| John H. W. Weitz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Hans Werner Weitz |
| Born | 25 May 1923 Berlin, Germany |
| Died | 3 October 2002 Bridgehampton, New York, U.S. |
| Nativity | Germany |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Known for | Menswear designer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 32795702 |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 13 (30 October – 23 December 1943) |
| Section | 5A (13); E (13) |
| Enlisted | New York City, New York |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
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Hans Werner "John" Weitz (May 25, 1923 – October 3, 2002) was an American menswear designer who initiated licensing products and selling affordable but stylish clothing that featured his image in the advertising. He had a second career as a writer and historian. Weitz was also well known for being the husband of actress Susan Kohner and father of directors Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz.
Biography
American menswear designer John Weitz was born Hans Werner Weitz on May 25, 1923 in Berlin, Germany. In 1947, with the help of his wife's parents, who owned Blauner's department stores, Weitz started the company John Weitz Juniors, Inc., in New York City, where he manufactured dresses and women's sportswear. Weitz was born in Berlin, Germany, to father, Robert Salomon "Bobby" Weitz, a successful textile manufacturer, and mother, Hedwig "Hedy" Weitz (née Jacob).
His parents were part of an active social scene during the Weimar Republic that was glamorous and filled with young artists, writers and actors such as Christopher Isherwood and Marlene Dietrich.
He attended The Hall School from 1933 to 1936 and St. Paul's School from 1936 to 1939. When he was 10 years old, Weitz was sent to boarding school in England.
After graduation, he was named vice-president of the Old Pauline Club of London.
In 1943, he enlisted in the US Army and was sent to Camp Ritchie for training in Military Intelligence.
His training at Camp Ritchie, Maryland classifies him as one of the Ritchie Boys.
Hans Werner "John" Weitz (May 25, 1923 – October 3, 2002) was an American menswear designer who initiated licensing products and selling affordable but stylish clothing that featured his image in the advertising. Paul's classmate John Cavanagh, in 1939, Weitz worked in Paris as an apprentice to fashion designer Edward Molyneux. Weitz became a naturalized American in 1943.
During World War II, from 1943 to 1946, Weitz became an Office of Strategic Services ("OSS") intelligence officer, where his language skills (German, French) were important assets. During this time he was part of a 1944 mission in support of the plan to assassinate Adolf Hitler formulated by German Wehrmacht officers, under the instigation of Claus von Stauffenberg. His first marriage, from 1944 to 1953, was to Sally Blauner Gould.
Ritchie Boy John Weitz was part of a mission in 1944 to support the plan to assassinate Adolf Hitler under the instigation of Claus von Stauffenberg. In 1945, after three years in the Army, Weitz went to work for his father at The Weitz Corporation. The company was in business until 1953.
In 1964, Weitz met actress Susan Kohner in Palm Beach, Florida. He had a second career as a writer and historian. Weitz was also well known for being the husband of actress Susan Kohner and father of directors Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz.
The household was Jewish in ancestry and culture, but not religious. With the recommendation of St. Weitz went to Shanghai, China, in order to wait for a visa to America; while there he played on the Shanghai Rugby Football Union team for a short time.
They were joining Hedy's brother-in-law, Hermann Gross, in New York City. A group of approximately 20,000 G-2 soldiers who used their linguistics to interrogate POW's in Europe. He worked in the women's lingerie department.
During this period Weitz found an early mentor in Dorothy Shaver of Lord & Taylor. As a popular menswear designer, Weitz was an early adopter in the late 1960s of licensing his name brand; he also used his own image in advertising his brand. His company was called John Weitz Designs, Inc.
Weitz was married three times. He had married Blauner when he was 20 years old. Blauner was from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and her family owned the Blauner's department store chain.
Kohner's father was a well known talent agent named Paul Kohner; her mother was actress Lupita Tovar. They had two sons, directors Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz. In addition to his race car driving hobby, Weitz enjoyed boating, and was a member of yacht clubs in Palm Beach, East Hampton, Sag Harbor, as well as part of the US Naval Academy Sailing Squadron.
He emigrated to the United States and worked briefly for the Voice of America. He later became an OSS Intelligence Officer. After returning from Europe, he went to work for his father's company, "The Weitz Corporation." He later started his own company that initiated licensing products and selling affordable but stylish clothing that featured his image in the advertising.
In Ritchie Boy Guy Stern's Memoirs, Invisible Ink, he described the time he met fellow Ritchie Boy John Weitz (see the previous post). Guy was a long-time board member of the Leo Baeck Institute in New York and John was a new board member. They spent an hour talking about their experiences.
RB Weitz told Guy, "I didn't stay long in military intelligence. OSS wanted me." "Oh so secret!" Guy punned.
Weitz raced at Sebring International Raceway from 1955 to 1957, While his early novels were semi-autobiographical, including focuses on style, the fashion business, and his experiences in Germany, his latter non-fiction books were serious biographies of Joachim von Ribbentrop, Foreign Minister of Third Reich, and Hjalmar Schacht, President of the Reichsbank and Minister of Economics. After the war, Weitz helped to liberate the Dachau concentration camp.
Research notes
- OSS; Fashion designer
Gallery
Technical record
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 79 |
| Nara ASN | 32795702 |
| Nara Name | WEITZ JOHN H W |
| Nara State | 23 |
| Nara County | 61 |
| Nara POE | 2364 |
| Nara DOE | 80243 |
| Nara Grade Alpha | PVT |
| Nara Grade Code | 8 |
| Nara Branch Alpha | BI |
| Nara Branch Code | 0 |
| Branch | Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA |
| Nara Term or Enlistment | 5 |
| Term of enlistment | Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law |
| Defer. Date | 0 |
| Nara Source | 0 |
| Nara Nativity | N1 |
| Nara Year of Birth | 23 |
| Nara Race | J |
| Nara Race Description | White not yet a citizen |
| Nara Education | 5 |
| Nara Civilian Occupation | 99 |
| Nara Marital Status | 6 |
| Nara Height (inches) | 72 |
| Nara Weight (lbs) | 187 |
| Class_ASN | 32795702 |
| Class_Name | WEITZ, John H.W.; Weitz, John H. |
| match_method | asn_exact_name_exact |
| row_source | both |
Sources
- Wikipedia: John Weitz
- Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
- NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
- 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
- Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2020-09-16 (2 posts)