Peder Sjögren (1905–1966), born as ''Gösta Sjögren'', was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

writer who fought in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

and the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...

. Many of his books were based on those experiences.

Life and works

Gösta Tage Filip Sjögren was born in 1905, outside

Växjö Växjö ( ) is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 70,489 inhabitants (2019) out of a municipal population of 95,995 (2021). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of Kronoberg County ...

, in the province of

Småland Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...

, and at the age of 10 moved to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. Aged 17, he was sent to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, after which he travelled to

the Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

.Problem while searching in The Literature Collection
/ref> As an

antifascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

during the

, he joined the

International Brigades The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed f ...

and was wounded in combat. His experiences in the war provided him with themes for several of his novels. After his recovery, he was arrested as a suspected spy, but subsequently escaped from Spain on a British warship. Having worked as a journalist, his best articles were collected into his first book, ''Bar barbar'' (1937). In spite of this book and occasional radio plays and short stories, Sjögren did not attract attention until the appearance of Black Palms (''Svarta palmkronor'', 1944), which became a film by

Lars-Magnus Lindgren Lars-Magnus Lindgren (3 July 1922 – 23 November 2004) was a Swedish film director and screenwriter. His film '' Dear John'' (1964) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His other works include ' (''Svarta pa ...

in 1968.Svarta palmkronor (1968)
/ref> His second novel, ''

Bread of Love ''Bread of Love'' ( sv, Kärlekens bröd) is a 1953 Swedish drama film directed by Arne Mattsson. It was entered into the 1954 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Folke Sundquist as Prisoner * Georg Rydeberg as Ledin * Nils Hallberg as Tom * Lenna ...

'' (''Kärlekens bröd'', 1945), was based on his experiences as a volunteer in the Finnish

of 1941-44. A film of the book directed by

Arne Mattsson Arne Mattsson (2 December 1919 – 28 June 1995) was a Swedish film director. Biography Born in Uppsala, the early films of Mattsson were mostly comedies. His biggest success was '' Hon dansade en sommar'' (1951, aka. ''One Summer of Happiness ...

(1953) was banned in Finland. Sjögren committed suicide in 1966, five days after his second wife died.

Bibliography

* ''Bar Barbar''. Stockholm: Bonniers, 1937. (Reportage) * ''Svarta palmkronor'' (Black Palms). Stockholm: Medéns, 1944; Vingförlaget, 1952; Folket i bild, 1958. (Novel) * ''Kärlekens bröd'' (Bread of Love). Stockholm: Medéns, 1945; Folket i bild, 1954. (Novel) * ''Jag vill gå ned till Thimnath'' (I Will Down to Thimnath). Stockholm: Medéns, 1947; Tidens bokklub, 1956. (Novel) * ''Mannen som försökte smita'' (The Man Who Tried to Bolt). Stockholm: Norstedts, 1949. (Novel) * ''Damen'' (The Lady). Stockholm: Norstedts, 1951. (Novel) * ''Bikten'' (The Confession). Stockholm: Norstedts, 1954. (Short stories) * ''Ta ner stjärnorna'' (Take Down the Stars). Stockholm: Norstedts, 1957. (Novel) * ''Till minne'' (In Memory). Stockholm: Norstedts, 1959. (Four dialogues) * ''Vårt nummer'' (Our Number). Svenska radiopjäser. Stockholm: Sveriges radio, 1959. (Radio play) * ''Högmodet'' (Pride). Dödssynderna: Sju enaktare (The Deadly Sins: Seven One-Acters). By Per Edström et al. Stockholm: Bonniers, 1959. (Radio play) * ''Möte i parken'' (Meeting in the Park). Svenska radiopjäser. Stockholm: Sveriges radio, 1962. (Radio play) * ''Elis''. Stockholm: Norstedts, 1964. (Novel)

References

External links

Full biography by Richard B. Vowles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sjogren, Peder Swedish people of the Spanish Civil War Swedish male writers International Brigades personnel 1905 births 1966 suicides Suicides in Sweden