Calling All Experts:

I now own two first version 35, 1:2.0 Summicrons; my question:

One (1968) is engraved "Made in Germany" and the other (1961) is engraved "Germany". I thought products from that era were usually marked "Made in West Germany" or "West Germany". After unification, of course, the "West" part was deleted.

-- chris chen (chrischen@msn.com), February 27, 2002

Answers

Some older manufacturers never adopted the "West Germany" style, as was apparently the case here.

Of course, working on Leica time, it might have taken them ultil the '80s to realize the war took place. ;-)

-- Ralph Barker (rbarker@pacbell.net), February 27, 2002.

Most products I saw during the Iron Curtain period had the "Made in Germany" label, and not the "Made in West Germany" tag.

It was rare to see anything made in East Germany outside the Soviet Bloc. And anything of quality was of course made in West Germany.

"Made in Germany" implied top quality, a brand identity that is extremely valuable to attain.

"Made in Japan" went from shoddy to extremely reliable and precise.

-- Vikram (VSingh493@aol.com), February 27, 2002.

The country title (Germany vs West Germany) was a matter of individual choice. To my knowledge, Leica NEVER (correct me if I am wrong) engraved West Germany on products made while Germany was divided. This was their policy. On the other hand, I have a Gossen Luna pro light meter (an old analog version) that says "Made in West Germany". I guess for some people, Germany was germany, divided or not.

-- Eliot (erosen@lij.edu), February 27, 2002.

The older Contax SLR lenses were also marked "Made in West Germany" I used to own one: T* Distagon 35mm 1.4, beautiful lens, never took a liking to the bodies....

-- Brooke Anderson (dbanders@videotron.ca), February 27, 2002.

One or two of my Hasselblad CF (1982-late 90's) lenses are marked "West Germany". I theorize that unlike Leica, Zeiss may have had a unique situation that prompted this: the existence of Carl Zeiss Jena in East Germany, from whose products the W. German Zeiss company may have wanted to clearly differentiate.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), February 27, 2002.

One thing that I have always wondered about. I have, mostly non-camera things, from my parents. Some were from Germany and some were from Japan. The ones from Germany are marked made in Germany or West Germany. The ones from Japan are marked made in occupied Japan. Both countries were occupied. There must be an important lesson here. Must tell us something about the cultures.

Art

-- Art (AKarr90975@aol.com), February 27, 2002.

My Dad's 1950s Contax and Zeiss Ikon lenses were marked 'Made in West Germany'. Zeiss Ikon in Oberkochen did have an identity issue, wishing to differentiate its products from Carl Zeiss Jena in East Germany. The Carl Zeiss works there were the (as I recall) the principal part of the pre-iron curtain operation.

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), February 27, 2002.

Dad's old Agfa Isolette folder from the 50s says "Made in Germany", a friend's old Voigtlaender Vito C says "West Germany". So either or. What did Praktika say, I wonder? Jena was in the East - the "German Democratic Republic", which of course was the non-democratic part.

-- David Killick (dalex@inet.net.nz), February 28, 2002.

probably leica knew that their stuff will be around for a few decades, and it was deep within the german soul to hope for a reunification. thankfully they were right!!

-- stefan randlkofer (geesbert@yahoo.com), February 28, 2002.

Following-Up:

Why would Leica use two different styles of engraving: "Made in Germany" and "Germany"?

You all must know that most of the 1st version 'crons were made in Canada; an e-mail from Lager confirmed this.

-- chris chen (chrischen@msn.com), February 28, 2002.