Luftwaffe im Focus#6

[Csaba B. Stenge]

Well, I must share with you my bad experiences regarding that magazine.

I sent a short bio regarding a Hungarian pilot to the Luftwaffe im Focus. They re-write it and published some wrong statements under my name. If the staff have some comments, it's a basic thing to inform the author and writing their comments separable. Instead of this, they published their wrong statements under my name.
I tried to clear this situation aftwer I read the published material, but they do not answering - as usual -, that's why I am posting my opinion here, in public.

Vargha Lajos' squadron lost 3 pilots and planes during that battle with the P-51's of the 325th FG on 14 March, 1945. The other squadron, the 102/1. lost one pilot and plane (this one collided with a wire, was not shot down). The 7 lost planes in a combat against the P-51's is a totally wrong info (it's the biggest, but the text contains some others, which were made by them, not by me).

BTW I sent some other stuffs to them also, but never again.

Unfortunately, I must say: it's not a serious magazine (if they re-write my materials, the'll do it with others also) and I do not recommend it as a source to anyone.

[Sergio Luis dos Santos]

Hi Csaba,
Thanks for sharing this with us. I can understand you since I had an article published in Germany (long time ago) and the text plus photo coverage were drasticaly cut!
Since I have ordered LiF6 is it possible you send a copy of the correct text so I can enclose it on the book?
Hugs,

[Csaba B. Stenge]

Hi Sergio,

Well, IMHO cutting something is one thing, re-writing with wrong statements is one another. BTW when I asked them regarding the first mistake (in the title they wrote, that he was Oberleutnant, it was on their homepage, before thwe 6th issue was published; they corrected it in the title but remained in the Content) they said at first, that I did it(!). Being rude and liar with the authors - it's not the good and respectful path.

I am on a long researching trip now, without permanent internet connection but I'll send you the corrections as soon, as possible.

See you soon,

[Sergio Luis dos Santos]

That´s very kindly from you.

[Steffen Arndt]

Dear Csaba

I must say that I impatiently wait for every issue of LiF. It is a high quality publication concerning photo quality as well as captions. I also really enjoyed reading "your" article in the magazine (quotations because you said it was re-written).

I'd like to state some comments to maybe make you understand how such things could happen:

1. Axel Urbanke and his staff doing LiF just for the hobby (beside their regular jobs), they cannot make a living from it. That's why there may occur some communication errors as you experienced it.

2. Sometimes it is necessary to rewrite something during editing - not because it is believed "wrong" or something, but because it has to fit the reserved pages (I know that of our IPMS magazine, but that is surely not compareable..)

3. I can think of another possibility why your script has been rewritten. Maybe (I am not affiliated with them so I cannot check), so MAYBE your text was translated to German for the mag and the usual translator for all captions retranslated your article...

Please do not feel offended, I do not want to attack you in any way! But I wanted to say something in defence for a usually great publication!

I'd like to incourage you to post all mistakes here and send them to the staff of LiF for publication in the next issues errata section.

Best regards

Steffen Arndt

[Csaba B. Stenge]

Dear Steffen,

This topic not worths too many mesages. I wrote here my opinion, because they not answered me, that's all.

Generally, I guess, it's a good magazine, but as I above stated, not totally reliable. I sent the material in English to them, but writing 7 instead of 3 is evidently NOT a translating mistake.
Some old publications contained many mistakes regading that day, maybe they knew them and tought, that these materials are better, but it's not true. Nobody spent more time to trying to investigate, what happened exactly on that day.
BTW I guess, they don't need any "apologist", they know exactly their motives, not you or me.
I am sure, that their readers will buy the next issues also - it was just an opinion from the other side, from an angry bloke;-), who hate always, when somebody re-write his materials and publishing dumb statements under his name (I have similar problems with a Hungarian magazine also and not just once...)

See you soon,

Csaba

[Franek Grabowski]

Csaba
Take it easy, last year a French magazine Ciel de Guerre published my article on Polish Mustangs during D+1 but forget to put my name with it! The same applies to a profile maker.

[Steffen Arndt]

Dear Csaba

Well, I'm not pretending to be their "apologist": it was their fault! But I know from editing IPMS Deutschland website, that errors occur (I make lots of them in each update) ... (see also first message)

Furthermore sometimes I feel to rewrite some parts of an article if I think that those parts could be misunderstood or are "wrong". Already got some hot feedback of the authors ... sometimes they are right, often not .... but I do correct what the author thinks has to be there....Enough of that.

My main concern was to encourage you to post all mistakes as you said there are more. If you do not want to do it here could you please sent me an email?

Many thanks and write more articles, I like them

best regards

Steffen

[Csaba B. Stenge]

Dear Steffen and Franek,

Well, I'll try to explain, which is my biggest problem with this kind of mistakes.

It is the only available and English language published material of that event (and unit), but it's wrong, because of the crew's mistake. In the future, if somebody wants to use it, he will use the wrong details and these ineradicable mistakes will cause in the future a lot of problems.

The sources about the Hungarian Air Force are extremely weak and a lot of wrong statements were published in Hungary also. It is really a tilt at windmills but I never give up: I do hope, that I can correct most of them once.

Csaba


P. S. Franek, sometimes the publishers did it with me also (and 2-3 times they mispelled my name also, but it's a less serious mistake for me, because it's not hit the matter of the material)

[Steffen Arndt]

Hello Csaba

many thanks for your comments!

I hope you will find a publisher who will let you write what YOU think is right....

best wishes

Steffen