Also for sale on USMBOOKS.com, a superb Flak Artillery Handbook, a fine 1942 Flak war art book in color and a
photo book about the function of Flak units.

This Nazi Flak Unit 1943 Italian Christmas souvenir is offered for sale for $85.00 delivered by Media Mail in the continental USA.   USM book # 577

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Il Giornale d'Italia was a daily newspaper in circulation in Benito Mussolini's Fascist Italy. Offered for sale on this USMBOOKS webpage is a very funny World War II German printed-in-the-field publication called Giornale d'Italia (Italian Journal) published for German Wehrmacht troops of the 1. Batterie, Flakscheinwerfer Abteilung 809 who were spending Christmas of 1943 in Italy.

Giornale d'Italia Sonderausgabe zur Weihnachtsfeier 1943 der 1. Batterie, Flakscheinwerfer Abteilung 809 measures 9 x 11-1/2 inch and the 24 pages are filled with funny stories and illustrations about German soldier life with a Flak unit in the field in Italy. Poems and short stories about Palermo, Fallschirmjäger, the constant presence of fleas and battling them, British opponents, marching, troubles with wives on the home front, etc. Unteroffizier Heise was responsible for the written content and the funny cartoon-like drawings were done by Obergefreiter Dörhöfer.

This was clearly published to boost the morale of the men of the Flak Battalion 809 (part of Luftgau VII) during the lonley holiday season of 1943. According to equally funny "publishing information" in the back, the location of where this Sonderausgabe zur Weihnachtsfeier or Special Christmas Celebration Edition of Giornale d'Italia was put together was Geheim!! (Secret!!) and the frequency of publication is shown as "rare / never again hopefully"!

We have never seen an example of this rare magazine before. Apparently, few were kept after they were read and few Wehrmacht soldiers thought about taking one along on their hasty retreat to northern Italy and Nazi Germany in 1945! This one was sent home to a family back in the Fatherland.

Rare and in very good used condition.