura, apesar da capa me provocar um afastamento instintivo.
Infelizmente, para mim revelou-se que quem fez tal comparação está muito longe da verdade. A única comparação possível para mim é que foram ambos soldados do exército alemão (Remarque durante a 1ª guerra mundial e Sven Hassel durante a 2ª) e ambos escreveram livros baseados nas suas experiências pessoais. Contudo, esta leitura de Hassel foi tão díspar das minhas leituras de Remarque, que até me angustia um pouco essa comparação.
Apesar de o A Oeste Nada de Novo também conter muitas partes de descrição da acção, com o inevitável choque violento do leitor com o que a guerra tem de mais grotesco, na minha opinião Remarque fá-lo promovendo uma profunda e necessária reflexão anti-bélica sobre as sociedades, a civilização e a própria humanidade (nota para self: tenho de arranjar uma boa e recente edição de "A Oeste Nada de Novo" para reler esse livro --- a minha está a desfazer-se XD)
Contudo, neste livro de Hassel, a minha reflexão sobre estes temas (que considero fundamentais num bom livro sobre guerra), foi residual e fez-se "fora dos capítulos" que o autor decidiu numerar. Explicando melhor, o autor optou pela seguinte estrutura: capítulos não numerados, que passam ou aparentam ser de não-ficção para enquadramento e contextualização, seguidos dos capítulos numerados, onde a acção propriamente dita acontece, e encontramos o enredo e os personagens de Hassel.
Foram os capítulos não numerados o que mais apreciei, mas na falta de certeza sobre a veracidade dos mesmos, a certa altura também acabaram por perder qualquer valor que no início lhes atribuí. A única reflexão que acabei por fazer foi sobre a liderança dos igualmente "loucos" Staline e Hitler, sobre como o poder da autoridade e do colectivo pode levar o indivíduo a cometer as maiores atrocidades, em nome de ideais apodrecidos pela corrupção e pelo poder. Loucos, extremistas e incitadores ao ódio sempre os houve, e temos infelizmente exemplos bem actuais, mas o que é e sempre foi verdadeiramente preocupante para mim é a capacidade de os aparentemente "loucos" conseguirem mover multidões aparentemente "sãs". Mas não foi este livro que me fez reflectir sobre isso...e pouco acrescentou ao que já pensava.
Quanto à história propriamente dita ( a tal dos capítulos numerados), para mim foram apenas "violência gratuita" e grotesca. Na maior parte das vezes não percebi nada do que estava a acontecer, do onde, do quem, do porquê...talvez por este ser já um livro adiantado na série (o décimo) e por eu ter "caído de pára-quedas neste volume", não reconhecendo estes indívíduos nem as suas "realidades", mas sinceramente não quero dar qualquer outra oportunidade a esta série ou a este autor.... Foram livros de guerra deste género que me fizeram um dia dizer "Eu não gosto de livros de guerra", o que não é inteiramente verdade.
Nos últimos anos, tenho lido excelentes livros de guerra ou nos quais se fala sobre guerra (como por exemplo as minhas leituras mais recentes de Os Nus e Os Mortos de Norman Mailer ou de Viagem ao Fim da Noite de Louis-Ferdinand Céline). Por causa de muitas dessas experiências positivas, a minha antiga posição de "não gostar" de livros de guerra (que eu fixo em mais ou menos há 10 anos atrás) tem-se vindo lentamente a desvanecer.
Antes de começar a ler este livro, sabia que se comparava Sven Hassel ao autor que escreveu o meu livro de guerra ainda hoje favorito (A Oeste Nada de Novo), dizendo que Hassel seria o Remarque da 2ª guerra mundial. Os motivos atrás expostos deram-me a confiança necessária para tentar esta leitura, apesar da capa me provocar um afastamento instintivo.
Infelizmente, para mim revelou-se que quem fez tal comparação está muito longe da verdade. A única comparação possível para mim é que foram ambos soldados do exército alemão (Remarque durante a 1ª guerra mundial e Sven Hassel durante a 2ª) e ambos escreveram livros baseados nas suas experiências pessoais. Contudo, esta leitura de Hassel foi tão díspar das minhas leituras de Remarque, que até me angustia um pouco essa comparação.
