Old book discovered in Monastiraki flea market held World War II letters from the Albanian front

Stavros and Spyros were brothers living in Athens who set off for the Albanian front on October 28, 1940. A collection of letters they wrote to their family was found a few weeks ago inside an old book at the Monastiraki flea market. They were pinned together in order, with the first letter being that sent from a base in Corinth, the day after Greece found itself at war against Italy. The two infantrymen had arrived safely at the first stop on their journey north and asked their parents and siblings to show “courage and patience.”

The letters discovered in the book are few and don’t tell us what became of the brothers, nor do they reveal the details of the family. What we do know is that Stavros and Spyros reached Albania at the end of November, and remained in good cheer throughout their journey. Below are some extracts of the letters that are still legible:

Stavros and I send greetings from Corinth, where we will be staying for the time being. Things have been quiet here with the exception of two unsuccessful attempts to bomb the Corinth Canal.

We are well. We have been on the road for a few days, traveling over mountains and through gorges illuminated by the silver light of the moon, interrupted now and then by a refreshing drizzle. because the things I have witnessed with my two eyes cannot compare with anything two centuries of films could offer.

Please send us the items we have requested, as well as envelopes, cards and matches – hide the matches somewhere in the parcel as they are much sought after here.

the two brothers wrote to their family was found a few weeks ago inside an old book at the Monastiraki flea market. ‘These fools are trying to deafen us with their shelling, they’re making so much noise they have twice interrupted me and made me lose my train of thought,’ says one letter. learn the skills to open her own fashion studio in Tirana! I jest not!

Yesterday, no the day before, we had a huge air battle in our area where the British and Greeks brought down five Italian planes and, from what we have heard, a total of 35. Bad luck for them but you should see how our guys go after them. The rattle of the machine guns and the way the ground shook as those steel birds came down and three parachutes floated in the void was impressive but also shocking to behold.