Re: [Leica] Re: export leicas?

["Dan Post" <dpost@triad.rr.com>]

Bill-
In reading about the Leica, various sources mention bits and pieces about
the IIIb- there were a few cosmetic changes from the IIIa- the VF/RF windows
were put next to one another, and the RF diopter control had a little knob.
The camera seemed to be destined for export as quite a few seem to have the
baseplate with the 1/4" thread, and say "Germany" on the end, and don't have
the German 'Auf' or 'Zu' with the Open and close engraving on the bottom. I
have read that many were sold aboard cruise ship, that quite a few were sold
or gotten by people at the 1939 New York World's Fair, and so the seeming
'targeted marketing' for buyers outside Germany.

The Leitz family was known to have assisted many Jewish workers to emigrate;
they gave them IIIb cameras and sent them abroad as sales and tech
representatives- even if they had never opened one, and this ruse apparently
allowed some of their workers to escape Nazi Germany. I had read that the
workers were given these cameras to use a a means of bartering or bribing
their way out of the country- and thus was dubbed the "Freedom Camera" by
some.

I remember Marc Small describing the daughter or daughter-in-law of the then
head of Leitz actually being jailed by the Gestapo for aiding a Jewish
family. I would imagine that the strategic importantance of the the Leitz
manufacturing facilities to the Reich at the time kept her from being even
further imprisoned or possibly killed.

Now, they are not really 'rare'- as something like 36,000 were made, but the
number surviving in really decent condition seems relatively small as it
took me a good while to get a nice example, and at the same time, I've seen
many, many decent IIIc and IIIa cameras come and go! I believe Marc also
stated that the elder Leitz died in about 1936, and that the IIIb was the
last of the so called 'Barnack Cameras' that was built up from modular
components, where  as the later IIIc and later cameras had a cast chassis.
This marked a major change in the way the cameras were manufactured, as
apparently made it easier to assemble, and made them more rugged.

So, that's about all I can tell you- I bet you dollars to donut holes,
though, that if we get Marc started, he could give us a lot more legend and
lore than that!!! :o)

Dan (Posthaste) Post
- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Lawlor" <wvl@marinternet.com>
To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Friday, December 22, 2000 6:59 PM
Subject: [Leica] Re: export leicas?


> Dan wrote...
>
> Dates from 1938 with the 1/4" tripod mount- so this
> is one of the export models or 'samples' that Leitz sent out with their
> Jewish workers! and the bottom says "OPEN", "CLOSE" and "Germany" instead
of
> "Auf" und "Zu" like most
>
> .........................
>
> What is the story about this?
>
> Thanks, Bill Lawlor (History teacher in need of material.)
>
>