[Leica] Re: Leitz wartime history

["Doug Richardson" <doug@meditor.demon.co.uk>]

I agree with Nathan Wajsman's comment that:

>I think that there are 3 threads going on right now:

>1) A general discussion of the Holocaust

>2) A string of personal attacks among certain members

>3) A discussion of Leitz' behavior during the Nazi era and its
implications for today

... and his comment that (3) is the only one of these which is "an
appropriate topic for the LUG, since clearly this is a relevant part
of the history of Leitz/Leica, and we discuss history of the company
here from time to time, not just the equipment itself."

Time will tell whether there is any truth in the charges being made
against Leitz, but there is to my mind one piece of evidence which
suggests no close relationship between Leitz and Germany's 1933 - 45
Government. Since the early days of the Leica, Leitz presented cameras
with "special" numbers: such as 100,000, 200,000, 250,000 etc to
specific individuals. None of these cameras went to prominent members
of Germany's National Socialist Party - something which must have been
more than a little "politically incorrect" at the time. All "special"
serial numbers of that era have been accounted for.  The only possibly
controversial allocation was to General Rommell, but I think it could
be argued that he was a soldier, not a politician. The main political
figures of that era were not given "special number" presentation
cameras.


Regards,

Doug Richardson