Feindliche Flieger in Sicht
The book "Feindliche Flieger in Sicht" was published in 1936 by Wilhelm
Goldmann Verlag in Leipzig. The impression contained 6000 issues of 216 pages
with 16 black and white pictures. As a paperback the book costed 3,30 Mark,
as a hardback 4,50 Mark.
The dust wrapper is by K. Gundermann:
The pictures opposite page 32, 33, 48, 49, 96, 97, 145, 160, 161, 192, 193,
208 and 209 are from the "Scherl Bilderdienst", some are shown:
The pictures opposite page 112, 113 and 114 from "Hauptmann Stark":
The book was translated by Hans Herdegen. Two chapters "J9982" and "The Zone
Call" remain untranslated. The reason being not very hard to guess, since
in both chapters a German plays a traitorous roll. The book is translated
very well, but there are still a reasonable amount of passages left out or
changed. Especially those in which a bad image of the Germans was given.
For example the words "Hun" and "Boche" were left out, while Johns explains
in his foreword that the word "Hun" wasn't meant to be denigrating.
(this part of the foreword was also left out of the German text).
Still it remains strange that the Nazis allowed this translation. Probably
the reason why was the general admiration for the chivalrous behaviour of the
pilots from both sides, which is also shown in a review in the "Hannoverscher
Anzeiger" from that period:
"Das buch gehört zu den echtesten Äusserungen wahren Frontgeistes. Fern von
jedem falschen Pathos erleben wir atemberaubende Luftkämpfe zwischen
englischen und deutschen Fliegern."
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