Leitz 5cm f3.5 Elmar: The Meaning of Gestalt

I'll admit it. As I shuffled around the streets of downtown Frederick, Maryland anticipating the paths of passersby and lifting my little black Leica to my eye, I imagined that this is what it was like for Henry Cartier Bresson before this equipment was legendary, new methods were standard practices and the genre was a genre. Simplicity. Fun. Pure photography.

Kodak Tri-X 400

I've spent the better part of the last four years getting to know a little black 1930 Leica that I purchased from my repair guy. It seems par for the course that you get a Summicron for a IIIg, a Summitar for a IIIc or IIIf and an Elmar for anything prior. But The 1930 I/III came to me with a less common Leitz nickel Summar, which is a desirable collectible as well as beautiful character lens. Unfortunately, however, my copy flares more easily than I'd like and falls only slightly short of being the go-to lens for, what has become, my daily carry camera.

Mounting the newer chrome finished Summitar 50/2 or Summarit 50/1.5 lenses that I already owned on The 1930 make for beautiful images but seem to compromise the size and style of the tiny black and nickel camera. While the L39 mount can accept many hundreds of lenses, the original Leitz 5cm Elmar is said to possess a certain gestalt when used on an early Leica body and remains the top choice normal lens for many Leica shooters. With a maximum aperture of just f3.5, however, it's painfully slow!

The humble four-element 5cm Elmar was designed by Max Berek contemporaneously with the first Leica cameras, which were actually fixed lens bodies. Therefore, this lens was really an inextricable part of the camera. But being more than a stop slower than any 50mm I've ever used before, the question of if I could somehow embrace it's ridiculously slow maximum aperture and find my perfect daily driver, became unshakable.

*taken with Olympus OM-1n + Zuiko 55mm 3.5 Macro on Kodak Tri-X 400 @ 1600

FINDING THE RIGHT ONE

After a few months of tossing and turning over the numerous examples of the lens I found for sale, I reached out to Tamarkin Camera about a nickel finish 5cm Elmar listed on their site. It didn't have a serial number, which to many would be off-putting given that there are probably more fakes and clones of the legendary 5cm Elmar than there are real examples (which is a feat, considering the lens' long production span). But this Elmar was being sold by Tamarkin, so it's got to be legit, right? I found that because the Elmar was originally a fixed lens from the start of production in 1925 to about 1933, early Leitz 5cm Elmars did not feature their own serial number - they were just part of the camera! And of course, they were finished in nickel as were all Leica lenses prior to around 1933 to 1936.

Kodak TMAX 100

Many of these early lenses were converted, by Leica, to the now-famous interchangeable LTM mount. I'm told by Leica historian Augusto Liger that my Elmar was likely made after April 1932. He figures this based on the newer style push-button focus knob that was relocated from the original 11 o'clock position to 7 o'clock. This was to accommodate for the front-mounted slow shutter speed dial on the Leica III when it was introduced in 1933.

This somewhat unusual, well-storied, factory-converted lens is a perfect match for my 1930 Leica which was also upgraded (from a Model Ic to a Model III around 1936). Also, the distance scale is in feet, which is important to my illogical American sensibilities!

Kodak TMAX 100

The 5cm nickel Elmar exhibits some cleaning marks on the uncoated front element and a little bit of normal finish wear all around. But in many ways, I prefer this. Not only is worn Leica gear little cheaper at retail but I don't feel like I have to baby it in use. And frankly, I think this lens looks quite fetch on my brassed camera!

Before it shipped, Ernie from Tamarkin let me know that the aperture was a little stiff. It does this thing where it sticks slightly approaching f3.5 but then runs smooth to f18 and back. I only notice it when running the aperture back and forth from extreme to extreme, not in normal use. I may see if this can be addressed later. The focus is super smooth and quick without being loose. And the infinity lock is strong and tight. The catch that the focus knob locks into can wear with use, particularly on such an old lens. So it's nice to handle a crisp example. Everything else about the lens feels tight and precise. This 5cm Elmar really embodies the characteristics for which Leica became known. The common descriptor "jewel-like" applies in spades.

When mounted to The 1930, I found exactly what I was looking for. The lens/body combo is exactly what Oskar Barnack seems to have originally intended. Zero viewfinder blockage, effortless handling and diminutive when collapsed. While Leica maintained the basic fit and intention of the 5cm Elmar with pretty much everything that evolved after it, the Elmar just feels perfectly correct to the camera in a way that no other body/lens combination I've tried, has, not even very close the Summar.

Kodak Tri-X 400

Now, for those who take pride in sneaking eBay packages past your spouse, I want to point out that it was my wife, not me, who decided to purchase the 5cm Elmar. You see, Tamarkin kindly offered to let me "test drive" the lens prior to purchase. If I liked it, I could simply call them and pay over the phone. If I didn't like it, no harm done, mail it back and that would be that. I'd been running around with the Elmar on The 1930 for almost a week; wearing it around my neck while doing dishes, brushing my teeth and getting the mail. I definitely fell asleep with it on a few times. I would work and inspect the lens while watching TV or hanging out with my family. And yes, I was taking photos all along as well!

