Made in Germany

[chris_chen]

Calling All Experts:

 

<p>

 

I now own two first version 35, 1:2.0 Summicrons; my question:

 

<p>

 

One (1968) is engraved "Made in Germany" and the other (1961) is engraved "Germany". I thought products from that era were usually marked "Made in West Germany" or "West Germany". After unification, of course, the "West" part was deleted.

[ralph_barker]

Some older manufacturers never adopted the "West Germany" style, as

was apparently the case here.

 

<p>

 

Of course, working on Leica time, it might have taken them ultil the

'80s to realize the war took place. ;-)

[vic_.]

Most products I saw during the Iron Curtain period had the "Made in

Germany" label, and not the "Made in West Germany" tag.

 

<p>

 

It was rare to see anything made in East Germany outside the Soviet

Bloc. And anything of quality was of course made in West Germany.

 

<p>

 

"Made in Germany" implied top quality, a brand identity that is

extremely valuable to attain.

 

<p>

 

"Made in Japan" went from shoddy to extremely reliable and precise.

[eliot]

The country title (Germany vs West Germany) was a matter of

individual choice. To my knowledge, Leica NEVER (correct me if I am

wrong) engraved West Germany on products made while Germany was

divided. This was their policy. On the other hand, I have a Gossen

Luna pro light meter (an old analog version) that says "Made in West

Germany". I guess for some people, Germany was germany, divided or

not.

[brooke_anderson]

The older Contax SLR lenses were also marked "Made in West Germany"

I used to own one: T* Distagon 35mm 1.4, beautiful lens, never took

a liking to the bodies....

[jay_.]

One or two of my Hasselblad CF (1982-late 90's) lenses are

marked "West Germany". I theorize that unlike Leica, Zeiss may have

had a unique situation that prompted this: the existence of Carl

Zeiss Jena in East Germany, from whose products the W. German Zeiss

company may have wanted to clearly differentiate.

[art_karr]

One thing that I have always wondered about. I have, mostly

non-camera things, from my parents. Some were from Germany

and some were from Japan. The ones from Germany are

marked made in Germany or West Germany. The ones from

Japan are marked made in occupied Japan. Both countries were

occupied. There must be an important lesson here. Must tell us

something about the cultures.

 

<p>

 

Art

[msitaraman]

My Dad's 1950s Contax and Zeiss Ikon lenses were marked 'Made in West

Germany'. Zeiss Ikon in Oberkochen did have an identity issue,

wishing to differentiate its products from Carl Zeiss Jena in East

Germany. The Carl Zeiss works there were the (as I recall) the

principal part of the pre-iron curtain operation.

[david_killick]

Dad's old Agfa Isolette folder from the 50s says "Made in Germany", a

friend's old Voigtlaender Vito C says "West Germany". So either or.

What did Praktika say, I wonder? Jena was in the East - the "German

Democratic Republic", which of course was the non-democratic part.

[stefan www.randlkofer.co]

probably leica knew that their stuff will be around for a few

decades, and it was deep within the german soul to hope for a

reunification. thankfully they were right!!

[chris_chen]

Following-Up:

 

<p>

 

Why would Leica use two different styles of engraving: "Made in

Germany" and "Germany"?

 

<p>

 

You all must know that most of the 1st version 'crons were made in

Canada; an e-mail from Lager confirmed this.

[david_haardt1]

@David Killick:

 

Praktica bodies were labelled "Made in German Democratic Republic". In 1990, there was a batch of Praktica BX20 (last GDR-designed body) labelled "Made in Germany". At Photokina 1990, the BX20s was presented (first post-GDR model), essentially a BX20 with DX support.

 

I can remember that after the reunification, a "Western" magazine published a quite unfavourable (and superficial, as the reviewer missed some features which were actually there) review of the BX20s, which resulted in several enraged letters to the editor from the "East".

 

Today, Prakticas are quite sought after in the Eastern Laender of Germany, but not in the Western ones. This is comparable to model railroading, where the scale TT (1:120) is still very popular in the East, but not in the West.

 

More information on the Praktica B system can be found on Tiago Franco's excellent "Praktica B page": http://www.geocities.com/RodeoDrive/Mall/2536/

 

By the way, the Zeiss factory in Jena had problems due to trademark issues with Zeiss Oberkochen (West Germany). As a consequence, Carl Zeiss Jena products for the Western market were engraved "aus Jena" ("from Jena") rather than "Carl Zeiss Jena". Interestingly enough, this also holds true for the Western Zeiss products, which were engraved "Oberkochen Opton" rather than "Carl Zeiss Planar/etc." when produced for the Eastern market.

 

Best,