Imperiul Iadului

Sven and his fellow troops fight in the battle for Warsaw. Hitler’s troops push through Poland. Himmler gives the order to destroy the city. Polish fighters resist them and will not give in. Fires rage as Sven’s group faces cruel acts by the SS. They also face attacks by guerrillas.

This war novel by Sven Hassel draws on the past. It looks at force, choice, and our sense of right and wrong. The army calls its starved, abused prisoners volunteers. They must choose death or serve in Battalion 999. The story asks what it means to agree under such threats. It is for readers of war fiction. It is also for those drawn to tales of Polish resistance.

Hassel was born on 19 April 1917 in Fredensborg, Denmark. His birth name was Børge Willy Redsted Pedersen. He moved to Germany in 1937 to join the army. He fought on several fronts and rose to lieutenant. He gave himself up to Soviet troops in Berlin in 1945. He then spent several years in prison camps. There he began his first book, Legiunea blestemaților. It came out in 1953. He died on 21 September 2012.

This pocket edition is part of the Armada SMART series. Gherasim Țic translated it from English. The English title is Reign of Hell.