Kodak Tri-X 400

One evening, my wife and I were out drinking with friends. The next thing that I knew, she had dialed Tamarkin Camera in Chicago. "My husband, Johnny Martyr, is borrowing a lens from you that I'd like to buy for him." She looked at me in excitement and said "they knew exactly who you are and what I was talking about!" My wife is amazing. And so is this lens! That's twice that I found the right one.

Kodak Tri-X 400

WHAT IT 'S LIKE

A year has passed and I seldom mount any other lens on my 1930 anymore. The size and performance of the 1932 nickel Elmar are easy to love. I used to be of the mindset that my daily carry lens needs to be as fast as reasonably possible so as to handle anything that life throws at it. But I've found that f3.5 is totally fine for most situations with Tri-X. Unlike faster LTM Leitz lenses, the Elmar is very flare resistant and, of course is sharp at most distances and apertures, corner to corner, making it easy to work with in many types of lighting. The lens does exhibit that classic "Leica glow" in highlights and diffraction sets in pretty quickly past f8. Focus is hard to miss even at full aperture and close distance. The 10-blade aperture assembly performs as sublimely as it is to behold. Bokeh is natural punctuated with perfectly round, controlled out of focus points of light. Transitions and separation is smooth and unnoticeable. Out of focus points of light can sometimes get busy with a touch of fringing and swirl at wider apertures and closer distances with far off backgrounds. But in my experience, one almost has to force these behaviors, or at least shoot slower film with larger scenes frequently. Unlike competitor brand LTM lenses, the Elmar is diminutive, while matching the camera cosmetically and dare I say, spiritually.

Kodak Tri-X 400

Some photographers place little emphasis on haptics but I've always felt that while a well-crafted body and lens might not intrinsically improve ones work, they can inspire one to shoot their best. I have come to think that inspiring haptics are sometimes more important than measurable performance to an extent. When it comes to creating emotionally compelling images, anyone counting lines of resolution has already missed the point. So yes, I could mount a show-stopping performer like a gigantic modern Voigtlander 50mm 1.5 Nokton onto this little old Leica, and produce tack sharp subjects and bokeh of unparalleled smoothness. But if the combination of camera and lens feels and looks ridiculous, my inclination to pick it up to begin with will be diminished.

While I have to get creative to shoot in very low light with the 3.5 Elmar, the consistency of my results is greater and I also feel moved by my success rate, to hazard a shot more often. With increased size and cost, other lenses command more of my attention in common, everyday situations where you don't want to or simply cannot worry about your camera and lens. The 1930 and Elmar can be flung over my shoulder or dropped in a jacket pocket fairly carelessly, still poised for their next opportunity. If I'm shooting a wedding or planned event, a faster lens is just more practical and yields more interesting bokeh even if haptics and history aren't perfectly aligned. But for stream-of-consciousness shooting, the little Elmar and its gestalt with The 1930 has won over my heart.

Kodak Tri-X 400 @ 1600

ACCESSORIES

I use the black paint FISON lens hood that I purchased a while back for use with my 5cm nickel Summar. In black paint, this is a somewhat costly hood but it's considerably less clunky than the more cost-effective FIKUS. And I honestly just enjoy the aesthetics of a black hood with a black body. The aperture control isn't difficult to adjust through the FISON hood. And 36mm slip-on caps that fit directly on the Elmar can also fit onto this hood, making it easy to keep the lens/shutter protected with a cap with the hood always in place. When I collapse the Elmar, the FISON only sticks out about as much as the Elmar does from the body when extended. The rig fits neatly into the large pockets of my duffle jacket and a bit large and heavy for, but manageable in the pocket of a hoodie. I position the FISON so that its thumbscrew is next to the focus knob of the Elmar. This provides a little additional "grab" when focusing and makes it feel as if there aren't any unnecessary protrusions. I also use the position of the thumbscrew as a "fully locked" indicator when retracting the lens.

There are a number of different lens hoods that fit the Leitz 5cm 3.5 Elmar. FISON was the first but there are several versions of it such as a cheaper/more common chrome version of the black paint one that I have with the thumbscrew. There are also push-on FISONs that eliminate the slightly clunky thumbscrew. For less conspicuous consumption, a Chinese manufacturer sells a good-looking chrome clamp-on FISON knock-off. I think they're only a LITTLE cheaper than a lower end original chrome copy but new and cheap are cool. As I mentioned, there's also the FIKIS which is a smart retracting lens hood that fits not only the 5cm Elmar but also the early Hektor, 9cm and 13.5cm Elmar. This is a smart hood to run if you have a couple of these lenses but it requires two thumbscrews to telescope, making for a bit too much going on for a hood in my opinion. The VALOO is a neat hood that facilitates easier aperture adjustment of the Elmar, but again, for me, it's a bit too large/complicated for my taste.

