David Vestal writes in a recent issue of his newsletter GRUMP, included here:

http://hobokenalmanac.com/speak/grump.html

that an article on the "Leica Freedom Train," a courageous ploy that got a whole trainload of Jews out of Germany right under the noses of the Nazis in 1938, is about to be, or perhaps just has been published in the American Photographic Historical Society quarterly, Photographica. Vestal tells that a previous article written in 1961 was suppressed at the request of Leitz, who were afraid of reprisals by diehard Nazis against some of their employees then still alive who had taken part in the exploit. Has anybody seen the Photographica article? Is it available onl

-- david kelly (dmkedit@aol.com), April 02, 2002

Answers

the word that got cut off above was of course "online;" but if the story is online, Google doesn't know about it yet

-- david kelly (dmkedit@aol.com), April 02, 2002.

I read how one of the Leitz family actually escorted a "photographer" up to the border crossing.The guards were suspicious and questioned the company(Leitz) allowing such an expensive camera to be "tested" outside of Germany,by a Jew.Leitz's reply was that was why they only paid for a one way ticket.The guard agreed.The photographer {Herman Roth ?} sailed off to Brazil where he lived many years.I know that Leica,Agfa and Zeiss,all employed Jews until it was made impossible by the Nazis. Kodak did not have that problem.When I lived elsewhere,well after the 2nd World War,Kodaks policy was NOT to hire "people of Hebrew faith". This was in the late 60's..

-- jason gold (leeu72@hotmail.com), April 02, 2002.

David. I never heard this story. At best, Leicas record during the WWII is mixed. It is well to remember that Leica supplied cameras, lenses, and binoculars to the German Air Force (Luftwaffen), Army (Wermacht Heer), and Navy (Kriegsmarine). But I also understand that Professor Max Berek, their chief lens designer, quit his position rather than do work that might benefit the Nazi war effort. In addition, a number of wartime Leica cameras somehow mysteriously found their way into allied hands, no one knows exactly how this occurred. So you can make your own assessment of the degree of their participation. Clearly Leicas hands are not clean.

-- Eliot (erosen@lij.edu), April 02, 2002.

Eliot: There is no suggestion that this is an attempt at a whitewash. David Vestal writes that the article, of which an advance copy was shown to him by its author, Photographica Editor George Gilbert, "tells how Leitz got the approval of the Nazis for this scheme to save people from the Nazis. It was brilliant, and it wor

-- david kelly (dmkedit@aol.com), April 02, 2002.