Chrisrw
photomonkey
My mother shared this with me and thought I would pass it on.
GOOD PIECE OF HISTORY.
A great bit of (Unreported) history
Leica and the Jews
The Leica is the pioneer 35mm camera. It is a German product - precise,
minimalist, and 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 in such
a way as to earn the title, "the photography industry's Schindler."
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, Leitz's activities intensified after the
Kristallnacht of November 1938, during which synagogues and Jewish shops
were burned across Germany ..
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.
Each new arrival had around his or her neck the symbol of freedom - a
new Leica.
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 Academic 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 .
Thank you for reading the above, and if you feel inclined as I did to
pass it along to others, please do so. It only takes a few minutes.
Memories of the righteous should live on.
GOOD PIECE OF HISTORY.
A great bit of (Unreported) history
Leica and the Jews
The Leica is the pioneer 35mm camera. It is a German product - precise,
minimalist, and 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 in such
a way as to earn the title, "the photography industry's Schindler."
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, Leitz's activities intensified after the
Kristallnacht of November 1938, during which synagogues and Jewish shops
were burned across Germany ..
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.
Each new arrival had around his or her neck the symbol of freedom - a
new Leica.
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 Academic 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 .
Thank you for reading the above, and if you feel inclined as I did to
pass it along to others, please do so. It only takes a few minutes.
Memories of the righteous should live on.
paulfish4570
Veteran
wonderful story. source?
N
Nikon Bob
Guest
It is a wonderful story and has been posted a number of times over the years.
Bob
Bob
robklurfield
eclipse
I've seen this story elsewhere before (probably here on RFF), though I can't remember it's source.
It shows the importance of individuals taking responsibility for acting on moral imperatives, a lesson no less important now than it was then. The effect of our actions is cumulative as is our neglect of our responsibilities when we opt to ignore them. Imagine how different the world would have been had more people taken the E. Leitz/Otto Schindler route. Amazing what people can accomplish when we overcome our urges towards selfishness, isn't it? The personal can very quickly become the public when actions play out on the moral stage. Thanks for sharing this.
It shows the importance of individuals taking responsibility for acting on moral imperatives, a lesson no less important now than it was then. The effect of our actions is cumulative as is our neglect of our responsibilities when we opt to ignore them. Imagine how different the world would have been had more people taken the E. Leitz/Otto Schindler route. Amazing what people can accomplish when we overcome our urges towards selfishness, isn't it? The personal can very quickly become the public when actions play out on the moral stage. Thanks for sharing this.
Robert Lai
Well-known
A bit of this is published by Rabbi Frank Dabba Smith, and available freely on the web. The story of Elsie Kuhn Leitz's imprisonment by the Gestappo is also the subject of a children's book.
kshapero
South Florida Man
Yes, a now well known story. Why is that heroes say they did nothing special? maybe that is part of being a hero.
robklurfield
eclipse
Chrisrw
photomonkey
Stories like this always give me some hope for the courage and humility that is present in all of us. I imagine that in these days, humanity will require more of these qualities in order to prevail over the fear and arrogance that seems so prevalent.
Pablito
coco frío
could not read the yellow font on the white background.....
Please use black font!
thanks
Please use black font!
thanks
Chrisrw
photomonkey
Sorry about that Pablito. I have a black background so it shows up nicely. I'll post it for you here.
GOOD PIECE OF HISTORY.
A great bit of (Unreported) history
Leica and the Jews
The Leica is the pioneer 35mm camera. It is a German product - precise,
minimalist, and 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 in such
a way as to earn the title, "the photography industry's Schindler."
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, Leitz's activities intensified after the
Kristallnacht of November 1938, during which synagogues and Jewish shops
were burned across Germany ..
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.
Each new arrival had around his or her neck the symbol of freedom - a
new Leica.
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 Academic 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 .
Thank you for reading the above, and if you feel inclined as I did to
pass it along to others, please do so. It only takes a few minutes.
Memories of the righteous should live on.
GOOD PIECE OF HISTORY.
A great bit of (Unreported) history
Leica and the Jews
The Leica is the pioneer 35mm camera. It is a German product - precise,
minimalist, and 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 in such
a way as to earn the title, "the photography industry's Schindler."
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, Leitz's activities intensified after the
Kristallnacht of November 1938, during which synagogues and Jewish shops
were burned across Germany ..
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.
Each new arrival had around his or her neck the symbol of freedom - a
new Leica.
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 Academic 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 .
Thank you for reading the above, and if you feel inclined as I did to
pass it along to others, please do so. It only takes a few minutes.