Kodak Tri-X 400

I don't use filters on any of my lenses but feel particularly uninterested in doing so with the Elmar. Despite lacking any anti-flare coating at all, it is actually rather flare-resistant and contrasty for its vintage. It takes very tiny 19mm screw-in filters which allow adjustment of the aperture control. This is the same thread size as the Cintar lens on a common Argus C3, whose accessories tend to be cheaper and more common. But a yellow #1 Leica FIRHE would protect the glass, sure up images nicely and look quite darn cute!

For any 50mm/5cm lens, I've become quite a fan of the SBOOI accessory brightline viewfinder. Being a later model accessory, they only come in chrome finish so it doesn't look perfect on my black and nickel camera, but this is offset by the steampunk panche it adds to the little rig. People often complain about the size of early Leica view/rangefinder windows and I think the SBOOI is a great solution, for the viewfinder window anyway. While I'm perfectly content with the built-in finder, if I'm going to move my eye from the RF to a VF anyway, I like moving to the big, bright SBOOI. Framelines are marked for parallax and it's just very enjoyable to have set up your shot and then watch your subject through this beautiful hunk of glass, which is actually a multi-element lens, not just a simple window. Voigtlander, Canon and others used to make similar little finders too, that I'm sure are just as enjoyable.

Kodak Tri-X 400 @ 1600

FINAL THOUGHTS

I've never used the 5cm nickel Elmar on my other LTM or M mount camera bodies. I know this sort of defeats the economy of the mount but it almost just doesn't seem "right" to use it on any other type of rangefinder and I have other LTM 50's that seem better suited elsewhere. I sought the 5cm 3.5 Elmar specifically for daily use on this particular camera.

Certainly I would say that any version 5cm 3.5 Elmar is the lens to run with any daily carry pre-IIIg Barnack Leica. This setup has the gestalt I was after. The Elmar is a great budget-friendly, yet authentic Leica lens to use with a Leica copy body also. A Canon P or Voigtlander Bessa with their low effective baselength would play nicely with the slow maximum aperture, compactness and cheapness of the 5cm 3.5 Elmar. And every once in a while, I even see M bodies sporting this comparatively ancient lens. I ought to throw it on my black M6 TTL just to have a chuckle. And maybe that's the point. Some lenses are perfect for some bodies and some photographers while the same lens on a different body or with a different photographer is just totally wrong. Part of the excitement and challenge of shooting with vintage cameras and lenses is developing ones own personal and unique sensibility for what to pair with what and how to use without letting the allure of collecting and experimenting impair ones photography, but rather, to enhance it.

Thanks for reading, happy shooting and happy holidays, too!

_Follow, Favorite, Like, Add, Insult, ContactJohnny Martyr _

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Leitz 5cm f3.5 Elmar: The Meaning of Gestalt

I'll admit it. As I shuffled around the streets of downtown Frederick, Maryland anticipating the paths of passersby and lifting my little black Leica to my eye, I imagined that this is what it was like for Henry Cartier Bresson before this equipment was legendary, new methods were standard practices and the genre was a genre. Simplicity. Fun. Pure photography.

Kodak Tri-X 400

I've spent the better part of the last four years getting to know a little black 1930 Leica that I purchased from my repair guy. It seems par for the course that you get a Summicron for a IIIg, a Summitar for a IIIc or IIIf and an Elmar for anything prior. But The 1930 I/III came to me with a less common Leitz nickel Summar, which is a desirable collectible as well as beautiful character lens. Unfortunately, however, my copy flares more easily than I'd like and falls only slightly short of being the go-to lens for, what has become, my daily carry camera.

Mounting the newer chrome finished Summitar 50/2 or Summarit 50/1.5 lenses that I already owned on The 1930 make for beautiful images but seem to compromise the size and style of the tiny black and nickel camera. While the L39 mount can accept many hundreds of lenses, the original Leitz 5cm Elmar is said to possess a certain gestalt when used on an early Leica body and remains the top choice normal lens for many Leica shooters. With a maximum aperture of just f3.5, however, it's painfully slow!

The humble four-element 5cm Elmar was designed by Max Berek contemporaneously with the first Leica cameras, which were actually fixed lens bodies. Therefore, this lens was really an inextricable part of the camera. But being more than a stop slower than any 50mm I've ever used before, the question of if I could somehow embrace it's ridiculously slow maximum aperture and find my perfect daily driver, became unshakable.

