Whoever Saves One Life, Saves the Entire World: A Secret History of Leica

Guests: Frank Dabba Smith and Jill Enfield The oft-quoted line paraphrased for our headline and notably used in reference to Oskar Schindler and Chiune Sugihara can also be applied to industrialist and Leica camera manufacturer Ernst Leitz II, who used his influence to help many Jews and other subjugated people avoid persecution, maintain their jobs, or even escape Germany during the 1930s and 1940s. Like any story drawn from a terrible era of oppression, heroes are painted with shades of gray, and humanitarianism can be found in small gestures, but historian Frank Dabba Smith creates a narrative derived from primary source research. Our other guest, photographer Jill Enfield, recounts her family's direct relationship with this chapter of Jewish, German, American, and photographic history. Join us for this engaging conversation.