Apesar de o A Oeste Nada de Novo também conter muitas partes de descrição da acção, com o inevitável choque violento do leitor com o que a guerra tem de mais grotesco, na minha opinião Remarque fá-lo promovendo uma profunda e necessária reflexão anti-bélica sobre as sociedades, a civilização e a própria humanidade (nota para self: tenho de arranjar uma boa e recente edição de "A Oeste Nada de Novo" para reler esse livro --- a minha está a desfazer-se XD)
Contudo, neste livro de Hassel, a minha reflexão sobre estes temas (que considero fundamentais num bom livro sobre guerra), foi residual e fez-se "fora dos capítulos" que o autor decidiu numerar. Explicando melhor, o autor optou pela seguinte estrutura: capítulos não numerados, que passam ou aparentam ser de não-ficção para enquadramento e contextualização, seguidos dos capítulos numerados, onde a acção propriamente dita acontece, e encontramos o enredo e os personagens de Hassel.
Foram os capítulos não numerados o que mais apreciei, mas na falta de certeza sobre a veracidade dos mesmos, a certa altura também acabaram por perder qualquer valor que no início lhes atribuí. A única reflexão que acabei por fazer foi sobre a liderança dos igualmente "loucos" Staline e Hitler, sobre como o poder da autoridade e do colectivo pode levar o indivíduo a cometer as maiores atrocidades, em nome de ideais apodrecidos pela corrupção e pelo poder. Loucos, extremistas e incitadores ao ódio sempre os houve, e temos infelizmente exemplos bem actuais, mas o que é e sempre foi verdadeiramente preocupante para mim é a capacidade de os aparentemente "loucos" conseguirem mover multidões aparentemente "sãs". Mas não foi este livro que me fez reflectir sobre isso...e pouco acrescentou ao que já pensava.
Quanto à história propriamente dita ( a tal dos capítulos numerados), para mim foram apenas "violência gratuita" e grotesca. Na maior parte das vezes não percebi nada do que estava a acontecer, do onde, do quem, do porquê...talvez por este ser já um livro adiantado na série (o décimo) e por eu ter "caído de pára-quedas neste volume", não reconhecendo estes indívíduos nem as suas "realidades", mas sinceramente não quero dar qualquer outra oportunidade a esta série ou a este autor.... Foram livros de guerra deste género que me fizeram um dia dizer "Eu não gosto de livros de guerra", o que não é inteiramente verdade.
March 2, 2017
Mrs Mapp, on clocking me reading this, exclaimed "What are you doing reading Sven Hassel? You're not 14 years old".
She was nearly right. I was 13 when I read this.
For a generation of people brought up in the 70s and 80s, Sven Hassel books were de-rigour. Up there with James Herbert. I decided on a trip down memory lane, some 35 years later, to see how they stacked up.
Amazing. When I cannot remember a book read last year, the characters just lept off the page. Porta was always my favourite and so it remains - so much more humour than I remember and some great set piece stories of him getting into gambling and womanising scrapes.
There's whole passages of the book that I remember too.
Once you are past the incessantly grim start of the book, where the narrator is in a penal jail, we move into an episodic tale of the whole war. Future books concentrate on particular events but by the end of this, we have followed Sven through WWII and we know what happens to the main characters in the end.
Strong anti-war message and a nice balance between the violence and insanity of war and the little acts of camaraderie and fun that can only happen between people living in extraordinary times.
Justified in my adolescent selection. I may even try and track down the next in the series.
She was nearly right. I was 13 when I read this.
For a generation of people brought up in the 70s and 80s, Sven Hassel books were de-rigour. Up there with James Herbert. I decided on a trip down memory lane, some 35 years later, to see how they stacked up.
Amazing. When I cannot remember a book read last year, the characters just lept off the page. Porta was always my favourite and so it remains - so much more humour than I remember and some great set piece stories of him getting into gambling and womanising scrapes.
There's whole passages of the book that I remember too.
Once you are past the incessantly grim start of the book, where the narrator is in a penal jail, we move into an episodic tale of the whole war. Future books concentrate on particular events but by the end of this, we have followed Sven through WWII and we know what happens to the main characters in the end.
Strong anti-war message and a nice balance between the violence and insanity of war and the little acts of camaraderie and fun that can only happen between people living in extraordinary times.
Justified in my adolescent selection. I may even try and track down the next in the series.
January 16, 2013
I'd always avoided these books because the covers put me off, they always seem a bit 'Yay the SS!' Hence my surprise when the book was actually extremely condemnatory of the SS and the whole German regime at the time.
So quite why the book designers decided to put Sven HaSSel emblazoned in bold on the cover I do not know. The guy clearly hated the SS, in fact he recounts with relish the number of times on the Eastern Front that the German army and Russians would stop shooting at each other for a while in order to shoot up SS units that had just arrived on the line, before continuing to shoot at each other.
As a novel it didn't quite work, too much jumping around, and the narrative structure itself is weak. But as a snapshot into history I liked it very much. I wonder how auto-biographical it was.
