Behind its worldwide acceptance as a creative tool was a family-owned, socially oriented firm that, during the Nazi era, acted with uncommon grace, generosity and modesty. E. Leitz Inc., designer and manufacturer of Germany ‘s most famous photographic product, saved its Jews.

And Ernst Leitz II, the steely-eyed Protestant patriarch who headed the closely held firm as the Holocaust loomed across Europe , acted in such a way as to earn the title, “the photography industry’s Schindler.”

As soon as Adolf Hitler was named chancellor of Germany in 1933, Ernst Leitz II began receiving frantic calls from Jewish associates, asking for his help in getting them and their families out of the country. As Christians, Leitz and his family were immune to Nazi Germany’s Nuremberg laws, which restricted the movement of Jews and limited their professional activities.

To help his Jewish workers and colleagues, Leitz quietly established what has become known among historians of the Holocaust as “the Leica Freedom Train,” a covert means of allowing Jews to leave Germany in the guise of Leitz employees being assigned overseas.

Employees, retailers, family members, even friends of family members were “assigned” to Leitz sales offices in France, Britain, Hong Kong and the United States, Leitz’s activities intensified after the Kristallnacht of November 1938, during which synagogues and Jewish shops were burned across Germany.

Before long, German “employees” were disembarking from the ocean liner Bremen at a New York pier and making their way to the Manhattan office of Leitz Inc., where executives quickly found them jobs in the photographic industry. Each new arrival had around his or her neck the symbol of freedom – a new Leica camera.

The refugees were paid a stipend until they could find work. Out of this migration came designers, repair technicians, salespeople, marketers and writers for the photographic press.

Keeping the story quiet the Leica Freedom Train, was at its height in 1938 and early 1939, delivering groups of refugees to New York every few weeks. Then, with the invasion of Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, Germany closed its borders.

By that time, hundreds of endangered Jews had escaped to America, thanks to the Leitzes’ efforts. How did Ernst Leitz II and his staff get away with it?

Leitz, Inc. was an internationally recognized brand that reflected credit on the newly resurgent Reich. The company produced cameras, range-finders and other optical systems for the German military. Also, the Nazi government desperately needed hard currency from abroad, and Leitz’s single biggest market for optical goods was the United States.

Even so, members of the Leitz family and firm suffered for their good works. A top executive, Alfred Turk, was jailed for working to help Jews and freed only after the payment of a large bribe.

Leitz’s daughter, Elsie Kuhn-Leitz, was imprisoned by the Gestapo after she was caught at the border, helping Jewish women cross into Switzerland. She eventually was freed but endured rough treatment in the course of questioning. She also fell under suspicion when she attempted to improve the living conditions of 700 to 800 Ukrainian slave laborers, all of them women, who had been assigned to work in the plant during the 1940s.

(After the war, Kuhn-Leitz received numerous honors for her humanitarian efforts, among them the Officier d’honneur des Palms Academic from France in 1965 and the Aristide Briand Medal from the European Academy in the 1970s.)

Why has no one told this story until now? According to the late Norman Lipton, a freelance writer and editor, the Leitz family wanted no publicity for its heroic efforts. Only after the last member of the Leitz family was dead did the “Leica Freedom Train” finally come to light.

It is now the subject of a book, “The Greatest Invention of the Leitz Family: The Leica Freedom Train,” by Frank Dabba Smith, a California-born Rabbi currently living in England .

Thank you for reading the above, and if you feel inclined as I did to pass it along to others, please do so. It only takes a few seconds to share this.

Memories of the righteous should live on.

The exclusive month-long exhibit, Andy Warhol – “The Model Boy” by photographer David Siqueiros, begins on the eve of Art Basel Miami Beach and debuts The InterContinental Miami Arts Program

MIAMI, FL – NOVEMBER, 17 2011 – The InterContinental Miami is proud to host photographer David Siqueiros as he presents a never before seen collection of images of Andy Warhol titled Andy Warhol – “The Model Boy.”  Warhol posed for Siqueiros during a photography session in October 1985.  The collection of black and white images show Warhol cavorting with two top models from the Ford Modeling Agency, Patricia Van Ryckeghem, the face of Chanel, and Clotilde, the face of Ralph Lauren.  The InterContinental Miami Hotel is transforming its Grand Lobby into a gallery to debut the collection with a VIP reception on the eve of Art Basel Miami Beach on November 30, 2011.  The installation will be on exhibit from December 1, 2011 through January 1, 2012.

Photographed by Siqueiros at the Codalight Studio in New York City, this is believed to be one of Andy Warhol’s last photo shoots before his passing in February 1987.  Days after the shoot, Siqueiros and Warhol randomly ran into each other in a grocery store and a selection of photographs was chosen for a pop art style project.  The collaboration never occurred and the photos were placed in archive.  Warhol’s hand-picked selection is the collection Siqueiros now presents.  The full backgrounder on the 1985 Warhol photo shoot can be found here or by visiting www.Siqueiros.com/Warhol.

In addition, Siqueiros will present a short collection of art pieces with a pop art treatments that remain to be selected, featuring his photography of celebrities such as Donald and Lisa Pliner, Pitbull, Thomas Kramer, Sean Combs, Miami Housewife Cristy Rice, and pop artist Romero Britto in a separate exhibit space at the hotel. The presenting sponsor of the installation is Pat Armstrong & Associates, Inc. and support from InterContinental Miami partners Deco Productions and PSAV.

The Andy Warhol – “The Model Boy” installation is the inaugural arts installation of the InterContinental Miami Arts Program, a new initiative of the hotel to support and create awareness for the burgeoning Visual and Performing Arts Community in Downtown Miami and the Greater Miami area.

For more information on the Andy Warhol – “The Model Boy” Installation at the InterContinental Miami contact the Holiday Concierge at 305-372-4787 or visit www.ICmiamihotel.com/Warhol for more information.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/09/world/europe/09duley.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

This version of my site launched today Friday June 22, 2011. Here I will post whatever I think about when it comes to photography and I plan on inviting all my friends to post their photographs and various topics of interest. I hope I can make new friends and see some new work here as well.

David