Evening star., 1947-08-03
Books in Northern Europe


political or religious denomina-
tion, rarely by those he wants to
convert.
Among the novelists and poets a
few new names have come to the
forefront, such as Tove Ditlevsen,
whose love lyrics and sensitive
novels about very young girls
have a tender feminine charm,
In Norway
IN NORWAY, Germans and
Quislings meddled with a
will, to tune literature into
harmony with their New
Order" Some of the publishers
were marched off to concentra-
ton camps, the publishing houses
were given Nazi advisers or di-
rectors-and so next to no new
books were published, in spite of
the fact that during the mental
blackout the appetite Of the peo-
pie for reading was tremendous.
So the Norwegian classics were
reprinted, and the bookstores
and publishers stores cleaned
out. books banned by the Ger
mans selling under the counter.
The authors wrote for their desk
drawers, biding their time. Some
new publishing houses were
started by the men Of the New
Order" but as the Quislings and
Germans were not a reading lot
and nobody else wanted to buy
their output, no subsidies from
above could prevent their vast
ing away. OF the handful of
Norwegian authors who joined
the Nazis, everybody except
Knut Hamsun is today as if he
had never lived.
Immediately after the liberia
ton only the shortage OF mate
rial set limit to the output OF
new books. With money on their
hands and not a thing to buy
without rationing points except
books and paintings, people
bought books and paintings.
Everything published was sold
out in no time. and for books OF
more than ephemeral interest,
like the volumes of our two great
poats. Nordahl Grieg, who was
killed in an air raid over Berlin,
and Arnulf Overland, immured
for three years in Sachsenhau-
sen. YOU had to enter your book
sellers list and wait patiently,
sometimes for months. Also sew
eral volumes of drawings and
sketches made on toilet paper
and smuggled out of Grini con-
centration camp were snatcheo
awav as soon as they were
printed.
The first intense interest in
books about the war has faller
off somewhat, yet still a numbel
are pubiished-about the CAM
paign in Norway, the secret wal
of the underground, the reblrtf
of our navy and air force, ant
also war books from other coun'
tries, among them some Amer
ican, such as Queens Die Proud
ly." Probably only a few o
these will be of lasting interest
such as Judge Cappelen's re
strained and terrible account O
his experience with the Gastaap'
and his life in an extermlnatlol
camp, or Max Manus' story o
his adventures as a commano
soldier. An Oslo boy in spite 0
his foreign name, Manus IS a
slangy as Damon Runyon, VIII
ing frankly about the dareoeVl
deeds he had to perform IN spit
of being in a blue funk, onl
they had to be done; enthuslas
tically praising his comrades an
the helpers from all classes {
the people, VINO willingly rlske
their lives to aid the commando
In his poignant novel, "Voyagel
for England" Sigurd EVensm
tells about 18 young Norwegian
who tried to cross the Atlant.
to join our fighting forces
England, but were betrayed an
finally executed. Evansmo, WI
was one of the doomed pan
| escaped the firing squad only n'
cause the Gestapo also had oth'
bones to pick with him. III
beauty of the book is the 1al,
| of these boys that the love OF Ill
human integrity and goodneS