*taken with Olympus OM-1n + Zuiko 55mm 3.5 Macro on Kodak Tri-X 400 @ 1600

FINDING THE RIGHT ONE

After a few months of tossing and turning over the numerous examples of the lens I found for sale, I reached out to Tamarkin Camera about a nickel finish 5cm Elmar listed on their site. It didn't have a serial number, which to many would be off-putting given that there are probably more fakes and clones of the legendary 5cm Elmar than there are real examples (which is a feat, considering the lens' long production span). But this Elmar was being sold by Tamarkin, so it's got to be legit, right? I found that because the Elmar was originally a fixed lens from the start of production in 1925 to about 1933, early Leitz 5cm Elmars did not feature their own serial number - they were just part of the camera! And of course, they were finished in nickel as were all Leica lenses prior to around 1933 to 1936.

Kodak TMAX 100

Many of these early lenses were converted, by Leica, to the now-famous interchangeable LTM mount. I'm told by Leica historian Augusto Liger that my Elmar was likely made after April 1932. He figures this based on the newer style push-button focus knob that was relocated from the original 11 o'clock position to 7 o'clock. This was to accommodate for the front-mounted slow shutter speed dial on the Leica III when it was introduced in 1933.

This somewhat unusual, well-storied, factory-converted lens is a perfect match for my 1930 Leica which was also upgraded (from a Model Ic to a Model III around 1936). Also, the distance scale is in feet, which is important to my illogical American sensibilities!

Kodak TMAX 100

The 5cm nickel Elmar exhibits some cleaning marks on the uncoated front element and a little bit of normal finish wear all around. But in many ways, I prefer this. Not only is worn Leica gear little cheaper at retail but I don't feel like I have to baby it in use. And frankly, I think this lens looks quite fetch on my brassed camera!

Before it shipped, Ernie from Tamarkin let me know that the aperture was a little stiff. It does this thing where it sticks slightly approaching f3.5 but then runs smooth to f18 and back. I only notice it when running the aperture back and forth from extreme to extreme, not in normal use. I may see if this can be addressed later. The focus is super smooth and quick without being loose. And the infinity lock is strong and tight. The catch that the focus knob locks into can wear with use, particularly on such an old lens. So it's nice to handle a crisp example. Everything else about the lens feels tight and precise. This 5cm Elmar really embodies the characteristics for which Leica became known. The common descriptor "jewel-like" applies in spades.

When mounted to The 1930, I found exactly what I was looking for. The lens/body combo is exactly what Oskar Barnack seems to have originally intended. Zero viewfinder blockage, effortless handling and diminutive when collapsed. While Leica maintained the basic fit and intention of the 5cm Elmar with pretty much everything that evolved after it, the Elmar just feels perfectly correct to the camera in a way that no other body/lens combination I've tried, has, not even very close the Summar.

Kodak Tri-X 400

Now, for those who take pride in sneaking eBay packages past your spouse, I want to point out that it was my wife, not me, who decided to purchase the 5cm Elmar. You see, Tamarkin kindly offered to let me "test drive" the lens prior to purchase. If I liked it, I could simply call them and pay over the phone. If I didn't like it, no harm done, mail it back and that would be that. I'd been running around with the Elmar on The 1930 for almost a week; wearing it around my neck while doing dishes, brushing my teeth and getting the mail. I definitely fell asleep with it on a few times. I would work and inspect the lens while watching TV or hanging out with my family. And yes, I was taking photos all along as well!

Kodak Tri-X 400

One evening, my wife and I were out drinking with friends. The next thing that I knew, she had dialed Tamarkin Camera in Chicago. "My husband, Johnny Martyr, is borrowing a lens from you that I'd like to buy for him." She looked at me in excitement and said "they knew exactly who you are and what I was talking about!" My wife is amazing. And so is this lens! That's twice that I found the right one.

Kodak Tri-X 400

WHAT IT 'S LIKE

A year has passed and I seldom mount any other lens on my 1930 anymore. The size and performance of the 1932 nickel Elmar are easy to love. I used to be of the mindset that my daily carry lens needs to be as fast as reasonably possible so as to handle anything that life throws at it. But I've found that f3.5 is totally fine for most situations with Tri-X. Unlike faster LTM Leitz lenses, the Elmar is very flare resistant and, of course is sharp at most distances and apertures, corner to corner, making it easy to work with in many types of lighting. The lens does exhibit that classic "Leica glow" in highlights and diffraction sets in pretty quickly past f8. Focus is hard to miss even at full aperture and close distance. The 10-blade aperture assembly performs as sublimely as it is to behold. Bokeh is natural punctuated with perfectly round, controlled out of focus points of light. Transitions and separation is smooth and unnoticeable. Out of focus points of light can sometimes get busy with a touch of fringing and swirl at wider apertures and closer distances with far off backgrounds. But in my experience, one almost has to force these behaviors, or at least shoot slower film with larger scenes frequently. Unlike competitor brand LTM lenses, the Elmar is diminutive, while matching the camera cosmetically and dare I say, spiritually.

