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Idealistic founder of the Leica


NZDavid

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I found this on a German site (http://www.go-with-us.de), and felt it deserved wider publicity: June 15, 2006, was the 50th anniversary of the death of Ernst Leitz II. He was the man who decided to manufacture the Leica (LEitz CAmera). His grandson, Dr Knut Kuehn-Leitz, has written a biography. I am not sure if this book is available in English. The decision to go ahead and produce, what for the time was a radical new camera, was a considerable economic risk: " 'I have decided, we'll risk it.' With this statement Ernst Leitz II revolutionized the photographic world."

 

"...with the decision to produce the camera developed by Oscar Barnack, with lenses designed by Max Berek, Ernst Leitz II was thinking in the first instance of his own workers. He knew: "Here is the possibility for this small camera to create work for our employees and to bring them through the hard times.

 

"The social engagement of the head of the company was evident in many areas, as described in the biography by diverse contemporary witnesses. This showed the economic vision of the man from Wetzlar, who in the 1920s maintained a social insurance program for his employees, which was clearly more efficient than today's state system. This included a pension and a sickness benefit as well as promoting social housing.

 

"Throughout his life Ernst Leitz remained the fatherly friend of his staff. His grandson, publisher of the new book, characterizes his grandfather as follows: "He was a born entrepreneur. He possessed the intuitive feel ("Fingerspitzengefuehl", literally "fingertipfeel, what a wonderful word!) for what should be developed, and thus to whom should be entrusted construction, production and marketing. He could count on his employees and they knew, that in times of crisis, he would do all he could to protect their place of employment. They felt like part of a big family. "Ernst Leitz was also politically active. He was among the founders of the liberally-oriented German Democratic Party in Wetzlar, which was an early alternative to the emerging right wing nationalistic mood. For Leitz it was later self evident that he should help persecuted fellow-citizens of the Nazi regime. Proof of this is a letter of thanks from Nathan Rosenthal, who with Leitz's help emigrated to the United States."

 

How different to the business world of today!

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How different to the business world of today!

 

Indeed. I´ve always been fascinated by yet another aspect of Leitz generosity and foresight. I´ve read that when he first hired Oscar Barnack as a technician, the latter warned Ernst Leitz that he was in bad health (asthma, I seem to recall), and that he would have far more sick leaves than normally. In today´s competitive world, this would mean an instant end to any recruitment interview; Leitz, as we know, hired him anyhow.

 

And, it was exactly Barnack´s health problem that made him look for ways to photograph with far lighter and smaller gear than what was then available. And, thanks to Leitz´magnamosity, Barnack had access to facilities that allowed him to realize his ideas.

 

The rest, as we all know, is history....

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