BERLIN BRÆNDER – BERLIN IS BURNING
By Tom Buk-Swienty
GET UP CLOSE TO ONE OF THE MOST MOMENTOUS EVENTS IN WORLD HISTORY
A #1 BESTSELLER
DRAWING ON PREVIOUSLY unpublished material, bestselling author Tom Buk-Swienty tells the untold story of the Danish journalists who reported from Berlin during World War II. Denmark was regarded by the Nazis as a “Special Case”: occupied, yet officially neutral. Unlike any other occupied nation, Denmark’s press was compelled to maintain a presence in the Reich’s capital. This placed Danish correspondents in a uniquely precarious position — neither outsiders nor insiders, but witnesses forced to navigate between propaganda and truth.
AT THE CENTER stand Paul E. Stemann of Berlingske Tidende and Arild Hvidtfeldt of Socialdemokraten. Through their unpublished memoirs and private papers — preserved in archives but never before studied — the drama of wartime Berlin is revealed with rare immediacy. Added to this are the private letters of the young Danish diplomat Frederik Holck Colding, giving further insight into how Danes experienced Berlin from within the eye of the storm.
AS THE GERMAN capital burned, bombed, and finally collapsed, these Danes observed and recorded events in ways that no other foreign correspondents could.
PRAISED BY CRITICS and embraced by readers, Berlin Is Burning became a major bestseller in Denmark in 2024, remaining on the charts for months. Combining meticulous research with vivid storytelling, it shines a light on a forgotten angle of the war, and the courage it took to tell the truth when doing so could mean death.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Published by Politiken, Denmark 2024
RIGHTS SOLD
Denmark, Politiken
REVIEWS
“Tom Buk-Swienty digs out the pure gold in the archives.”
Berlingske, Denmark
“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
“Harrowing, thrilling and incredible…filled with tons of brand new knowledge.”
historie-online.dk, Denmark
“An exciting and captivating story.”
Kristeligt Dagblad, Denmark
“History telling at its best.”
Information, Denmark
“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
“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
“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
