JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

At long last Eric Mombeek has announced that the final volume of his history of JG2 Dans le Ciel de France Volume 6 1944-1945 will be available in September 2023
http://www.luftwaffe.be/whats-new/

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Great news!

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Great!

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

English translation please.

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

There may eventually be a German translation but an English translation is never going to happen. Sales of the first volume in English were minuscule and Eric has said he would never do another.

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Great news, I hope Erik will do a german translation. I have the others already in German. Fingers crossed. Dirk

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

No wonder given his absolutely disastrous marketing starting from pre-publication promoting and continuing all the way to the point of sales.

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

I do not know how he works, but what he did with his previous works - some of which published and translated in 3 idioms (French, English, German) - is something AMAZING. Hats for Monbeeck (whose work I admire and do have some on the shelves).

But, as some of you pointed out, the Market and consumers have changed a bit from the early 90's period.

MAYBE a printing on demand (or by demand) would be the solution for this kind of works in several idioms...It would make the books a bit expensive, but to the taste of the customer...for those who started the Full JG 2 History in German, they will be able to conclude in that language...for those who started in English idem and French as well.

Just an idea....do not know how he planned his selling. Nevertheless, an amazing conclusion to that fantastic JG 2 History (I do have only the 1st Volume, in French). Now need to spare for the other 5 volumes in French....

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

I would buy them as POD. The quality is very good these days. Not the same as the best hardbacks...ex...classic publications.

But pretty close to what Mombeeks did for JG2 vol 1 (I have the English translation). Other than the binding would probably be glued.

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Thus far I have never encountered a good quality POD book. And Mombeeck should have done the first edition(s) In English and only later possible German/French editions. There has been absolutely no marketing reasons for doing such books first in German as those Germans who are most interested in the subject probably can speak English (the veterans are no longer a significant market). Ditto about French enthusiasts. But the opposite is very different (at least here most Luftwaffe enthusiasts don't speak German or French).

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

According to Eric a german edition will not be released before 2024.

René

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Hello,

Thank you for this thread and your interest in the final volume of a chronicle that has kept me busy for decades. It has given me enormous pleasure to talk to these veterans, which has enabled me to put the human aspect before figures and statistics in all my books.

Well, René, my translator and, above all, friend of more than 30 years, Hans Berger, former Stk. of JG 1, will be a hundred years old next October. Although he's doing well, I can't see myself burdening him again with a long translation (there's a lot of text again in this latest volume). So I'd rather not talk too much about a German version at this stage.

As for Jukka's kind words ("disastrous marketing"), I must confess that I don't care about marketing. I wrote these books for pleasure and not to gain anything from them. I'm happy to produce them first in my mother language because I love writing and reading in French. And if Hans translated them into German, it was so that the veterans and families I contacted could read the results of my lengthy research: the description of a tragic time and a tragic circumstance that cost so many young and promising lives.

So I have no plan of producing an English version of this chronicle. In any case, very few members of this forum purchased the first volume in English and it seems to me that those who wish to deepen their knowledge of the Luftwaffe history cannot afford to miss out on learning German.

As I write in the epilogue to this latest volume, I've done what I could with what little I had and I'll be relieved to discover my latest 'big book' even though I'll probably never read it.

Best regards
Erik

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Erik, it's no wonder that very few bought the English edition if the marketing is "don't care about". No private business effort survives today without marketing.

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Erik.

Bad news for us german speakers.
I bought almost every book of yours, in german and English.
It would be a pity if I miss out on the last volume of JG 2 History. (In german)

But hope dies last, so let’s see …

Schoene Gruesze

Norbert

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Erik,

Humble words those of yours which enhance further the amazing and incredible Historical work you have done during the years, to preserve the history of some of the most famous Jagdgeschwadern of the Luftwaffe. It is really inspiring.

I humbly "take my hat" and congratulate you. Keep going and a big hug from those Souths Lands.

Adriano

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Jukka,

I think Erik's reasoning was clear. There are too many self-published authors out there who are producing books that are not worth reading.
In this case, the hallmarks are there. Decades of research and perseverance. Google translate can translate any language at no cost.

