The Leitz family
#1

Sent to me by my great friend Kitty. Danka!

 

---------------

 

Thank goodness there were so many kind people in the world during these horrific times!

 

 

 

 

The Leitz family, manufacturers of the famous Leica camera, were really good

guys during the Nazi era -- read on.

 

 

The Leica is the pioneer 35mm camera. From a nitpicking point of view, it

wasn't the very first still camera to use 35mm movie film, but it was the

first to be widely publicized and successfully marketed.

 

 

It created the "candid camera" boom of the 1930s.

 

 

It is a German product - precise, minimalist, utterly efficient. Behind its

worldwide acceptance as a creative tool was a family-owned, socially

oriented firm that, during the Nazi era, acted with uncommon grace,

generosity and modesty.

 

 

E. Leitz Inc., designer and manufacturer of Germany's most famous

photographic product, saved its Jews.

 

 

And Ernst Leitz II, the steely eyed Protestant patriarch who headed the

closely held firm as the Holocaust loomed across Europe, acted insuch a way

as to earn the title, "the photography industry's Schindler."

 

 

As George Gilbert, a veteran writer on topics photographic, told the story

at last week's convention of the Leica Historical Society of America in

Portland, Ore., Leitz Inc., founded in Wetzlar in 1869, had a tradition of

enlightened behavior toward its workers. Pensions, sick leave, health

insurance - all were instituted early on at Leitz, which depended for its

work force upon generations of skilled employees - many of whom were Jewish.

 

 

The 'Leica Freedom Train'

 

 

As soon as Adolf Hitler was named chancellor of Germany in 1933,Ernst Leitz

II began receiving frantic calls from Jewish associates, asking for his help

in getting them and their families out of the country.

 

 

As Christians, Leitz and his family were immune to Nazi Germany's Nuremberg

laws, which restricted the movement of Jews and limited their professional

activities.

 

 

To help his Jewish workers and colleagues, Leitz quietly established what

has become known among historians of the Holocaust as "the Leica Freedom

Train," a covert means of allowing Jews to leave Germany in the guise of

Leitz employees being assigned overseas.

 

 

Employees, retailers, family members, even friends of family members were

"assigned" to Leitz sales offices in France, Britain, Hong Kong and the

United States.

 

 

Before long, German "employees" were disembarking from the ocean liner

Bremen at a New York pier and making their way to the Manhattan office of

Leitz Inc., where executives quickly found them jobs in the photographic

industry.

 

 

The refugees were paid a stipend until they could find work. Out of this

migration came designers, repair technicians, salespeople, marketers and

writers for the photographic press.

 

 

Keeping the story quiet

 

 

The "Leica Freedom Train" was at its height in 1938 and early 1939,

delivering groups of refugees to New York every few weeks. Then, with the

invasion of Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, Germany closed its borders.

 

 

By that time, hundreds of endangered Jews had escaped to America, thanks to

the Leitzes' efforts. How did Ernst Leitz II and his staff get away with it?

 

 

Leitz Inc. was an internationally recognized brand that reflected credit on

the newly resurgent Reich. The company produced range-finders and other

optical systems for the German military. Also, the Nazi government

desperately needed hard currency from abroad, and Leitz's single biggest

market for optical goods was the United States.

 

 

Even so, members of the Leitz family and firm suffered for their good works.

A top executive, Alfred Turk, was jailed for working to help Jews and freed

only after the payment of a large bribe.

 

 

Leitz's daughter, Elsie Kuhn-Leitz, was imprisoned by the Gestapo after she

was caught at the border, helping Jewish women cross into Switzerland. She

eventually was freed but endured rough treatment in the course of

questioning.

 

 

She also fell under suspicion when she attempted to improve the living

conditions of 700 to 800 Ukrainian slave laborers, all of them women,who had

been assigned to work in the plant during the 1940s.

