RUSSERNE KOMMER – THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING
By Tom Buk-Swienty
‘GET UP CLOSE TO ONE OF THE MOST MOMENTOUS EVENTS IN WORLD HISTORY
THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE CORRESPONDENTS WHO SURVIVED THE FALL OF THE THIRD REICH.
TOM BUK-SWIENTY PICKS up where his bestselling Berlin Is Burning left off with the gripping second volume, The Russians Are Coming, arriving in November 2025.
DENMARK, REGARDED AS a “special case” by Nazi Germany, remained officially neutral, compelling its press to cover the Reich’s propaganda while subtly reporting on its rise and fall. Buk-Swienty weaves this unique story into a meticulously researched, compelling narrative.
SET IN JANUARY 1945, Berlin is crumbling as the Eastern Front collapses and refugees flood the city. The book follows four eyewitnesses – journalists Paul Ernst Stemann and Arild Hvidtfeldt, and diplomats Vincens Steensen-Leth and Frederik Holck Colding – caught in the heart of history’s storm.
DRAWING ON RARE, previously unused eyewitness accounts, Buk-Swienty immerses readers in the chaos, fear, and human drama of Berlin’s final months before its surrender on 2 May, 1945. Amid relentless bombings and the Russian invasion, these Danish correspondents experienced the fall of the Third Reich firsthand.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Published by Politiken, Denmark 2025
RIGHTS SOLD
Denmark, Politiken
REVIEWS
“Tom Buk-Swienty digs out the pure gold in the archives.”
Berlingske, Denmark on Berlin is burning
“Tom Buk-Swienty takes us to a shattered Berlin and gives a rare insight into the horrors of war. It’s the story of four Danes who experienced the downfall of the Nazis, making world history while risking their lives.”
Jyllands Posten, Denmark on Berlin is burning
“Harrowing, thrilling and incredible…filled with tons of brand new knowledge.”
historie-online.dk, Denmark on Berlin is burning
“An exciting and captivating story.”
Kristeligt Dagblad, Denmark on Berlin is burning
“History telling at its best.”
Information, Denmark on Berlin is burning
“Tom Buk-Swienty once again unfolds an incredible story, this time about the lives of Danish journalists and envoys in Berlin in the final years of World War II. […] Swienty tells the story so well that you jump on the bandwagon and rejoice in the fact that the expats manage to survive under the impossible conditions they are put in. […] Once again, it must be said that this author is a master storyteller.”
Weekendavisen, Denmark on Berlin is burning
“After reading Tom Buk-Swienty’s mammoth work, you’ll be doubly looking forward to the promised second volume. […] the book is two stories: One is a story about the Danish players at work in the eye of the hurricane. And partly a story about big players like Hitler’s fanatical favorite judge and the circle around the failed assassination attempt on the Führer himself. Tom Buk-Swienty has brought Danish correspondents and clerks out of oblivion – and sent the whole team into the air where world history is made.”
Berlingske, Denmark on Berlin is burning
“After reading Tom Buk-Swienty’s mammoth work, you’ll be doubly looking forward to the promised second volume. […] the book is two stories: One is a story about the Danish players at work in the eye of the hurricane. And partly a story about big players like Hitler’s fanatical favorite judge and the circle around the failed assassination attempt on the Führer himself. Tom Buk-Swienty has brought Danish correspondents and clerks out of oblivion – and sent the whole team into the air where world history is made.”
Berlingske, Denmark
BOOKS
Non-Fiction