Kodak Tri-X 400

Some photographers place little emphasis on haptics but I've always felt that while a well-crafted body and lens might not intrinsically improve ones work, they can inspire one to shoot their best. I have come to think that inspiring haptics are sometimes more important than measurable performance to an extent. When it comes to creating emotionally compelling images, anyone counting lines of resolution has already missed the point. So yes, I could mount a show-stopping performer like a gigantic modern Voigtlander 50mm 1.5 Nokton onto this little old Leica, and produce tack sharp subjects and bokeh of unparalleled smoothness. But if the combination of camera and lens feels and looks ridiculous, my inclination to pick it up to begin with will be diminished.

While I have to get creative to shoot in very low light with the 3.5 Elmar, the consistency of my results is greater and I also feel moved by my success rate, to hazard a shot more often. With increased size and cost, other lenses command more of my attention in common, everyday situations where you don't want to or simply cannot worry about your camera and lens. The 1930 and Elmar can be flung over my shoulder or dropped in a jacket pocket fairly carelessly, still poised for their next opportunity. If I'm shooting a wedding or planned event, a faster lens is just more practical and yields more interesting bokeh even if haptics and history aren't perfectly aligned. But for stream-of-consciousness shooting, the little Elmar and its gestalt with The 1930 has won over my heart.

Kodak Tri-X 400 @ 1600

ACCESSORIES

I use the black paint FISON lens hood that I purchased a while back for use with my 5cm nickel Summar. In black paint, this is a somewhat costly hood but it's considerably less clunky than the more cost-effective FIKUS. And I honestly just enjoy the aesthetics of a black hood with a black body. The aperture control isn't difficult to adjust through the FISON hood. And 36mm slip-on caps that fit directly on the Elmar can also fit onto this hood, making it easy to keep the lens/shutter protected with a cap with the hood always in place. When I collapse the Elmar, the FISON only sticks out about as much as the Elmar does from the body when extended. The rig fits neatly into the large pockets of my duffle jacket and a bit large and heavy for, but manageable in the pocket of a hoodie. I position the FISON so that its thumbscrew is next to the focus knob of the Elmar. This provides a little additional "grab" when focusing and makes it feel as if there aren't any unnecessary protrusions. I also use the position of the thumbscrew as a "fully locked" indicator when retracting the lens.

There are a number of different lens hoods that fit the Leitz 5cm 3.5 Elmar. FISON was the first but there are several versions of it such as a cheaper/more common chrome version of the black paint one that I have with the thumbscrew. There are also push-on FISONs that eliminate the slightly clunky thumbscrew. For less conspicuous consumption, a Chinese manufacturer sells a good-looking chrome clamp-on FISON knock-off. I think they're only a LITTLE cheaper than a lower end original chrome copy but new and cheap are cool. As I mentioned, there's also the FIKIS which is a smart retracting lens hood that fits not only the 5cm Elmar but also the early Hektor, 9cm and 13.5cm Elmar. This is a smart hood to run if you have a couple of these lenses but it requires two thumbscrews to telescope, making for a bit too much going on for a hood in my opinion. The VALOO is a neat hood that facilitates easier aperture adjustment of the Elmar, but again, for me, it's a bit too large/complicated for my taste.

Kodak Tri-X 400

I don't use filters on any of my lenses but feel particularly uninterested in doing so with the Elmar. Despite lacking any anti-flare coating at all, it is actually rather flare-resistant and contrasty for its vintage. It takes very tiny 19mm screw-in filters which allow adjustment of the aperture control. This is the same thread size as the Cintar lens on a common Argus C3, whose accessories tend to be cheaper and more common. But a yellow #1 Leica FIRHE would protect the glass, sure up images nicely and look quite darn cute!

For any 50mm/5cm lens, I've become quite a fan of the SBOOI accessory brightline viewfinder. Being a later model accessory, they only come in chrome finish so it doesn't look perfect on my black and nickel camera, but this is offset by the steampunk panche it adds to the little rig. People often complain about the size of early Leica view/rangefinder windows and I think the SBOOI is a great solution, for the viewfinder window anyway. While I'm perfectly content with the built-in finder, if I'm going to move my eye from the RF to a VF anyway, I like moving to the big, bright SBOOI. Framelines are marked for parallax and it's just very enjoyable to have set up your shot and then watch your subject through this beautiful hunk of glass, which is actually a multi-element lens, not just a simple window. Voigtlander, Canon and others used to make similar little finders too, that I'm sure are just as enjoyable.

Kodak Tri-X 400 @ 1600

FINAL THOUGHTS

I've never used the 5cm nickel Elmar on my other LTM or M mount camera bodies. I know this sort of defeats the economy of the mount but it almost just doesn't seem "right" to use it on any other type of rangefinder and I have other LTM 50's that seem better suited elsewhere. I sought the 5cm 3.5 Elmar specifically for daily use on this particular camera.

