Translation of German diaries detailing the beginning of Operation Barbarossa

[Eddie]

Hi fellas, I recently acquired a set of three very detailed diaries with hand drawn maps laying out the beginning of Operation Barbarossa.
I can read German, but unfortunately I cannot read the cursive handwriting. I'd love to have these diaries transcribed and translated, but it would be a huge undertaking, can anyone recommend a person or service to have this done?

Here are some photos, mostly of the maps:



P.S. Sorry about the poor photos, these arrived late in the day so there is not much sunlight.

[Eric Zentner]

That looks cool as heck Eddie.I wish you luck with it.

Eric

[Wagriff]

Absolutely! I'd love to read it when you finish with it myself! The tactical operations maps are amazing!

[Eddie]

Thanks fellas, I'm glad that I'm not the only one excited about it! I have considered trying to get them published, as there is a real dearth of information on the Crimean campaign, especially first hand accounts written during the time period. I'm not sure how one would go about it though.

[Wagriff]

It might end up costing a good few bucks, but I'm sure that a translator can be found on the internet. I'd definitely think about investing in one-it could pay back quite well, as today there is growing interest in the old WWII Vets accounts.

[Eddie]

Thanks William, I counted 260 pages to be transcribed and translated, I hope that wouldn't be too expensive, I'd love to read this thing! I will definitely get it done some way and keep you all posted. There is a member here who has letters transcribed/translated regularly. I'll ask him, but if anyone else has any suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them.
Thanks,
Eddie

[Wagriff]

If you're thinking of HPL, I doubt that he would have anything near the time involved to do such a huge project, but he may well Know someone who might be able to help. I know that 30 years ago or so, I had a French manuscript of nearly 800 pages translated out for me by a college student looking to make some extra money on the side, and even back Then, the rate was a dollar a page. I never did like the final result, as they weren't really Expected to hand me back a polished smooth literary artwork, but the end result was Still on the rough side in any case. But, if you can't find anyone online that can or would do it, that would be my suggestion-to contact a few universities and ask their languages departments if there were any students that could do the job for you. Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

[StefanM]

Thanks William, I counted 260 pages to be transcribed and translated, I hope that wouldn't be too expensive, I'd love to read this thing! I will definitely get it done some way and keep you all posted. There is a member here who has letters transcribed/translated regularly. I'll ask him, but if anyone else has any suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them.
Thanks,
Eddie

I have used translators from Freelance translators & Translation companies | ProZ.com in a number of projects. Professional translation is based on the total number of words rather than pages and is priced per word. The cost per word will be more than translating from a typescript manuscript because it is handwriting so will involve more time to interpret especially if the handwriting style is not clear. The fact that the document will most likely contain military terms and abbreviations will add to the cost per word if the translator is not familiar with the subject. Having the translation will not be the end of the story, it will inevitably need further editing if you are considering publishing the war diaries as they will not be written for "other people" with footnotes that a reader might need to explain or contextualise unfamiliar terms and aspects of the diary account.

My advice would be to first have a very small sample set of pages translated just to establish what the diaries contain and the style they are written in, then you can decide on whether you want to pay a few thousands of dollars for a full translation and getting the diaries ready to publish. More than 80% of the cost of a book is in its production.

[Eddie]

Oh no no no, I didn't mean HPL! He already does an amazing amount of work for this forum(often for free and is not rewarded enough for it), and I appreciate every time he chimes in. There is another member who pays to have Feldpost translated, but he live in the EU and apparently pays around 10 euro per letter, which would never work for this project. I did actually do some googling and found a few people who might up to the challenge, and I'm just waiting for a reply. Hey, thanks for the suggestion about universities, I did not think of that. $800 though, wow!

[Eddie]

My advice would be to first have a very small sample set of pages translated just to establish what the diaries contain and the style they are written in, then you can decide on whether you want to pay a few thousands of dollars for a full translation and getting the diaries ready to publish. More than 80% of the cost of a book is in its production.

This is great advice, thank you!