Nazi Leica 1936

I have no personal interest in classic cameras or Leica. Purely by coincidence I met someone today who does. I took some photos and publish them here with his permission. I thought they might be interesting to 'Leica Fans'. The photos are of a camera that Hitler (or his subordinates) issued to foreign journalists at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. The person I met bought the camera 20 years ago at a street market in Prague. He also has other ''collectible cameras'.

The ex-soviet workmen did LOTS of conversions/transmogrifications of old Zorkis, FEDs and the like.

They had a sense of humor too

Link:

Russian Fake Leicas

FED 2b.

Shame about the engraving, was a nice camera.

Ayep, I see so many of these FEDs (And Zorkis) pop up as 'Leicas' in museums and militaria collectors hands.

Pretty sure Leica never issued a 1936 Olympics commemorative camera either that was 'given' away by Hitler.

Maybe one day, an original, unmolested early FED or Zorki will be worth as much as a Leica II, as too many of them will have fallen into the hands of the forgers...

(I know, the really early/rare ones already are, but I'm thinking of the standard models)

It seems odd that they used the Fed 2 as a basis for a fake, when Leica never made a camera remotely like it. There must have been plenty of the close earlier Leica copies available.

I guess they figured out that the paying tourists didn't look beyond the "Leica" brand name.

I guess they figured out that the paying tourists didn't look beyond the "Leica" brand name.

Apparently, they never even looked beyond the lens cap, which is the only indication that this oddity was trying to pass itself off as a Leica. The body style doesn't remotely resemble any Leica ever made, and they didn't bother to engrave the Leica brand name anywhere on the camera body. Was the pigeon supposed to just tumble for the lens cap, or perhaps "Elmar" scrawled somewhere on the lens it conceals?

Apparently, they never even looked beyond the lens cap, which is the only indication that this oddity was trying to pass itself off as a Leica. The body style doesn't remotely resemble any Leica ever made, and they didn't bother to engrave the Leica brand name anywhere on the camera body. Was the pigeon supposed to just tumble for the lens cap, or perhaps "Elmar" scrawled somewhere on the lens it conceals?

This, on top of what everyone else has pointed out, AFAIK Leica never produced a camera engraved with a swastika! So any time you see such engraving on a "Leica" you should be suspicious.

Maybe one day, an original, unmolested early FED or Zorki will be worth as much as a Leica II, as too many of them will have fallen into the hands of the forgers...

I have a suspicion that we may already be past that point ;)

The FED 2, especially, is a nice shooter. If you're lucky, the forgery has not ruined it

Haha, and I thought I had something exciting to share! Thanks for all responses. In a way, I'm sorry to hear that it's a fake - it would have been such a nice story if true!

Google turned up lots of stories about Russian "Leica" fakes. With examples. I saw that the topic's been discussed previously on PN too. Ah well, at least I'm a bit wiser now.

Mike

It seems strange that he hadn't bothered to check the background of the camera after he'd bought it. I don't think he paid much for it and it's just on display in his living room with a few other cameras. I noticed the word 'Leica' and said 'Wow, a Leica'. Then he told me the Berlin Games story.

Mike

Hard to know what’s more funny. The fake, or that someone actually would believe it.

Haha, and I thought I had something exciting to share!

But you did share something exciting! I've seen some fakes in my day, but this was a new one (to me anyway). Thanks for posting: the pics you took of this curio are excellent (I can almost feel the worn metal), and the comments have been fun to read. While these fakes are common, they aren't that common, so chances of running into another photographer who owns one are fairly small. And I'd previously been unaware that so many of these fakes employed meticulous Nazi insignia with the assumption it would add more catnip value: ick. If the forged 1936 Olympics graphic is based on anything real, I wonder how much Leni Reifenstahl's actual Zeiss Olympia Sonnar is worth?

It's a rather unusual fake as these FSU Leica II copies are generally based on the Zorki I or FED I, both of which look similar to a Leica II.

This one, from 1956- has no such resemblance.

Soviet and Russian Cameras - Fed-2

It seems odd that they used the Fed 2 as a basis for a fake, when Leica never made a camera remotely like it. There must have been plenty of the close earlier Leica copies available.

The Leica IV was remotely like a Fed 2, had a combined VF/RF with a long-base. The Leica IV never went into production - I believe Zeiss held patents on the VF/RF.

LEICA Barnack Berek Blog: LEICAS THAT NEVER REACHED THE MARKET

This may be an authentic Nazi camera, in the hands of the creator of two wonderful, horrible films, Olympia and Triumph of the Will. Anyone know what it is?

LENI RIEFENSTAHL WITH CAMERA

Hard to tell if a IIIc or earlier IIIa/IIIb/III camera- canot make out if a flat head screw is on the slow-speed dial or not.

The wind knob looks modified- looks larger diameter than my cameras. This was not uncommon: I have a Nikon M with a custom made wind knob, larger and taller than the original.