Peter Hessel

Peter Hessel was born in Chemnitz, Germany. He fled from the East German communist regime at the age of 16 and then emigrated to Canada at the age of 20. In his adopted homeland, he became a translator, journalist and author. His weekly syndicated humour column, "Peter's Point" ran in newspapers across Canada for 10 years. He is the author of 11 published books (9 in English, 1 in German and 1 in French).

His books include a history of the Algonkin first nation, a history of German immigration to the Ottawa Valley before Confederation, a history of a Scottish settlement (McNab Township) in Ontario, and the story of a young RCAF officer who was murdered in Germany near the end of World War II.

In 2008, Peter returned to his native Germany after living in Canada for 55 years, but he remains a Canadian citizen. He lives in northern Germany with his wife Antje and continues to be active in writing and translating. His five children, four grand-children and 2 great-grandchildren were all born and still live in Canada.