So quite why the book designers decided to put Sven HaSSel emblazoned in bold on the cover I do not know. The guy clearly hated the SS, in fact he recounts with relish the number of times on the Eastern Front that the German army and Russians would stop shooting at each other for a while in order to shoot up SS units that had just arrived on the line, before continuing to shoot at each other.
As a novel it didn't quite work, too much jumping around, and the narrative structure itself is weak. But as a snapshot into history I liked it very much. I wonder how auto-biographical it was.
September 19, 2020
Cartea nu excelează în metafore sau forme de stil complicate, stilul fiind unul simplu și curat, susținut de originalitate și sinceritate crudă, care alcătuiesc un tablou rece, mizerabil și repugnant al unor ani marcanți pentru o lume întreagă.
August 13, 2015
Tardé demasiado en hacerle caso a esta recomendación de mi padre. Me puso los pelos de punta.
May 18, 2022
It's 5 stars for the story, not so much for the style, though. I have no idea: sometimes it seeld too detailed for an eyewitness of such horrible events. What I mean is that there were 2 tanks, 10 sergents etc., the exact numbers in an horrific situation. For me, this seems a bit unreal. But, who am I to judge? Other than this, I salute his effort to describe something like that with no emotions. Of course, this can't be true. There are emotions involved, but what he's doing here is to understand everybody's point of view, to be in everyone's shoes.
I think that everyone should read this story and to really understand that in every were there's no winner. We all lose: lives, money, time and effort, everything. We lose hope and ourselves. We lose our children and our future.
He has an paragraph really amazing where he says something like that: that we shoud become aware of all the resources involved in wars and that we should ask our governments to spend those money to our daily benefits and well-being and we will all live happier lives.
So true!
I think that everyone should read this story and to really understand that in every were there's no winner. We all lose: lives, money, time and effort, everything. We lose hope and ourselves. We lose our children and our future.
He has an paragraph really amazing where he says something like that: that we shoud become aware of all the resources involved in wars and that we should ask our governments to spend those money to our daily benefits and well-being and we will all live happier lives.
So true!
December 12, 2024
Read this in the mid 70's. Grim, believable depiction of the Eastern Front in WWII.
Great characterization and writing.
Great characterization and writing.
February 26, 2025
I won't go back over the polemics surrounding Sven Hassel and the veracity of his works, that's not the point.
The point is that this book is, under cover of dark, violent, desperate, outlandish or funny scenes, a violent charge against the stupidity of war and the fools who declare it.
Accompanied by his colourful, endearing characters - how can you not love Porta? - or his petty, despicable ones, Hassel lives through WWII and its horrors without ever ceasing to curse it and to hope for more human fraternity.
If the following books are more questionable in terms of their veracity, this one is probably the closest to the author's own experience, an experience that led him to denounce the human folly of the battlefield.
The point is that this book is, under cover of dark, violent, desperate, outlandish or funny scenes, a violent charge against the stupidity of war and the fools who declare it.
Accompanied by his colourful, endearing characters - how can you not love Porta? - or his petty, despicable ones, Hassel lives through WWII and its horrors without ever ceasing to curse it and to hope for more human fraternity.
If the following books are more questionable in terms of their veracity, this one is probably the closest to the author's own experience, an experience that led him to denounce the human folly of the battlefield.
May 5, 2024
Cartea e un roman pseudo-biografic, se bazează pe evenimentele prin care a trecut Sven Hassel. El s-a înrolat în armata germană, dar dezertează și este judecat de un tribunal, fiind condamnat la muncă silnică. Este trimis ca carne de tun într-un batalion disciplinar pe Frontul de Est. Protagonistul a trăit un calvar pe front, descriind ororile la care erau supuși cei din batalionul disciplinar. Stilul autorului nu e pentru oricine, găsim umor negru și realitatea dură a războiului.
August 14, 2017
Sven Hassell's first book has a much more autobiographical feel to it. It pulls no punches, telling of life in the Wehrmacht's Penal regiments. At times brutal, at times sensitive, even funny. When there are masses of war stories about the winning side, this is an excellent book for redressing that balance.
January 9, 2017
Trivial and shallow - not recommended at all, unless you are a stereotypical 15 year old kid with no knowledge of WW2.
September 8, 2023
"La Legión de los Condenados" de Sven Hassel es una obra literaria que sumerge al lector en el caos y la brutalidad de la Segunda Guerra Mundial desde una perspectiva única. A través de la voz de su protagonista, un soldado alemán llamado Heinz Guderian, Hassel ofrece una visión cruda y descarnada de la vida en el frente oriental, donde la supervivencia es una lucha constante y la camaradería entre los soldados de la Legión Extranjera alemana es la única fuente de consuelo.
