While spending time on Long Island, Weitz was encouraged by the writer John Steinbeck to write. Weitz raced at Sebring International Raceway from 1955 to 1957, as well as the Bahamas Grand Prix Circuit. He also wrote frequent magazine articles on a variety of subjects, including his hobby as a race car driver. Writer įrom 1970 to the 1990s, Weitz wrote both fiction and historical non-fiction, much centered on Nazi-era Germany. John Fairchild, editor of Women's Wear Daily, said that Weitz became a household name by successfully licensing and advertising his name on products. One of Weitz' successful and well-known menswear items that were popular was socks. He carried a wide, diverse line of goods and was often featured in advertising that portrayed a glamorous lifestyle. His company was called John Weitz Designs, Inc. Īs 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. In 1964, Weitz shifted from womenswear to menswear, where he focused on classic styles and the practical use and durability of clothing. During this period Weitz found an early mentor in Dorothy Shaver of Lord & Taylor.
In 1954, Weitz founded John Weitz Designs Inc. 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. He worked in the women's lingerie department. In 1945, after three years in the Army, Weitz went to work for his father at The Weitz Corporation. After the war, Weitz helped to liberate the Dachau concentration camp. 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. A group of approximately 20,000 G-2 soldiers who used their linguistics to interrogate POW's in Europe. His training at Camp Ritchie, Maryland classifies him as one of the Ritchie Boys. 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. In the United States, Weitz worked for a short time at Voice of America before enlisting in the US Army in 1943. Weitz became a naturalized American in 1943. They were joining Hedy's brother-in-law, Hermann Gross, in New York City. They arrived in Seattle, Washington, in April 1941. The Weitz family immigrated to the United States via Yokohama, Japan, and Shanghai, China, where many refugee Jews stayed while trying to get to the United States, from their last permanent residence in London. In 1938, Weitz' parents left Nazi Germany to live in Paris, then London, eventually relocating to New York City. 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. Paul's classmate John Cavanagh, in 1939, Weitz worked in Paris as an apprentice to fashion designer Edward Molyneux. Weitz eventually attended Oxford University for one year. After graduation, he was named Vice-President of the Old Pauline Club of London. He attended The Hall School from 1933 to 1936 and St. When he was 10 years old, Weitz was sent to boarding school in England. The household was Jewish in ancestry and culture, but not religious. 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.
Weitz was born in Berlin, Germany, to father, Robert Salomon "Bobby" Weitz, a successful textile manufacturer, and mother, Hedwig "Hedy" Weitz (née Jacob).
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