Memories of the righteous should live on.
rxmd
May contain traces of nut
It's admirable what individual figures within the company did; their actions towards their Jewish employees are indeed commendable. I think they need to be understood in the context of a paternalistic understanding of the employer-employee relationship, based on a trust built over time, that was not uncommon in Germany. Figures like that were probably not uncommon in Germany; it's more a question of having the means to do something for your employees.
At the same time, let's not get carried away too far. The humanist attitude of members of the founders' family notwithstanding, Leitz as such was a German for-profit military-industrial complex company close to the Nazi regime that made its profits from supplying the German war effort with vital military goods as well as technology used for propaganda. They sent away their Jewish employees in the late 1930s, whom they had trained and with whom they had a paternalistic relationship, but then in the early 1940s they sought Eastern European forced labourers for their factory as soon as they were available. (The article mentions them, but it's not like you were "assigned" slave labourers at random for work in your plant; companies had to actively ask for them.) In that respect, they were really a company like any other.
noimmunity
scratch my niche
Thanks for bringing attention to these points.
In an anecdotal vein, my stepfather's grand-dad escaped Germany with a quiver of Leicas cleverly hidden in secret panels inside a wooden chest that give his family a new start when they arrived in the United States.
Rayt
Nonplayer Character
rxmd,
As a broader question, in any given country who should have the authority to declare war? Once a leader declares war can citizens including corporate citizens object and refuse to participate? I am not defending the Military Industrial Complex but maybe not all companies really have any control. Can Caterpillar stipulate to a government buyer they can't use it to bulldoze homes?
As a broader question, in any given country who should have the authority to declare war? Once a leader declares war can citizens including corporate citizens object and refuse to participate? I am not defending the Military Industrial Complex but maybe not all companies really have any control. Can Caterpillar stipulate to a government buyer they can't use it to bulldoze homes?
sig
Well-known
It is a great story, but how authentic is it? google it and every hit is the same story word by word. No mention of how many was rescued, no 'my father/mother was rescued by' stories.
So the holy grail of leicas, the luftwaffe leica was potentially built by non-german slave labour... The Luftwaffe Leikas on Ebay these days are somewhat authentic anyway?
So the holy grail of leicas, the luftwaffe leica was potentially built by non-german slave labour... The Luftwaffe Leikas on Ebay these days are somewhat authentic anyway?
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Seems unlikely. It takes a lot of training to build a Leica and someone who is starving to death is unlikely to last long enough to train.
What were slave labourers used for at Leitz, if anything?
Yes, maybe it's the same story all over the Internet, but I heard it many years ago in more abbreviated terms, referring to rather fewer people; without the ornament of the 'stipend' until they found work; and without the term 'freedom train'. This is no guarantee of authenticity, it is true, but from the (modest) amount of information I have garnered over the years, I very strongly suspect that there is quite a large a kernel of truth in the somewhat formalized story recited above.
Incidentally, the trick for reading stuff in hopelessly pale fonts is to run the highlight cursor over them. Thanks to whoever taught me that trick a few years ago.
Cheers,
R.
sig
Well-known
Slave labour: rmxd mentioned that Leica used them (I guess forced east european labour is somewhat the same as slave labour) in the 1940ties, I just assumed he knew what he talked about. Google gave me this: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/germanco1.html
Regarding how authentic it is: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1038&message=35629610&changemode=1
One guy say:
The story first appeared in 1999, after Leica was forced to pay compensation for its use of slave labourers during the war (along with several other companies). The facts are that Leitz was an important supplier of military equipment, including innovative research-based equipment like the guidance systems for the V2 rocket, it used slave labour, and Ernst Leitz II was a member of the Nazi party.
There is evidence that Leitz helped one or two people to leave Germany before the war, but there is no evidence to support the story that there was a "Leica Freedom Train" with hundreds of people sent to safety.
I say: I have no idea if the freedom train is true or not.
Regarding how authentic it is: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1038&message=35629610&changemode=1
One guy say:
The story first appeared in 1999, after Leica was forced to pay compensation for its use of slave labourers during the war (along with several other companies). The facts are that Leitz was an important supplier of military equipment, including innovative research-based equipment like the guidance systems for the V2 rocket, it used slave labour, and Ernst Leitz II was a member of the Nazi party.
There is evidence that Leitz helped one or two people to leave Germany before the war, but there is no evidence to support the story that there was a "Leica Freedom Train" with hundreds of people sent to safety.
I say: I have no idea if the freedom train is true or not.
dave lackey
Veteran
It is true...if you doubt it, ask Leica.
Here is a video on Vimeo...scroll down the page:
http://www.overgaard.dk/leica-history-page-2.html
Here is a video on Vimeo...scroll down the page:
http://www.overgaard.dk/leica-history-page-2.html
dave lackey
Veteran
Unfortunately that is oh so true.