John Weitz

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.

Early life 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. The household was Jewish in ancestry and culture, but not religious.

When he was 10 years old, Weitz was sent to boarding school in England. He attended The Hall School from 1933 to 1936 and St. Paul's School from 1936 to 1939. After graduation, he was named vice-president of the Old Pauline Club of London. With the recommendation of St. Paul's classmate John Cavanagh, in 1939, Weitz worked in Paris as an apprentice to fashion designer Edward Molyneux. 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. 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. His training at Camp Ritchie, Maryland classifies him as one of the Ritchie Boys. A group of approximately 20,000 G-2 soldiers who used their linguistics to interrogate POW's in Europe. 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. After the war, Weitz helped to liberate the Dachau concentration camp.

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. The company was in business until 1953. 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 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. 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.

In 1964, Weitz met actress Susan Kohner in Palm Beach, Florida. 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. 1960: NBC Today Show award 1964-1967: Caswell-Massey Awards 1966: Harper's Bazaar Medallion 1967: Moscow Diploma 1974: Coty American Fashion Critics' Award 1975: Brilliant Pen Award (MFI) 1981: Cartier Award for Design Excellence 1986: Cutty Sark Menswear Award 1986: Mayor's Liberty Award 1988: Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1990: Ellis Island Medal of Honor 1990: Dallas Menswear Mart award 1990: Fashion Institute of Technology President's award 1992: Ellis Island Medal of Honor

Works and publications Weitz, John. Sports Clothes for Your Sports Car. New York: Sports Car Press; distributed by Crown Publishers, 1958. Weitz, John. The Value of Nothing: A Novel. New York: Stein and Day, 1970. Weitz, John. Man in Charge; The Executive's Guide to Grooming, Manners, and Travel. New York: Macmillan, 1974. Weitz, John. Friends in High Places. New York: Macmillan, 1982. Weitz, John. "Auto Motives." The New York Times. March 27, 1988. Weitz, John. Hitler's Diplomat The Life and Times of Joachim Von Ribbentrop. New York: Ticknor & Fields, 1992. Weitz, John. "Nazis Still Lead Reichstag Fire Suspects." The New York Times, Opinion. February 1, 1994. Weitz, John. Hitler's Banker: Hjalmar Horace Greeley Schacht. London: Warner, 1999.