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cali

(114,904 posts)
3. yeah, I have some thoughts. He was a horrible anti-semite
Sat May 26, 2012, 01:40 PM
May 2012

Ford had opposed America's entry into World War II [36][45] and continued to believe that international business could generate the prosperity that would head off wars. Ford "insisted that war was the product of greedy financiers who sought profit in human destruction"; in 1939 he went so far as to claim that the torpedoing of U.S. merchant ships by German submarines was the result of conspiratorial activities undertaken by financier war-makers.[46] The financiers to whom he was referring was Ford's code for Jews; he had also accused Jews of fomenting the First World War (see the section on his anti-Semitism below).[47][36] In the run-up to World War II and when the war erupted in 1939, he reported that he did not want to trade with belligerents. Like many other businessmen of the Great Depression era, he never liked or entirely trusted the Franklin Roosevelt Administration, and thought Roosevelt was inching the U.S. closer to war. However, Ford continued to do business with Nazi Germany, including the manufacture of war materiel.[36] Beginning in 1940, with the requisitioning of between 100 and 200 French POWs to work as slave laborers, Ford-Werke contravened Article 31 of the 1929 Geneva Convention.[36] At that time, which was before the U.S. entered the War and still had full diplomatic relations with Nazi Germany, Ford-Werke was under the control of the Ford Motor Company. The number of slave laborers grew as the war expanded although Wallace made it clear that companies in Germany were not required by the Nazi authorities to use slave laborers.

<snip>

In 1918, Ford's closest aide and private secretary, Ernest G. Liebold, purchased an obscure weekly newspaper for Ford, The Dearborn Independent. The Independent ran for eight years, from 1920 until 1927, during which Liebold was editor. Every Ford franchise nation-wide had to carry the paper and distribute it to its customers.

The newspaper published The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which was discredited by The Times of London as a forgery during the Independent's publishing run. The American Jewish Historical Society described the ideas presented in the magazine as "anti-immigrant, anti-labor, anti-liquor, and anti-Semitic." In February 1921, the New York World published an interview with Ford, in which he said: "The only statement I care to make about the Protocols is that they fit in with what is going on." During this period, Ford emerged as "a respected spokesman for right-wing extremism and religious prejudice," reaching around 700,000 readers through his newspaper.[55] The 2010 documentary film Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story (written by Pulitzer Prize winner Ira Berkow) noted that Ford wrote on May 22, 1920: “If fans wish to know the trouble with American baseball they have it in three words—too much Jew.”[56][57][58][59][60][61]

In Germany, Ford's anti-Semitic articles from The Dearborn Independent were issued in four volumes, cumulatively titled The International Jew, the World's Foremost Problem published by Theodor Fritsch, founder of several anti-Semitic parties and a member of the Reichstag. In a letter written in 1924, Heinrich Himmler described Ford as "one of our most valuable, important, and witty fighters."[62] Ford is the only American mentioned in Mein Kampf.[63][64] Adolf Hitler wrote, "only a single great man, Ford, [who], to [the Jews'] fury, still maintains full independence...[from] the controlling masters of the producers in a nation of one hundred and twenty millions." Speaking in 1931 to a Detroit News reporter, Hitler said he regarded Ford as his "inspiration," explaining his reason for keeping Ford's life-size portrait next to his desk.[65] Steven Watts wrote that Hitler "revered" Ford, proclaiming that "I shall do my best to put his theories into practice in Germany," and modeling the Volkswagen, the people's car, on the Model T.[66]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford#The_coming_of_World_War_II_and_Ford.27s_mental_collapse

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Thought it would be about the Jews Confusious May 2012 #1
oh please. he was a despicable bigot who used slave labor. cali May 2012 #4
Yea, he wa a bigot Confusious May 2012 #6
What are you trying to say about "the Jews" ??? ellisonz May 2012 #8
Ford wrote a book called "The International Jew, The World's Foremost Problem" n/t arcane1 May 2012 #9
Never knew that... ellisonz May 2012 #10
How about a Mercedes? sulphurdunn May 2012 #12
Pretty much every company Confusious May 2012 #16
The US used POW labor, they did not use slave labor obamanut2012 May 2012 #28
I wasn't refering to that Confusious May 2012 #31
I actually doubt he wrote it himself, having looked into the issue. AverageJoe90 May 2012 #20
Lol. DUzy. Union Scribe May 2012 #25
He didn't just write the book, he was liberalhistorian May 2012 #13
The world's biggest useful idiot for the Establishment, he certainly was. AverageJoe90 May 2012 #23
The "Evil Banking Jews" were the opposite of Communists obamanut2012 May 2012 #29
In a way, that is very true. nt AverageJoe90 May 2012 #32
Henry Ford was a big propagandist for antisemitism LeftishBrit May 2012 #14
Henry ford was delusional by that time Confusious May 2012 #18
Henry Ford said some wise things. MineralMan May 2012 #2
and he did worse things. cali May 2012 #5
Yup. He's not someone MineralMan May 2012 #7
So the above quotes are wrong? The Doctor. May 2012 #24
No they're not wrong. It's just that MineralMan May 2012 #26
That's true, people often consider the messenger. The Doctor. May 2012 #34
I can find good quotes from Hitler, Mussolini, Pol Pot, Stalin obamanut2012 May 2012 #30
Okay, go find those good quotes. The Doctor. May 2012 #33
lol. bullshite, dear. cali May 2012 #35
So if Hitler said it was a good idea to brush your teeth, The Doctor. May 2012 #36
yeah, I have some thoughts. He was a horrible anti-semite cali May 2012 #3
A horrendous human being and today PCIntern May 2012 #11
Wow. Thanks for posting that. Gregorian May 2012 #15
I suspect Liebold may have been the one who wrote the International Jew as well. AverageJoe90 May 2012 #21
an anti union scab who received the Grand Cross of the German Eagle datasuspect May 2012 #17
After reading all this, my opinion has changed Risen Demon May 2012 #19
Throughout history - many influential people couldn't think beyond their prejudices RainDog May 2012 #22
A violent union buster and anti semitic is not someone I listen to obamanut2012 May 2012 #27
Post removed Post removed Mar 2013 #37
We Do Not Get Too Many Of Your Type Here, Fella.... The Magistrate Mar 2013 #38
And not for long either. uppityperson Mar 2013 #39
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