Leica luftwaffe camera?

[Bruce D]

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Can anyone tell me if this is what it seems?

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[andybarton]

It means it’s a fake camera. 

[250swb]

The name and rank are a real person (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Hoffmann_von_Waldau), but I think that's the only real thing about it.

[pop]

The spacing alone shows that the inscription isn't done by someone who understands German. 'Der Flieger' should be centered above 'von Waldau'. It's supposed to be read as 'General Otto Hoffmann - Der Flieger von Waldau'.

In addition, the name 'von Hoffmann' is mispelled.

[LUF Admin]

I just removed the swastikas.

Showing them is forbidden by German law, with very narrow exemptions.

Andreas

[Bruce D]

3 hours ago, pop said:

The spacing alone shows that the inscription isn't done by someone who understands German. 'Der Flieger' should be centered above 'von Waldau'. It's supposed to be read as 'General Otto Hoffmann - Der Flieger von Waldau'.

In addition, the name 'von Hoffmann' is mispelled.

Thanks!

[Bruce D]

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3 hours ago, LUF Admin said:

I just removed the swastikas.

Showing them is forbidden by German law, with very narrow exemptions.

Andreas

Thanks

[jaapv]

4 hours ago, pop said:

The spacing alone shows that the inscription isn't done by someone who understands German. 'Der Flieger' should be centered above 'von Waldau'. It's supposed to be read as 'General Otto Hoffmann - Der Flieger von Waldau'.

In addition, the name 'von Hoffmann' is mispelled.

Otto Hoffmann von Waldau is a name; General der Flieger was a nazi Luftwaffe rank. 

[Anbaric]

7 hours ago, Bruce D said:

Can anyone tell me if this is what it seems?

If you'd like to post some photos from the top and front (cover or edit out any other swastikas!), we can probably tell you a bit more. Most brassy 'Leicas' like this, with a fake Luftwaffe engraving and crude auf/zu lettering, are really cameras from the former USSR such as the FED 1 or Zorki 1. They will have been modified by erasing the original Cyrillic engravings and replacing them with spurious 'Leica' engravings, and often additional 'wartime' engravings (though many of the cameras were really made after the war) to make them seem more valuable. The lens will have been similarly modified. During this process, the original chrome finish will have been stripped off (or it would be obvious where the Soviet engravings had been ground off) leaving the brass underneath exposed. Sometimes these cameras are replated, but often not. The forgers probably hope the camera will be mistaken for a rare gold-plated Leica Luxus model, and it also saves them the bother and expense of getting the replating done. This page lists some of the more obvious differences between real Leicas and the Soviet copies that are often turned into fake Leicas (sorry I can't make the link clickable as it isn't https, but it can be copied and pasted):

http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-213.html

Edited May 4, 2024 by Anbaric

[pop]

vor 2 Stunden schrieb jaapv:

Otto Hoffmann von Waldau is a name; General der Flieger was a nazi Luftwaffe rank. 

ouch.