 

 

(After the war, Kuhn-Leitz received numerous honors for her humanitarian

efforts, among them the Officier d'honneur des Palms Academique from France

in 1965 and the Aristide Briand Medal from the European Academy in the

1970s.)

 

 

Why has no one told this story until now? According to the late Norman

Lipton, a freelance writer and editor, the Leitz family wanted no publicity

for its heroic efforts.

 

 

Only after the last member of the Leitz family was dead did the "Leica

Freedom Train" finally come to light.

 

 

It is now the subject of a book, "The Greatest Invention of the Leitz

Family: The Leica Freedom Train," by Frank Dabba Smith, a California-born

rabbi currently living in England.

 

 

==============================

 

 

More interesting info:

 

http://www.nemeng.com/leica/index.shtml

http://www.overgaard.com/leica/leica_history.html

http://www.nemeng.com/leica/005eb.shtml

Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
Reply
#2

Thanks Mare; enjoyed reading about the Leitz family around the War years. No-one has to tell me about the Leica camera. I had one as a guift. I had to buy books on how to use it however. The instructions were in German. Once I got the hang of it though, I aquireed the extras. Wide and telephoto lenses, lens hoods, filters , flash unit, tripod, projecture and whatever. As good a photo you get on digitals, I would match the ones I got with my Leica with any I take now.

When my wife and I were at Niagra Falls, we went down to see the Falls at night. I set up on the tripod and took several shots at different time lengths. As people passed behind me, I could hear them say the likes of;"Look at the dummy taking pictures without a flash". I told Flo that when they get their pictures back, they will have beautiful pictures of ------darkness. When we got ours developed, I couldn't believe my eyes. Those were the best I have ever taken. It wasn't water flowing over the Falls, but rivers of colored ice cream. That's the best way I have ever been able to describe it.

Alas!!! I had saved that equipment for all these years, suffering with so so photos, but enjoying the instant everything that comes with them. Now with the digitals, I can get great pictures and still be able to enjoy what every-one else is seeing.

A few years back, I took the my Leica and it's bells & whistles to same camera shop on Woodward, where I purchased most of the stuff, and asked how much he would give me towards a self focusing one. He looked over everything and without a speck of guilt on his face, said; "I'll give you $30 for the works. After I recovered, I told him I would give it away before I would let him steal it. And that's just what I did. I gave it to a friend who loved doing it the hard way.

Many times I have questioned myself on letting it go, but then I think back on the countless times I spent on setting up and missed what was there first hand.

 

Thanks also to Kitty.

Now I know the Leitz family was as good as their camera

chucktoo

Reply
#3

That is a great story, Marion, thanks for sharing it.

 

Brooke

Reply
#4

Chuck:

 

Didn't know you had a Leitz. Very cool.

 

You see Lee and I are camera buffs and have several different kinds. We have all different formats and wouldn't give up any of them. I too love my digital. It's handy, great for sharing pics and a wonderful tool for the web, but it doesn't compare to my Canon 35 mm's with multiple lenses and filters.

 

While the digital is cool for "I gotta get this right now", the photos do not and cannot compare to our FILM cameras. When I'm taking photos of my garden and want close ups or want to get the depth of field, the Canons come out.

 

It's funny when we take photos to show people most ask, "Why don't our photos look like yours?" or "How do you get the background all 'fuzzy' and the faces so sharp?" Easy, use a 35 and take advantage of depth of field, speed, etc. Makes a huge difference. One of our friends says, "You guys takes photos, we take snapshots!" That about sums it up. :pdt34:

 

I'll tell ya about my other camera's someday too.

 

Oh the flash thing! :lol::lol: God, people crack me up. Lee and I just about die laughing when you see people take photos at stadiums, etc. All these flashes are going off and when they get their pics home... Well you know. They don't realize that flash doesn't travel that far and has a very quick drop off rate. So in other words, it ain't gonna do the trick sweetheart. USELESS!

