RE: [Leica] Military Contaces

["B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>]

Gee, Marc, I wasn't responding to you to begin with - nor do I have the
vaguest idea what you own.

I happen to own and drive a V.W. Beetle. I own and use Leicas. My son even
has a dachshund! Oh, yes, and one of my clients is Bayer A.G. The war was
over along time ago and all those associated with it are long dead, or soon
will be.

But I still think collecting paraphernalia of the Third Reich - whether it
be Leicas, Zeiss cameras, SS daggers or lampshades - is morally repugnant.
Call that what you will.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of
> Marc James
> Small
> Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 1999 11:56 PM
> To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us;
> leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Subject: RE: [Leica] Military Contaces
>
>
> At 11:35 AM 11/23/1999 -0000, B. D. Colen wrote:
> >
> >WHY? WHY? Would anyone WANT to own a Leica or Contax used by
> the armed
> >forces or government of the Third Reich? And spare me the
> "study of history"
> >crap. One doesn't need to collect them to know that they
> were made and what
> >features they had.
>
>
> Who said the first thing about collecting these puppies?  I was asked
> specific questions on the history of German military procurement of
> cameras, and answered the question to the limit of my knowledge.
>
> I also discussed US Navy periscope cameras.  I suppose you
> object to this
> element of the discussion because the US mis-treated ethnic
> and religious
> minorities?  May I safely presume that you found William
> Shirer and Louis P
> Lochner objectionable because they wrote about Nazi Germany both from
> Berlin and the US and knew most of the Nazi Bonzen?  Are we safe in
> figuring that you detest NASA because Werner von Braun met
> Hitler a number
> of times and had his first real break from him (and, of
> course, despite the
> fact that rocketry and space travel is only 10% or so of
> NASA's activities)?
>
> For that matter, didn't you once mention that one of your
> customers was one
> of the major German firms?  Wasn't it IG Farbenindustrie?
> We're merely
> talking and you're doing?
>
> Give it a rest, BD.  It gets really old to be PC'd to death,
> especially on
> the LUG.
>
> Marc
>
> msmall@roanoke.infi.net  FAX:  +540/343-7315
> Cha robh bas fir gun ghras fir!
>
>