I have owned my Leica II for nearly 30 years. During my first journey to Croatia during the Civil War in former Yugoslavia, my Austrian aunt gave me the camera as a gift. Her husband bought it in 1932. But after his death the Leica had lain idle in a cupboard for several years until she gave it to me. I have used this camera a couple of times but I never really worked with it, I just enjoyed its mechanics.

When I started my new project “Jewish Life in Germany” I considered how to visually build a bridge between the pre-Nazi era and the present day without retouching images or other digital techniques. So I tried the old Leica.

The images produced with this camera undoubtedly have a vintage look. You can’t compare these pictures with digital images made by current DSLRs nor with these of former SLRs. In my opinion they contain their own atmosphere. In combination with the Kodak Ultramax 400 film the Leica II produces slightly blurry images, they are smooth but also strong and powerful. From my point of view the images support the intent of my project by creating this vivid atmosphere.

Aside from this, working with the Leica II is a reminiscence of the Leica Freedom Train.  Ernst Leitz II, the inventor and owner of Leica cameras, helped about 50 Jews to migrate from Germany to the United States. This assistance with money and contacts is called the Leica Freedom Train. (Beitzel and Beitzel 2015)

There are different versions how many Jews were helped by Ernst Leitz II. But some research considers that around 50 persons were assisted in different ways. (Porezag 2009)

Figures

Figure 1: Christian WEISS. 2021. Leica II.

Figure 2: Christian WEISS. 2021. Comparison between an image made with Canon 5D Mark IV and made with the Leica II

Figure 3: АНАТОЛИЙ КАЗАРНОВСКИЙ. 2012. LeicaFreedomTrain [Film]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsnVgzbz688 [accessed 21 Apr 2021].

References

BEITZEL, Taylor and Samantha BEITZEL. 2015. Dr. Ernst Leitz II and the Leica Train to Freedom.

B&H PHOTO VIDEO. 2016. B&H Photography Podcast: A Secret History of Leica [Film]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ILQO8_q_1E [accessed 21 Apr 2021].

HONIGSBAUM, Mark. 2007. ‘Leitz’ Liste’. SZ Magazin [online]. Available at: https://sz-magazin.sueddeutsche.de/geschichte/leitz-liste-74219 [accessed 21 Apr 2021].

‘Leica and the Nazis’. 2006. [online]. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20061107041908/http://photography.about.com/od/modernera/a/leicafreedom.htm [accessed 16 Feb 2021].

‘Leica Helped Jews Flee Nazis: Fresh Evidence Uncovered’. 2011. Amateur Photographer [online]. Available at: https://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/latest/photo-news/leica-helped-jews-flee-nazis-fresh-evidence-uncovered-16778 [accessed 21 Apr 2021].

PHOTOSCALA, Über den Autor Redaktion. 1AD. ‘Medien feiern Ernst Leitz als „neuen Schindler“ (aktualisiert)’. photoscala [online]. Available at: https://www.photoscala.de/2007/03/03/medien-feiern-ernst-leitz-als-neuen-schindler-aktualisiert/ [accessed 21 Apr 2021].

POREZAG, Karsten. 2009. Ernst Leitz Aus Wetzlar Und Die Juden, Mythos Und Fakten: Zur Emigration Deutscher Juden 1933-1941. Berlin: Metropol.

АНАТОЛИЙ КАЗАРНОВСКИЙ. 2012. LeicaFreedomTrain [Film]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsnVgzbz688 [accessed 21 Apr 2021].