LUFTWAFFE PILOTS IN WORLD WAR II: The Veterans’ Stories Volume 1

[JohnHolmes]

Hi guys

Anyone who pre ordered Black Cross Red Star Vol4 will have received an email from the author Christer Bergström about his crowdfunding of an English translation of “LUFTWAFFE PILOTS IN WORLD WAR II: The Veterans’ Stories Volume 1” hope there is enough interest to get this over the line. 

 

Just encase anyone else is keen, below is a copy paste of that email:

 

 

Hello, my dear friends and supporters,

Good news and bad news:

The good news first: My book ”LUFTWAFFE PILOTS IN WORLD WAR II: The Veterans’ Stories Volume 1” has now been translated into English and can be published within a couple of weeks!

The bad news is this: Is there no demand for this book in English? I have sold fifteen hundred copies of the Swedish edition, but so far I have only had exactly nine (9) pre-orders of the English edition. I haven’t heard that any bookstore has ordered it. (I publish it by myself in order to maintain control of the quality.)

”LUFTWAFFE PILOTS IN WORLD WAR II: The Veterans’ Stories Volume 1”contains absolutely unique and hitherto unknown – except for the Swedish readers – facts and personal accounts by Luftwaffe veterans themselves.
The price for each copy is £25.99 / US$ 31.99 / 47.69 AU$ and postage for one copy is US$ 10.00, for two copies US$ 18.00.

But with the situation regarding demand for the book looking as bleak as it doesn, I am now asking for helpful friends and enthusiasts to help out with crowdfunding.

A crowdfunding of US$ 60 will render the supporter a special crowdfunder edition's numbered book, the crowdfunder's name in a honorary section in the book, and a never previously photograph of the "Karaya Quartet" Hermann Graf - Alfred Grislawski - Ernst Süss - Heinrich Füllgrabe.

Please e-mail me your order/crowdfunding promise, and please transfer the payment to my PayPal account:
vaktelforlag@gmail.com

I would like to ask you, dear friends, if you could place your orders before Friday 11 October, so that I can have the book published as soon as possible.

Any help in getting a book retailer interested is also most welcome!

In this book, I try to give the answer to this question: What was it like to be a pilot in Hitler’s Luftwaffe during World War II? I allow the veterans themselves to provide the answer. Since 1974, when I (at the age of only 16) was a guest at Adolf Galland’s home in Oberwinter for two days, I have met hundreds of Luftwaffe pilot veterans. Over the years, I made between one and three tours a year to meet and interview as many of the aging Luftwaffe veterans as possible.

I am now putting all of this together in a book series. Here you will find things that often don’t usually appear in ordinary books about the war. 

This first volume contains headlines such as: What was it like to be a pilot in Hitler’s Luftwaffe during World War II? What did the veterans say? * ”Assi” Hahn tells his story * The terrible ”Jochen” Marseille * ”Let’s not talk about that”: Uncomfortable Luftwaffe facts * The Luftwaffe’s real results beyond the claims– facts and figures.


From the Swedish Library Service’s review of German pilots Vol 1:
“Well written and engaging… richly illustrated with, among other things, photos from the veterans’ private photo albums. It is also packed with facts and statistics in several appendices. Christer Bergström is an internationally leading expert on the Luftwaffe during World War II. He has been studying the subject for decades and has written several excellent books on the subject. ”
– Tord Rönnholm, BTJ Booklet no. 24, 2018.

Read more about the book here:

https://vaktelforlag.se/produkt/luftwaffe-pilots-world-war-ii-veterans-stories-volume-1/

Please help me to spread this to more people.

 

All the best,
 

Christer Bergström

Vaktel Förlag

Box 3027

S-630 03 Eskilstuna

Sweden

vaktelforlag.se

+46 - 16 – 12 15 27

+46 - 733 – 73 33 61

Bankgiro 576-4162

 

[ChrisBergstrom]

Thank you very much, John!

[LLv34_Flanker]

S!

 

 And on top of that this series has 3 books of which this is the first in english. So volumes 2 and 3 can be true if we get the volume 1 to sell enough to warrant them. Already pledged for BC/RS Volume 5 and this book + one additional one about Marseille written by Colin D. Heaton. It is translated to Swedish by mr Bergström.

[adonys]

I would like to buy a digital version of it, please!

[NiiranenVR]

I would like to buy a swedish version ?

 

( Guess it's not in Danish ?)

[ZachariasX]

Truly a great book! I have it now and I must say, it is really in a class of its own regarding research and content.

[JohnHolmes]

12 hours ago, ZachariasX said:

Truly a great book! I have it now and I must say, it is really in a class of its own regarding research and content.

Totally agree. I’m Away on holiday with a like minded friend. After showing him this book he is off to get a copy. 

[darthdooboss]

I just have begin to read it ?

[Bremspropeller]

What makes this book different from all the other countless "the aces speak" books?

[ZachariasX]

11 minutes ago, Bremspropeller said:

What makes this book different from all the other countless "the aces speak" books?

It is very different. I have the two "aces speak" books and those are just those people talking as they please, while some very mild editing put things in a legible order.

 

Bergströms book is rather different it turned out. Initially I was not interested, as I was asking me the same thing. As Christer asked for support to get that book out, I supported him as I was pleased with "Black Cross / Red Star Vol.4" and the Arnhem 1944 books.

 

So how is it different? Christer not only draws from knowing many of those aces personally and interviewing them many times, he takes that as a starting point to give a picture not only about the personality itself, but also how it was regarded amongst the other aces. The individual feats are not just (again) repeated, but matched against the records of the other side. It is in many respects a much deeper work than any of the other books on the subject, where individual descriptions are largely uncontested. The at time difficult character of those pilots is put in context, for instance the love-hate relationship between Göring and Galland or Göring and the fighter corps in general. It shows clearly what those pilots could do, and from where on they really reached their limits and the point form where on they just buried their head in the sand to carry on. Several photos I have never seen before and I regret that, although the book is nice, they are not in a high quality print. But still there is Werner Mölders flying "illegal" missions, not wearing ANY decorations at all!

 

To me, it is really a first attempt in getting to the bottom of those characters and not just reveling in their achievements. If you ever cared to know those pilots and what made them "tick", this is the book for you.

 

The book would have deserved a print in quality as BC/RS series as well as a more careful editorial, but there it is. All other books I have on the subject are plainly undiluted recounts or patching those accounts into the general picture of the war. Here, the person matters. I find the book rather unique and very atypical.

 

[Bremspropeller]

Just pulled the trigger.

[LLv34_Flanker]

S!

 

I like the book. ZachariasX wrote well of it.