 

We have some cool photos that I took when I was going to EMU. Set up the tripod on Washtenaw Ave at night on a nice curve in the road. Ya, you can picture it right? Too cool. So many things you can do with a REAL camera.

 

So while I love my digitals (and there getting better all the time), nothing compares to film cameras. As Lee was trying to explain to several folks, digital only goes down to the pixel, film is molecular. You ain't gonna get sharpness and crispness with digitals. Can't argue with molecules! ;)

 

Glad you enjoyed the article and that it brought back some great memories. :pdt34:

Marion J Chard
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"
Reply
#5

We have some cool photos that I took when I was going to EMU.

I don't get it. Do you grow Emu's? :rolleyes:

Reply
#6

EMU's are from Australia , and they are extinct. I think.

 

Early on I learned that setting off a flash at night , would only get you out to about 20 feet. thereafter, total blackness.

 

I loved that Leica, Mare. What you could do with filters was incredible. On a nice sunny day but with a slight haze. No problem. And when the pictures got back, I swear, it seemed like you could reach in and pluck the clouds right out of the picture. I made one fatal mistake once. It was during the 60,s I believe, and there was to be an eclypse of the sun. I made up a couple a boxes with a pin hole in one end, so that when we held it up pointing towards the sun, we could look at the opposit end and see the image of the eclypse as it was taking place. But - NO -,

That was not good enough. I wanted to have first hand evidence of this truly momentous occurance. So what did Charley do?, He stood behind the door wall, pointed his cherished Leica at the Sun, opened the lens, counted to three, and closed it. I know what You and Lee are thinking at this very moment. You guys are saying "WHY ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH DID --- BUBBA --- DO SUCH A THING".

Well, let me tell you. The next time "BUBBA" went to use (sob, sob, sob ) his cherished camera, there was one piece of equipment that was no longer useful. As

Sandra Bullock said, "No way are you going to get that". And I didn't. I went out and bought a hand held one , but it was not a Leica. I quit using it and from then on, guestimated the light & distance. Even with that, I got better pictures than I do now. Not saying that digitals aren't great, but the depth of field is not there. You guys know what I mean.

 

P.S. To end on a positive note; Rember back there when I made mention of Sandra Bullock? Well, to check my spelling of her name. I went to "spelling".

I typed in -- Sandra Bullock --. Can you believe what they came up with?.

 

Sorry; No such entry for "Sandra Bullock", did you mean "Sinder Block".

 

Try sending an email to Art Morneweck sometime!!! That's a blast too.

 

CIAO

chucktoo

chuckypoo

or just poo poo

Reply
#7

Is it true if you look at an eclipse you'll go blind?

 

Is that kinda what happened to your camera?

 

Hugs chuckiepoo,

Brooke

Reply
#8

Early on I learned that setting off a flash at night , would only get you out to about 20 feet. thereafter, total blackness.

That is not an Absolute Truth.

 

While at college, I watched a friend taking photos at night from the 7th Floor balcony of a mob of guys literally across the street during a the Panty Raid. I estimated it was 100 yards or more. I made an inquiry as to Would that photograph be under-exposed? He set me straight real quick.

This guy was a camera bug. He was using high-speed black & white film which helps tremendously at night. The Flash this guy used was something like you see used by a wedding photographer. At weddings, you will see them point the thing up at the ceiling and that is for 2 reasons: it creates a nice soft, artifical light and the flash is soo powerful.

If you have a Flash with enough candle power (or whatever the term), then it can work at night.

 

Also, if you remember your physics, the strength of the flash decreases by the square of the distance. So the illumination power at 20 feet will be 1/4 of that at 10 feet ---not 1/2. Then at 30 feet it will be decreased to 1/9. Or is it the cube of the distance? Something like that.

 

Steve

And if you are too young to know what a Panty Raid is then I won't corrupt your mind. Our hicksville college was a little behind the times and that was what they did during exam week.

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