Many of krigsseilerne would never tell their horrific story after the war … – Aftenposten

You can say this has been a kind of interactive work, to use a nice a buzzword on it, ” says Jon Michelet.

Aftenposten meet the author of romansuksessen A Lake Completely at home in familiehuset from the 1930s on Larkollen outside of Moss.

Here are bursting with memories from a far forfatterliv, and not least metervis of the history. In the office hides also binders with letters from readers who have made contact with his own stories since he launched the first volume of the series. 645 000 copies sold later, Michelet now ready for the fifth volume.

“I have received a lot of feedback from relatives of krigsseilere who writes that through my books has got to hear the stories that their father, brother or uncle never told,” says Michelet.

Many of the episodes in the now five volumes long journey is come to along the way in the writing process. Michelet believes readers should have a lot of the credit for the success. After the war chose krigsseilere to keep silent about what they experienced during the war years. the A lake completely have, therefore, been a kind of a gateway, both for krigsseilere who are still alive, but also for their families.

– I have a father who was krigsseiler, he would never talk about the war. Why do you think so?

– This is something universal for people who experienced the war. Either they thought that they would not be believed if they told about what they experienced, or could they not tell about something that was so awful. Moreover, they came home to a society where they felt foreign, where no one would understand what they were talking about if they shared their experiences, ” says Michelet, that one takes over intervjurollen.

What boat was your dad, ask an avid Michelet.

– Panama Express.

: damn, he was on it.

The boat, I know a lot about. It is an absolutely fantastic story. Panama Express transported general Douglas MacArthurs headquarters from Brisbane to Hollandia on New Guinea, on to the Philippines. So, the question is, why was a Norwegian boat used for this? Yes, because it was very fast. It is very strange you mention this, ” says Michelet.

– Why?

I had written anything about just the boat in one of the earlier volumes, but when I was directed by a guy who claimed that the boat could not have been in the Atlantic ocean at exactly the time I wrote it was. So I checked, and when it appeared that the Panama Express went shuttling with us military leaders to the Pacific ocean. It was a small boat, but it was very fast, ” says Michelet.

Forfatterhjelp

Rives

A Lake Completely was planned for the end after volume four. Now waiting volumes five and six.

You are really carried away by this trip. Along the way I have found so much fabric, and learned so much new. At one point I realized that I was going to have to use bind five to tell about the invasion in Normandy and not at least Stillehavskrigen that is so little described, ” says Michelet.

ever since he sold the idea to the October publishing houses before the first release in 2012, he has known how the story of skogsmatros Halvor Skramstad was supposed to end. But to compress everything down in the last fourth volume was never a theme.

– Then I would not move the justice to neither stillehavskrigen, where the americans and the norwegians stood side by side, or Nortraship-the settlement after the war. Therefore I had to continue, ” he says.

the Fifth volume is mainly devoted Stillehavskrigen, and not least Leyteslaget in 1944, referred to as history’s largest naval battles. Few are aware that at least two Norwegian ships, the M/S General Fleischer and MS Torrens participated in this battle. The world had for the first time got to see japanernes Kamikaze attacks.

It was not talking about a large number of norwegians, but they were there, ” he says.

to understand the relationship between the united STATES and Norway in recent time, it is important to understand Stillehavskrigen, believes Michelet.

Here I saw a våpenfellesskap between the norwegians and the americans that has not been much described before, the mean Michelet.

In the final volume he will take for himself the post-war period, the settlement with It.

mistreated

I’m trying to understand properly why the sailors were so badly treated when they came home. They came home to a country and a reality where they were not understood. The sailors felt themselves trodden down, ” says Michelet.

Would not be believed

– you will Receive many tips about specific episodes from your readers?

– Very much, almost weekly comes the letter. It is one of the reasons that this work has been so extensive, I’ve got a stofftilgang which is huge. This inspires me. It is I who have control of the work, but it’s been a kind of allemannsverk, ” says Michelet.

He gives us many examples of episodes from the reality that he received from readers.

Old boys

– These krigsseilerne begins to be old guys now. 25 years ago, they wanted maybe not to tell, but my romanverk may have opened up for that it’s been more exciting to tell. Final are there any that will listen to them and write about it, ” says Michelet.

– How do you get to the last weeks of debate about the “virkelighetslitteratur”?

I have a mix of poetry and reality in these books. In the last book, I have among other things an episode where Halvor Skramstad go ashore while the boat is on the ground to remove a wire that’s come in the propeller. When he was threatened on board with weapons. The story I got told by the 98-year-old Anchor Borud in Søgne. He experienced this, ” says Michelet.

He believes, however, that not all stories are suitable to be recounted.

I have received material that is very sensitive. I am therefore careful to use the episodes that can be linked to specific individuals. My work will be so realistic that you as the reader feel you are present, and that this has happened. Nevertheless, I believe that anyone in hindsight can take me on that I have abused someone’s trust or hung out some, ” says Michelet.

Much of the profits from the first book is spit into Polstjernefondet, Michelets own fund for documentation of krigsseilas under 2. world war, as well as Norwegian sjøfolks sailing in war zones and Norwegian soldaterfaringer in the period after the 2. world war.

He has therefore shared out several hundred thousand dollars to various projects through this fund.

It has been important for me to give something back. One thing is that I earn some money, but it invests I in the authorship of my. Among other things, have bought a whole bunch of antiquated literature, especially from the united STATES, which has made it possible to conduct research on these events. But this medgangen should jaggu me also become the property of those who took the brunt, ” says Michelet.