[Leica] Why Leicas with Nazi symbols should be trashed, not collected

[grdalton at hotmail.com (Gary Dalton)]

Hi, Nathan...
I recognize and respect your sentiments about destroying all Leicas with 
engraved swastikas. The image you posted is a compelling basis from which to 
make that case. Because I believe in turning things over in my mind to 
challenge my existing belief systems, I discovered many strands within the 
thread you have presented. In 10 minutes of admittedly shallow thinking, I 
reaffirmed some of my earlier thinking on such issues and found a few more 
to wonder about.

After being in total agreement, I slipped into that dark place within me 
that could subscribe to the notion of melting all of those cameras down for 
weaponry to use against halocaust deniers -- only if the need should arise.

I thought about taking one of those cameras and rehabilitating it by 
grinding off the engraving and taking photos of everything beautiful the 
Nazis tried to destroy... but never to shoot any of their misdeeds, e.g. 
camps, ovens, etc. As strange as this sounds, I could only photograph those 
sites with a "clean" camera to never let people forget what happened.

I drifted from there to whether I would want to own one of those cameras. 
It's easy for me to say no. I am not a collector. Having said that, I 
wouldn't want it in my house even if I needed a camera to use, period.

I wondered about collectors who had a gap in their Leica collections for 
that time period. I am still thinking about that one, but I seem to be 
leaning toward the notion of perpetuating the gap in the collection. A part 
of me does understand how of a serious collector might coldly view one of 
these engraved cameras as simply an object to complete a collection.

Finally, for avid collectors of Nazi memorabilia, I do have to wonder about 
their intentions and motivations. And, knowing intentions and motivations is 
key to any personal judgment calls I might make about them and what they do.

Thanks for the opportunity to think, Nathan. We need such reminders today 
for very obvious reason...And, we should always be interested in turning 
over those compost piles we call minds that lie between our ears to let some 
fresh air in.

Regards,
Gary




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