Henry Ford had conquered the automobile marketplace in America, with the majority of all car sales split between the ‘Big Three’: Ford, GM and Chrysler by the late 1920s. The American marketplace was an important mountain to climb, but once that was dominated, it was time for the ‘big three’ to set their sights elsewhere in the world; one such place was Germany. Ford had begun to have a German presence in 1912, when they began manufacturing parts in Hamburg. Ford soon began manufacturing in Berlin and on 1 April 1926, the very first German built Model T was assembled. Ford moved its manufacturing facilities to Cologne in 1931, and built a facility right on the banks of the Rhine, providing waterway access between it and other Ford facilities such as Manchester and Dagenham in Britain.
Meanwhile, a young Adolf Hitler was spending hours in his rented room, reading book after book, developing his thoughts on the world and society. One of the things he read was the work of one of the most wealthy and recognisable celebrities in America – Henry Ford. Hitler had access to the four volumes of The International Jew and he held Ford’s work in high esteem.
Hitler published his own manifesto on 18 July 1925, the now notorious book Mein Kampf, which translates as My Struggle. The 720 page book was dictated by Hitler while he was behind bars, serving time for his treasonous but failed coup attempt called the Munich Putsch. Hitler and his Nazi Party tried to seize power in Germany by force, a goal that they would later achieve more through political manipulation. Hitler’s jail time wasn’t spent the way one might imagine; as leader of the National Socialist Party, he was already something of a people’s folk hero in Germany. He received excellent treatment, had comfortable accommodation and enjoyed many visitors during his time in prison.
Mein Kampf would include plans for Germany’s future, observations on culture and, most importantly, groundwork for an anti-Semitic platform that would define the rest of Hitler’s life. There are early suggestions of genocide as an option for dealing with the Jewish people, whom he felt to be inferior. Mein Kampf is an important time stamp in the life of Henry Ford, because he is the one and only American mentioned by name in the hate text. Hitler mentions The Dearborn Independent newspaper articles on the Jewish conspiracy by name and heralds Ford as: ‘one great man, Ford, to their exasperation still holds out independently there even now’, referring to Ford’s resistance of his perceived Jewish control over the American economy and manufacturing. This mention is a powerful insight not only into how vicious and dangerous the anti-Semitic rhetoric propagated by Henry Ford was, but also how far reaching it was. It cannot be underplayed that Henry Ford’s anti-Semitism inspired Adolf Hitler himself; what a powerful and destructive legacy to leave in one’s wake.
If the connection between Hitler and Ford ended with The Dearborn Independent and a mention in Mein Kampf it would be more than enough to tarnish a legacy, but alas the story is far from over. Henry Ford and his son Edsel played a role in the Second World War that is certainly questionable and is the source of fierce debate. Ostensibly, the control of the German Ford plants were placed under German control during the war, as they would be nearly impossible to run from America during that era, but whenever vital elements such as rubber were needed, they went through the American Ford division.
The German government didn’t regard Hitler and his Nazi party as an idle threat. In fact, over a decade before Hitler managed to seize complete power, the German government was already taking steps against him and his ‘beer hall’ political movement. There was also a feeling among some areas of the German population that something wasn’t right with the National Socialist Movement. An article in the New York Times, which ran in December of 1922, bore the title ‘Berlin Hears Ford Is Backing Hitler’. The article details the concern brought to the attention of the American Ambassador in Berlin by the renowned German newspaper, Berlin Tageblatt, that Ford was financing Hitler. The feeling was that Hitler’s lavish accommodation in Munich, highly paid lieutenants and the funds the Nazi party was enjoying were more far-reaching than could be provided solely by contributions from local German citizens. The article goes on to note that Hitler and his men were seen driving two brand new automobiles, that the wall next to Hitler’s desk in Munich had a large portrait of Henry Ford, and owned many translated copies of Ford’s books in his chambers.
A 1931 interview given by Hitler to Detroit News reporter Annetta Antona generated another infamous quote about Henry Ford. During the interview, Antona asked Hitler why he had a portrait of Henry Ford next to his desk, to which Hitler replied ‘I regard Henry Ford as my inspiration.’
Henry Ford would become the source of great controversy yet again in 1938 when he accepted the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, the highest honour that the Nazi party could bestow upon a foreigner. The flashy medal consisted of an iron cross, flanked by four Nazi swastikas. There was a backlash to this in the United States, as the event was well publicised by newspapers such as the New York Times. Protestors could be found outside of Ford plants carrying signs with statements like: ‘Why Did Ford Get A Nazi Medal?’ The event also served to cause a few diplomatic issues between the United States and Germany at the time. The events were temporary, but the impact was definitely felt.
The Ford manufacturing activities in Germany would soon fall under the name Ford-Werke in 1939. The French and German Ford manufacturing facilities would go on to produce not only vehicles and weaponry for the Nazi German military forces throughout the Second World War, but would use forced labour to do so. In fact, the forced labour aspect was in effect long before the start of the war and even before Ford-Werke was separated from the American Ford Motor Company. Forced labour was far from unique in Nazi-controlled Germany. There are reports that upwards of 7.5 million people were forced to relocate from their various conquered homelands to Germany and to work without compensation in order to keep the Nazi war machine running smoothly.
A lawsuit was brought to court in New Jersey in 1998 by Elsa Iwanowa, one of the survivors that was ripped from her home and forced to work at Ford-Werke. The Ford Motor Company went to court and acknowledged Iwanowa’s claims and validated the forced labour, but denied any responsibility for the American wing of the company. The word at the time was that, even after the Second World War began, the American wing of Ford Motor Company still owned a majority stock in Ford-Werke. The lawsuit never got a chance to be fully realised, since it was dismissed in 1999. The statue of limitations to raise a suit of that nature had unfortunately expired.
When Henry Ford died on 7 April 1947, over one hundred thousand citizens made their way to his funeral and waited for several hours in a queue for a chance to view the body of the legendary Henry Ford. Today, Henry Ford is remembered as an influential industrialist and an American icon that changed the course of history. The people have turned Henry Ford into a heroic and immortal figure in history, often choosing to forget the very human and flawed man behind the brand name.