Certainly I would say that any version 5cm 3.5 Elmar is the lens to run with any daily carry pre-IIIg Barnack Leica. This setup has the gestalt I was after. The Elmar is a great budget-friendly, yet authentic Leica lens to use with a Leica copy body also. A Canon P or Voigtlander Bessa with their low effective baselength would play nicely with the slow maximum aperture, compactness and cheapness of the 5cm 3.5 Elmar. And every once in a while, I even see M bodies sporting this comparatively ancient lens. I ought to throw it on my black M6 TTL just to have a chuckle. And maybe that's the point. Some lenses are perfect for some bodies and some photographers while the same lens on a different body or with a different photographer is just totally wrong. Part of the excitement and challenge of shooting with vintage cameras and lenses is developing ones own personal and unique sensibility for what to pair with what and how to use without letting the allure of collecting and experimenting impair ones photography, but rather, to enhance it.

Thanks for reading, happy shooting and happy holidays, too!

_Follow, Favorite, Like, Add, Insult, ContactJohnny Martyr _

#filmphotography #kodak #leica #lensreview #reviews #35mm #35mmfilm #50mm #50mm35elmar #50mmelmar #5cm35elmar #5cmelmar #barnack #blackandwhitefilm #cameras #cars #documentary #elmarreview #kodaktmax100 #kodaktrix400 #leica50mm #leicaelmar #leicahistory #leitz #leitzelmar #maxberek #people #photography #photojournalism #portrait #portraits #rangefinder #rangefindercamera #street

Leica Freedom Train: How the Leitz Family Saved Jews in the Holocaust

The Leica Freedom Train was not a physical coal or steam engine, but the monumental effort of the Leitz family. This is how they and the Leica camera company saved hundreds of Jews from persecution at the hands of the Nazis.

As the Second World War entered its final year, “The Song of the War Correspondents” was released in the Soviet Union. It was a triumphant, rousing, deeply nationalist anthem to the journalists who had covered the war. Perhaps it would be considered surprising, then, that in the first verse, a line praised a potent tool from a well-known German company.

With a Leica and a notebook, or even with a machine gun
Through the fire and cold we passed

Leitz works around 1910. Photo by Rolf Beck.

The line is revealing on multiple levels. Even amid a global conflict in which borders were of the utmost imperative, captains of industry were using far different maps than captains of battalions. Of equal note is the simple equation of the lens with the firearm. Millions were dead and buried, their bodies pierced with metal and charred with flame, but the power of the captured image remained on equal footing to any armament. One name stood above all: Leica, produced by the Leitz Camera company.

Leitz Camera had been founded in 1869 by Ernst Leitz in Wetzlar, Germany, and had found swift success in a market desperate for microscopes and small optical elements. By the turn of the century, the production of optical devices had so aggressively expanded that the company built the first skyscrapers in the city.

The 1914 Ur-Leica | CC BY-SA 2.0 DE

The dominance we associate with the company today, however, began when Oskar Barnack completed the world’s first practical 35mm camera -- dubbed the Ur-Leica -- in March of 1914. The goal of the Ur-Leica was to be as small and portable as possible, capturing a 24x36mm frame, by utilizing a smaller negative that, up to that point, had been used only for filmmaking. Movie cameras transported the film vertically which resulted in 18x24mm frames but by running the same film stock through the camera horizontally, a larger 24x36mm negative could be achieved.

For such a camera to be functional, however, it required lenses of the highest quality, capable of resolving as much detail as possible for the negative. Physicist and Professor Max Berek was brought in to work with Barnack. Berek was a truly impressive innovator in the world of optics and a rather accomplished photographer in his own right. It was his considerable intellect that led to the invention of the lens that made the Leica truly work: a collapsible 50mm f/3.5 Leitz Anastigmat lens, which Berek based on the Cooke triplet design, with five elements in three groups.

Max Berek's formulation for the 50mm f/3.5 Elmax in 1921

To consistently produce and manufacture such refined lenses necessitated a stable, skilled team of laborers and technicians. This was no problem for Leitz Camera. Ernst had founded the company on a bedrock of progressive, pro-worker policies such as paid sick leave, employer-provided health insurance, and pensions, all of which were a bit of a rarity in the early 20th century, even in Europe. When Leitz passed the business onto his son, Ernst Leitz II, these policies -- and the ethos that animated them -- stayed firmly in place.

Unfortunately for the heir, he had taken the reins at a moment when every progressive Protestant value his father had instilled in him would be tested well beyond any normal breaking point. The Nazi Party was on the rise in Germany.

