Mentor

In 1898 Hugo Breutmann founded a company for camera production in Berlin. In 1899 the salesman Frantz Goltz joined as co-owner. Goltz & Breutmann OHG Fabrik für photographische Apparate. Its camera brand was Mentor and its specialty were cameras with focal plane shutters. Later, Gustav Adolf Heinrich replaced Franz Goltz. Heinrich forced a further development of the company and its move to Dresden. During WWI the company made aerial cameras. Heinrich revived the European civilian photography business after the war. In 1921 the company was renamed to Mentor Kamerafabrik Goltz & Breutmann, and in 1929 it had 180 employees. Mostly successful with SLR cameras and avant garde with its Mentorett, a TLR with focal plane shutter. In 1898 Hugo Breutmann founded a camera production company in Berlin. In 1899 the seller Frantz Goltz joined as co-owner. The company was named Goltz & Breutmann OHG Fabrik für photographische Apparate. His camera brand was Mentor, and his specialty was shutter-mounted cameras on a focal plane. A further change of ownership did not change the company name. The businessman Gustav Adolf Heinrich replaced Franz Goltz. Heinrich led the further development of the company and its transfer to Dresden. During the First World War, the company made aerial cameras. Heinrich played an extremely important role in reviving the civilian film industry after the war. In 1921 the company was renamed Mentor Kamerafabrik Goltz & Breutmann and in 1929 had 180 employees. He had success with his SLR cameras and stood out in innovation with his Mentorett, a TLR with focal plane shutter. The economic crisis after 1929 and Heinrich's death in 1935 led to the company's decline. In 1944 the master craftsman Rudolf Großer of the company of A. Noble bought the company and restarted the business with 15 employees, but the factory was completely destroyed when Dresden was bombed in February 1945. Mentor still survived the war and continued to produce large format cameras. The company was then nationalized as VEB Mentor Großformatkameras Dresden in April 1972, at the time with 21 employees, and in 1980 it was incorporated into VEB Pentacon.