La prosa de Hassel es cruda y directa, sin adornos innecesarios, lo que contribuye a transmitir la brutalidad de la guerra de manera impactante. Los personajes, a pesar de sus defectos, se vuelven entrañables, y la narrativa es un relato descarnado de la humanidad en su peor momento.
"La Legión de los Condenados" es una lectura intensa y emocionante que arroja luz sobre los horrores de la guerra desde una perspectiva poco convencional, dejando una impresión duradera en el lector. Una obra que no debe faltar en la biblioteca de cualquier amante de la literatura bélica.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
La prosa de Hassel es cruda y directa, sin adornos innecesarios, lo que contribuye a transmitir la brutalidad de la guerra de manera impactante. Los personajes, a pesar de sus defectos, se vuelven entrañables, y la narrativa es un relato descarnado de la humanidad en su peor momento.
"La Legión de los Condenados" es una lectura intensa y emocionante que arroja luz sobre los horrores de la guerra desde una perspectiva poco convencional, dejando una impresión duradera en el lector. Una obra que no debe faltar en la biblioteca de cualquier amante de la literatura bélica.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
February 19, 2022
"Promettiamoci ora che chi di noi uscirà vivo da questo inferno, scriverà un libro su questa schifezza che ci tocca di vivere. Dovrà essere un pugno nell'occhio dell'intera fetentissima classe militare, tedesca russa o americana che sia, perché tutti si rendano conto di quanto marcio e quanto stupidissimo spreco nascondono questi romantici duelli."
L'esperienza di Sven Hassel nella seconda guerra mondiale è una delle più particolari che abbia mai avuto l'opportunità di leggere: l'autore, arruolatosi nella Wehrmacht come volontario, decide di disertare e viene condannato ai lavori forzati, per poi essere unito a un battaglione di disciplina, che finirà per combattere nel gelo del fronte orientale.
Quello che a mio avviso rende veramente particolare il racconto non è la Storia in sé (che in parte è fedele agli avvenimenti reali, in parte inventata) ma l'alternarsi in maniera così naturale di momenti tragicomici e incredibili, grazie alle avventure dei protagonisti -- Joseph Porta su tutti, -- con scene di guerra dalla crudeltà inaudita e che raramente vengono raccontate in maniera così vivida.
L'animo dei personaggi è la cosa che su tutto mi ha spiazzato: da combattenti spavaldi diventano prima giustizieri e poi l'ombra di sé stessi, quando realizzano che la morte diventa l'unica possibilità. Personaggi come il Vecchio Unno mi hanno ricordato molto il Kat di Remarque, e anche il coraggio di altre figure minori come quella di Ursula non resta affatto inosservato.
Il racconto mette in luce cameratismo e antimilitarismo, mostrando come la guerra demolisce a uno a uno tutti gli elementi che definiscono quel concetto così banale che chiamiamo umanità. Sfacciato, trash e drammatico allo stesso tempo: se non l'avete ancora letto è arrivato il momento di rimediare, perché è una lettura incredibile.
L'esperienza di Sven Hassel nella seconda guerra mondiale è una delle più particolari che abbia mai avuto l'opportunità di leggere: l'autore, arruolatosi nella Wehrmacht come volontario, decide di disertare e viene condannato ai lavori forzati, per poi essere unito a un battaglione di disciplina, che finirà per combattere nel gelo del fronte orientale.
Quello che a mio avviso rende veramente particolare il racconto non è la Storia in sé (che in parte è fedele agli avvenimenti reali, in parte inventata) ma l'alternarsi in maniera così naturale di momenti tragicomici e incredibili, grazie alle avventure dei protagonisti -- Joseph Porta su tutti, -- con scene di guerra dalla crudeltà inaudita e che raramente vengono raccontate in maniera così vivida.
L'animo dei personaggi è la cosa che su tutto mi ha spiazzato: da combattenti spavaldi diventano prima giustizieri e poi l'ombra di sé stessi, quando realizzano che la morte diventa l'unica possibilità. Personaggi come il Vecchio Unno mi hanno ricordato molto il Kat di Remarque, e anche il coraggio di altre figure minori come quella di Ursula non resta affatto inosservato.
Il racconto mette in luce cameratismo e antimilitarismo, mostrando come la guerra demolisce a uno a uno tutti gli elementi che definiscono quel concetto così banale che chiamiamo umanità. Sfacciato, trash e drammatico allo stesso tempo: se non l'avete ancora letto è arrivato il momento di rimediare, perché è una lettura incredibile.
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