Leitz was no fool, and his understanding of politics was at least equaled his knowledge of the camera business. The same year Hitler came to power, Leitz ran for office as a candidate for the Deutsche Democratic Party, a far more left-wing organization keenly focused on maintaining a democratic, republican form of government in Germany. He not only saw the threat Hitler and his nationalist movement posed, but he also attempted to confront it in the marketplace of ideas.

It did little good. Hitler’s ascent was swift, aggressive, and assured. The Jewish people of Germany were acutely aware of what this meant. So was Leitz.

Ernst Leitz II

From its inception, the Leitz Camera Company had employed several Jewish laborers and technicians. Now, with Hitler as Chancellor, these workers, and their families, were panicked. Quietly and slowly, Leitz took the only action he could to protect them. One by one, bit by bit, he began arranging transfers for his Jewish employees to his offices abroad: France, Britain, Hong Kong, and America. The goal was simply to get them clear of Germany and the immediate, escalating threat. Leitz’s efforts extended beyond those who were already under his purview, going so far as to “hire” Jewish friends with the sole aim of getting them out of the country.

But just as surely as Leitz’s eye was on his new government, that government’s eye was on him, and on Leica. The reasons for the Nazi government’s obsession with Leica are as obvious as they are numerous. From a sheer nationalist branding perspective, an established German company of such high global repute, considered among the best in the world for its construction and skill, was a powerful marketing tool. That this impressive German company produced cameras that could be distributed and used in the furtherance of propaganda only made it more valuable. Finally, for a military keen on violent expansion of the homeland, securing production for the optical elements of powerful new rockets was a tactical necessity.

Nazi navel photographer with several Leicas

Shortly after Hitler took power, his Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, ordered Leica cameras be used by his Propaganda Troops to capture striking images of the glory of Aryan life. The advancement made by Leica’s 35mm camera -- the extreme portability and ability to capture both subjects and surrounding in a wide frame -- was now used to indoctrinate the populace to the Nazi vision for Germany. The clarity afforded by the lenses so painstakingly developed by Berek was now being used to give detail to a lie that sought to destroy his nation.

As the grip of the Reich tightened, so too did the demands placed upon Leitz and Leitz Camera. Like Leitz, Berek was a Reichsbanner -- a member of the alliance of those who sought to defend parliamentary democracy from the rise of fascism. While the Reichsbanners were formally disbanded upon Hitler’s ascent, the sentiment only hardened in Berek's heart. The idea of participating in the Nazi regime in any way, shape, or form was repugnant to him. He refused to be a part of any work that would benefit the government and resigned from his position with Leitz Camera. His honorary title of professor was stripped by the Nazi regime.

Max Berek at his desk

In the fall of 1938, Hitler's Storm Troopers and leaders from the Nazi party organized and carried out what was meant to appear as a spontaneous and sudden outburst of woeful street violence. Dubbed "Kristallnacht," or "the night of broken glass," Jewish communities were terrorized; their homes, synagogues, and businesses destroyed, their windows shattered. It was all pretext. As the pogrom spread, the Secret State Police and the Gestapo arrested tens of thousands of Jewish men and immediately transferred them to concentration camps. Immediately, the Nazi government blamed the Jews themselves for the pogroms and announced sweeping new sanctions on the Jewish community, stealing millions in their wealth. The sanctions were followed by dozens of laws and decrees designed to further strip the rights of Jews in Germany, barring them from most forms of employment, expelling them from schools, recalling their drivers’ licenses while restricting them from public transit, and banning them from most public entertainments.

Aftermath of Kristallnact

In the years before Kristallnacht, Leitz had put in transfers for dozens upon dozens of “workers”. No sooner than Hitler had taken power had Leitz been inundated with calls from friends requesting assistance. Now, after Kristallnacht, these were calls begging quite literally for salvation. In the face of this vile Nazi acceleration, Leitz had no choice but to hasten his humanitarian efforts. The Leica Freedom Train was now at full speed.

While the exact number of lives Ernst Leitz II saved will never be tabulated, there are estimates that place the figure in the range of at least a few hundred. But his goodwill extended far beyond acting as a simple ferryman. Many of those aboard the Leica Freedom Train were destitute and facing an uncertain new life, perhaps permanently, in a foreign land. They needed not only passage but safe landing.

In New York City, German “employees” would disembark from the ocean liner Bremen and immediately report to Leitz’s Manhattan office. There, each new arrival was provided a brand-new Leica camera and paid a small stipend, despite possessing no real skills or legitimate value to the company, until they were able to sustain themselves. The message was clear: You are not forgotten. You are cared for.

It would be a romantic notion to consider the gift of the Leica through some pleasing metaphor about the power of photography, seeing a new world through a new eye or something to this effect. The reality, however, is that for many of these refugees, the Leica was meant as an insurance policy -- an item to be bartered for enough scratch to get by a little while longer. There is very little romance about escaping your homeland due to a genocidal government bent on the destruction of your people.

