Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/01/04

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Value Added and Nazi Cameras
From: MSwiek@aol.com
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1999 12:50:39 EST

Many, many years ago a friend of my father's, who was a Leitz factory repair
supervisor at the Wetzlar facility, told me that during the war years the
Leitz family gave many of their Jewish employees a model IIIb camera as they
fled the country to escape the holocaust.  The reason was so the Jewish
families would have something of value to sell once they reached a place to
start a new life.  He said that within the Leitz works, the IIIb acquired the
nickname of teh "freedom camera."

Unfortunately, my father's friend is now deceased so I can neither reconfirm,
nor add any further clarifications or details to this anecdote.  Anybody else
ever hear of this ?



Mike Swiek