1. Max Manus returned to Norway upon hearing the news of the German invasion on 9 April 1940.
18 Facts About Max Manus
1. 2.
Max Manus fought during the Norwegian campaign, after which he decided to return to Oslo and work underground against the occupiers, both organising a resistance movement, illegal public propaganda and the manufacture of weaponry.
3.
Max Manus's work was effective, and he soon became a wanted man by the Gestapo.
4.
Max Manus was eventually captured and was injured trying to escape.
5.
Max Manus had to be treated in the main Oslo hospital.
6.
The doctor at the hospital lied to the Gestapo officers, saying Max Manus needed treatment for a broken back, an injured shoulder and a serious concussion.
7.
Max Manus reconnected with the Norwegian military in the US and went on to further training in Canada, before crossing the Atlantic again to Belfast, then England.
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Aksel Hennie 8.
Max Manus was then required to learn parachuting and was dropped in the forests near Oslo with a sabotage team.
9.
Max Manus made numerous hazardous trips back and forth across the border to Sweden, where he was able to get a respite from the constant mental and physical pressures of being undercover.
10.
Many of his comrades-in-arms were killed, captured and tortured, but Max Manus managed to survive through a combination of determination and luck, with some very narrow escapes.
11.
Shortly after the end of the war, Max Manus wrote two books about himself.
12.
When peace was declared, Max Manus found himself chosen to be the personal protection officer of the then Crown Prince of Norway on his triumphal parade in Oslo, and then with King Haakon VII.
13.
Max Manus' books have been translated into English twice; initially an American, very loose and somewhat brief translation entitled 9 Lives Before Thirty, and, a few years later, Underwater Saboteur, a one-book adaptation of both of Max Manus' books, somewhat concise.
14.
Max Manus was twice awarded Norway's highest decoration for military gallantry, the War Cross with sword.
15.
Max Manus went into the office supply business after the war: in the fall of 1945, he and Sophus Clausen went to the United States to set up contracts for office machines.
16.
Max Manus did this after internal discussions and was motivated by a wish for reconciliation, as well as professional considerations.
17.
Max Manus suffered from nightmares, alcoholism and bouts of depression after his experiences in the war, some of which he talked about in interviews.
18.
In December 2007, it was announced that a film about the life of Max Manus was to be made in Norway, starring Aksel Hennie in the leading role.