Nowhere is the somber reality of Leitz’s efforts clearer than the life of 21-year-old photographer Kurt Rosenberg. Kurt had been a long-time Leica user as his father got him a four-year internship with the company when Kurt was just 16 years old. In 1938, he was brought to the United States as a Leitz employee. No one had to give Kurt a camera, he already had his own. He did, however, bring with him a typewriter. On it, he wrote numerous letters to the family left behind. He offered them hope, optimism, and detailed instructions on visa applications.

Jewish photographer Kurt Rosenberg

It little mattered. His mother perished in 1939. Later that year, his younger twin siblings managed to escape to the United States, only for one, Kurt’s brother Gert, to commit suicide months later. Kurt continued writing to his father, but it was no use. He died in the Lotz ghetto in 1942.

In 1943, Kurt joined the United States Army, no doubt compelled to do everything in his power to prevent the tragedy he and so many others had experienced from spreading. He was not even an American citizen at the time but was scheduled to receive his certificate of naturalization, a proud moment. He was killed in action before it arrived. Today, Kurt’s typewriter resides at the Holocaust Center for Humanity.

In 1939, Germany officially closed its borders, and the Leica Freedom Train was stopped. Still, Leitz and his camera company never stopped fighting from within. On multiple occasions, members of the company, or of Leitz’s family itself, were caught in the act of aiding Jews. Alfred Turk, sales manager for the company, was arrested for trying to help a Jew escape capture. Leitz paid a significant bribe to secure Turk’s release. It would not be the last time such arrangements would need to be made.

The Nazis were quite aware of Leitz’s activities, but the value of the company shielded Leitz from the worst of repercussions. In addition to its previously mentioned value to the Reich, Leitz Camera brought in massive amounts of foreign currency, which the Nazis could then use to fuel their war machine. By allowing Leitz to continue as a global company, even providing work for the opposing United States military, Germany surmised its own influx of capital exceeded the benefit gained from its adversaries. So Leitz, if he was discrete and made no real waves, faced no judgment. Leitz even went so far as to join the Nazi party in 1942 in order to maintain the tenuous arrangement.

Elsie Kühn-Leitz

This fragile, unspoken agreement was put to the test when Elsie Kühn-Leitz, Ernst’s own daughter, was captured by the Gestapo and imprisoned for attempting to help a Jewish woman flee into Switzerland. Elsie spent months locked away, suffering consistently harsh treatment as she was questioned and mistreated by the Nazis. Elsie was a mother, separated from her two young children, threatened by the most powerful evil in modern history, and refused to break. Finally, after considerable bribes and anguish, Ernst was able to have her freed.

Elsie refused to be cowed, and by 1943 found herself fighting the Gestapo once more. By this point, the war effort was underway. Slave labor was now the norm in many factories in Germany as a means of feeding the beast. Leitz Camera, once a bastion of progressive employment that would outstrip in virtue many American companies to this day, saw its floors filled with Ukrainian women held captive against their will, working for nothing more than the right to continue breathing. Elsie was disgusted. Without fear for her own safety, with full knowledge of the harsh consequences that could await her, she aggressively and vocally pressed for improved working conditions for the women. Her advocacy placed her once more under suspicion.

Finally, in 1945, the first American troops made their way into Wetzlar, Germany. The city had faced considerable bombing in the run-up to their arrival, but, thankfully, the majority of the Leitz Camera company was unharmed. Finally, Germany would be free of Hitler.

The story of the Leica Freedom Train has, by now, been told over a hundred times on a hundred different photography sites. We have even, to a lesser degree, covered it in the past here at PetaPixel. It may be told so frequently at this point that perhaps, for avid history or photography enthusiasts, it is considered old hat. But it is worth remembering that for decades upon decades after the Second World War, this story was entirely unknown. It is only relatively recently that the tale has received the attention it warrants mainly because the Leitz family saw no remarkable honor in their actions, and sought no gratitude or acclaim for what they had done.

Employees at Leitz

With the same lack of hesitation Ernst Leitz displayed in deciding to pay his workers a livable wage, to offer them healthcare and time off when they were ill, to guarantee their basic rights as people, Ernst II and his daughter Elsie had decided to save human beings from a racist, ethno-nationalist movement bent on blaming, isolating, and eventually murdering them. These were uncomplicated ethical questions for the Leitz family. People deserve a good paycheck, people deserve healthcare, people deserve the right to life, and the people positioned to provide these things should simply commit to providing them.

To this day, the Leitz Camera Company -- now called Leica Camera AG after its historic trade name -- continues to offer much higher wages and benefits to those in their employ than most others within the same market. For the founders of the company, doing right was simply doing right; no fuss about it. That doing right got more difficult or personally costly meant nothing. What a world it could be if more modern companies had the simple courage and unshowy conviction of Ernst Leitz and his family.

Image credits: Unless otherwise noted, all photos are sourced from the public domain.

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