Hans Christian Branner

Hans Christian Branner (born June 23, 1903, Ordrup, near Copenhagen, Den.—died April 24, 1966, Copenhagen) was a leading Danish novelist of the post-World War II period.

After studying philology at the University of Copenhagen, Branner tried his hand as an actor and worked in a publishing house before turning to writing. A collection of short stories, Om lidt er vi borte (1939; “In a Little While We Are Gone”), first attracted attention. Two Minutes of Silence (1966) has the same title as a collection, To Minutters Stilhed (1944), but consists of 16 translated stories selected by Branner before his death. Historien om Børge (1942), a story of a child’s everyday life, was translated into English as The Story of Börge (1973). His special concern with psychoanalytic psychology became evident in his short novel Rytteren (1949; The Riding Master, 1951) and in his play Søskende (1952; The Judge, 1955). Branner’s themes are the moral and emotional tensions accompanying power and fear. After World War II he attempted to lead the way to a sort of modern humanism. In all his works he speaks for the right of the individual to an independent, dignified existence.