Etcetera

Lengel: Henry Ford Deserves Exposure, Not a Pass, for Spreading Hatred

February 07, 2019, 3:00 PM by  Allan Lengel

Henry Ford was one of the world’s greatest industrialists and a philanthropist who founded Henry Ford Hospital. But he was also a world-class anti-Semite, who spread hatred of Jews through his Dearborn Independent newspaper and a four-volume book, "The International Jew."

Hitler called him an inspiration and mentioned him in the infamous book "Mein Kampf." His writings live on in infamy among hate groups, as Deadline Detroit co-founder Bill McGraw pointed out in an article he wrote for The Dearborn Historian, an issue the mayor recently killed before it could be mailed to subscribers. (See note at end of this column.) 

So with all we know about Henry Ford, why has he been given a pass? Why did the current mayor feel compelled to soften the harshness of history?

Is it money? Is it that it would be a nightmare to remove his name from Dearborn's museum, performing arts center, manhole covers and more? Does money trump all?


Graphic: WDIV

As the child of Holocaust survivors growing up in a predominantly Jewish community in Metro Detroit, I was aware of Henry Ford’s anti-Semitism. In fact, most Jews in my neighborhood didn’t drive a Ford. In 2015, I finally bought my first Ford – after the company had a Jewish CEO, Mark Fields. 

The Fords did quite a bit to correct the bigotry of the family patriarch. Henry Ford II was known for supporting Israel and the Fords have been upstanding community leaders.

Hate is hate, in any era

But Henry Ford is another story. His writings and those he commissioned helped spread hate about Jews. It shouldn’t matter that it was a different era, where political correctness was absent. Hate is hate. And his was no ordinary hate.

Moreover, it wasn’t as if he were an ordinary Joe who spewed anti-Semitic remarks while working the line and drinking a shot and beer after work.

He was a man of great prominence who used vast resources to spread the word that Jews were to be loathed.

In May 1920, Ford's Dearborn Independent wrote: "If fans wish to know the trouble with American baseball they have it in three words – too much Jew.":

It also wrote: "The Jew is a race that has no civilization to point to, no aspiring religion, no great achievement in any realm."

An infamous admirer in Munich

The hatred was so tantalizing to Adolph Hitler that, according to McGraw’s article, in 1931 -- two years before he became German chancellor -- Hiitler gave an interview to a Detroit News reporter in his Munich office, which had a large portrait of Ford over his desk.


U.S. Postal Service stamp from 1968 shows the Model T.

“I regard Henry Ford as my inspiration,” Hitler told the reporter.

And so later that decade, Hitler went on his world crusade to eliminate all Jews from the earth. He managed to knock off 6 million, some of whom were my mother’s and father’s family members. Ditto for relatives of other Holocaust survivors who grew up on Kenosha Street in Oak Park, as I did.

So it's fair to ask: Does Henry Ford deserve a share of blame for emboldening Hitler to carry out his evil crusade?

The answer is: We can’t say for sure. Then again, we can’t say for sure he did not.

Which is why it's so important that the whole history of the man be exposed -- not just the part of him we want to love.

Epilogue

Dearborn's mayor on Thursday reversed course, sort of. He decided to use his own resources to pay for the printing and mailing of the four articles related to Henry Ford and the Dearborn Independent so that the subscribers will receive the information from The Dearborn Historian’s current edition. It will be an eight-page booklet, which was in production at the print shop Thursday, the mayor's spokeswoman told the Dearborn Historical Commission in an email.

I'm waiting for a call back from city hall to explain why the magazine was not mailed out instead. A possible explanation is that the mayor didn't like the cover with a photo of Henry Ford with an anti-Semitic passage from his newspaper, the Dearborn Independent. 

Update: 11:40 a.m. Friday -- The mayor's office is sharing a letter that will accompany the booklet he'll send out to subscribers of the Dearborn HIstorian.

Dear friends:

This booklet contains the plain text of the article on Henry Ford and the Dearborn Independent, as well as the three related pieces, originally written for The Dearborn Historian. I am using my own resources, and not City money, to circulate information at the heart of public concern.

I want to explain to you why I made the decision to halt the mailing of The Dearborn Historian, which is usually focused on human interest stories. It is a City controlled and City-funded publication, As Mayor, I am ultimately responsible for all City communications, and have the duty to consider their effect on perceptions of our community.

In this case, I did not think the City's interests would be best served by presenting the illustrations and main article about Henry Ford and his newspaper in a City sponsored publication. In a world where negativity is so prevalent, I thought they could lead people to link the City of Dearborn of today with hateful messages repeated from 100 years ago.

I wanted to distance the City from possible criticism for being seen as a source of despicable viewpoints. I felt in a city publication, these viewpoints could interfere with people's understanding of our commitment to inclusion and respect. I felt they could potentially undermine our efforts, and those of our community and business partners, to promote Dearborn as a welcoming place.

As Mayor, I have a unique perspective on the lasting impact controversial historical figures have had on Dearborn. Paying for the distribution of this booklet is consistent with my practice of frequently sharing our history, including the more difficult parts. If there are criticisms generated by this printed distribution, I want them to be directed at me instead of the City.

I fully support the good that can come from exposing and talking about hateful rhetoric. We have worked hard in Dearborn over many years to confront forces that would divide us. I'm very proud to say that these efforts have led us to a much better place, a place that rejects discrimination and welcomes and supports people from all backgrounds. We have learned from our past. That's a reality I'm committed to protect.



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