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Hi Erik,

Thanks for your post -- very enlightening. I greatly appreciate all the research and writing you've done, and I admire the spirit in which you did it. Performing such a monumental labor of love is something the Jukkas of this world will never understand, so you needn't pay them any mind.

I have the German and English editions of every one of your publications, so I'm fervently hoping that the final JG 2 volume will eventually be published in German, but if not, I'll gladly get the French edition. (Just a thought: If Herr Berger is no longer able to do the translation, could someone like Neil Page do it instead?)

Thanks again and best wishes,
Leon Venter

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

You have to be joking! Google translate? 🤣🤣🤣 The quality of that is appalling (not even a short YouTube commentary is correctly translated) and if someone seriously suggests that one first should pay premium money for a book and then use effing Google translate to actually read it should have his head examined. That whole process is no longer reading, it is travesty.

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Thank you Erik. Still hopeful, but I understand. Thank you for the all the works to date regardless of the language.

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Jukka, can you please publish here list of your books written, published in Finish or multilanguage please? ;)

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Congratulations to Erik for his tribute !
Nice way to learn a language is to read it.

ClinA-78

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

running a small poll here

one 'answer' getting more votes than all the others put together...

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

I will buy this book because (a) I'm very interested in late war JG-2 operations and (b) I can struggle through French because I speak Spanish and Portuguese and can use a French/English dictionary for any unknown words.

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Dear friend, dear reader,

I have great pleasure in announcing the release of my latest book: the 6th and final volume of "DANS LE CIEL DE FRANCE", Histoire de la JG 2 "Richthofen".
Many thanks to all the contributors and readers for following this chronicle over so many years.

As you can imagine, this research and its publication represents a considerable amount of work and I am relieved to have brought it to a conclusion.

I hope that I have been able to illustrate this tragic but fascinating period with some accuracy, and that, if only by mentioning them, I have been able to give a small place in history to these young men - whatever their nationality or side - who were not so lucky as to be born less than 100 years ago.

Happy reading!
Erik Mombeeck

http://www.luftwaffe.be/wp-content/u...ouv-JG-2-6.jpg

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Dear Eric,
Congratulations for the finalization of the project

Please note that I have vol 1 in English & Band 2-Band 6 in German.
Band 6 deals with 1944 (in German edition).

Will there be Band 7 in German dealing with 1945 or not?

Or should I buy French edition now for 1945 data?

Best,
Milos

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

..errr..nice idea. But decent translators only work into their own language. Not even 'true' bilinguals - which I am not - can ever 'master' the language like a native speaker (..although some here do a pretty good job). Plus I doubt I'd ever get asked. I actually translated Vol II into English - but nothing happened. Congratulations to Erik for completing this mammoth work.

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Hello,
thank you for your reactions.
Unfortunately, in spite of the generous support of Neil for the translation, I don't have the resources to tackle the English-speaking market, and the lack of sufficient response to volume 1 of the JG 2 Chronicle in English confirmed this. So the only possible solution is for a publisher doing the job, or to find a wealthy patron😀.

The German series has one more volume than the French one. There are two reasons for this: Goethe's language takes up more space than Molière's. But above all: since the German version is usually published a year later, there is time to make new discoveries. This was the case, for example, with the 1940-1941 period, when I got in the hand so many beautiful "new" photos that I simply had to use them. So the first two volumes in French were published in three volumes in German.
Best regards
Erik

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Erik

Normally I would have snapped up the english version of the book

However I already had the french version sitting on my shelf and could not justify in effect buying the same book twice.

Your sales of the french version were boosted by monoglots like me that end up looking at the pictures

Martin

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

I assume we will pay for the book through PayPal. Let me know when we can order it.

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Hello Kaki,

yes, no problem for a Paypal and the book is available now. You can contact me through my web site: www.luftwaffe.be.

Here a review:
http://www.aerostories.org/~aerobiblio/article7375.html

and some discussion about the book:
http://www.aerostories.org/~aeroforu...p?nummsg=91242

Best regards

Erik

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Hi Eric, Received my copy and am having a great time poring through it. Lots of detail and interesting material.

Re: JG 2 The Final Chapter
 

Hello Eric,
I fully understand that the German edition will have more volumes. I was just wondering if you will be publishing the 7th volume (covering 1945) in German, too? Or only the French version will be available?