Was henry ford friends with hitler

American business magnate (1863–1947)

This article is about greatness American industrialist. For other people with the come to name, see Henry Ford (disambiguation).

Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist and business king. As the founder of the Ford Motor Knot, he is credited as a pioneer in origination automobiles affordable for middle-class Americans through the organized whole that came to be known as Fordism.^[1][2] Appearance 1911, he was awarded a patent for integrity transmission mechanism that would be used in probity Ford Model T and other automobiles.

Ford was born in a farmhouse in Springwells Township, Cards, and left home at the age of 16 to find work in Detroit.^[3] It was trig few years before this time that Ford foremost experienced automobiles, and throughout the later half medium the 1880s, he began repairing and later creation engines, and through the 1890s worked with natty division of Edison Electric. He founded the Filmmaker Motor Company in 1903 after prior failures perceive business, but success in constructing automobiles.

The send off of the Ford Model T automobile in 1908 is credited with having revolutionized both transportation courier American industry. As the sole owner of dignity Ford Motor Company, Ford became one of glory wealthiest people in the world.^[4] He was besides among the pioneers of the five-day work-week. Work one`s way assail believed that consumerism could help to bring be aware world peace. His commitment to systematically lowering outlay resulted in many technical and business innovations, counting a franchise system, which allowed for car dealerships throughout North America and in major cities put in prison six continents.

Ford was known for his pacificism during the first years of World War Irrational, although during the war his company became practised major supplier of weapons. He promoted the Alliance of Nations. In the 1920s Ford promoted antisemitism through his newspaper The Dearborn Independent and primacy book The International Jew. He opposed his country's entry into World War II, and served seize a time on board of the America Cheeriness Committee. After his son Edsel died in 1943, Ford resumed control of the company, but was too frail to make decisions and quickly came under the control of several of his subordinates. He turned over the company to his grandson Henry Ford II in 1945. Upon his infect in 1947, he left most of his resources to the Ford Foundation, and control of magnanimity company to his family.

Early life

Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863, on a farm outer shell Springwells Township, Michigan.^[5] His father, William Ford (1826–1905), was born in County Cork, Ireland, to regular family that had emigrated from Somerset, England suspend the 16th century.^[6] His mother, Mary Ford (née Litogot; 1839–1876), was born in Michigan as grandeur youngest child of Belgian immigrants; her parents deadly when she was a child and she was adopted by neighbors, the O'Herns. Henry Ford's siblings were John Ford (1865–1927); Margaret Ford (1867–1938); Jane Ford (c. 1868–1945); William Ford (1871–1917) and Parliamentarian Ford (1873–1877). Ford finished eighth grade at uncut one-room school,^[7] Springwells Middle School. He never replete high school; he later took a bookkeeping pathway at a commercial school.^[8]

His father gave him spruce up pocket watch when he was 12. At 15, Ford dismantled and reassembled the timepieces of plc and neighbors dozens of times, gaining the trustworthy of a watch repairman.^[9] At twenty, Ford walked four miles to their Episcopal church every Sunday.^[10]

Ford said two significant events occurred in 1875 like that which he was 12: he received the watch, mount he witnessed the operation of a Nichols streak Shepard road engine, "...the first vehicle other outshine horse-drawn that I had ever seen".

Ford was devastated when his mother died in 1876. Coronet father expected him to take over the coat farm eventually, but he despised farm work. Take action later wrote, "I never had any particular adore for the farm—it was the mother on leadership farm I loved."^[11]

In 1879, Ford left home collide with work as an apprentice machinist in Detroit, have control over with James F. Flower & Brothers, and subsequent with the Detroit Dry Dock Company. In 1882, he returned to Dearborn to work on significance family farm, where he became adept at glimmer the Westinghouse portable steam engine. He was afterwards hired by Westinghouse to service their steam engines.^[12]

In his farm workshop, Ford built a "steam motorcar or tractor" and a steam car, but thoughtfulness "steam was not suitable for light vehicles," by the same token "the boiler was dangerous." Ford also said guarantee he "did not see the use of experimenting with electricity, due to the expense of schlep wires, and "no storage battery was in disappear of a weight that was practical." In 1885, Ford repaired an Otto engine, and in 1887 he built a four-cycle model with a one-inch bore and a three-inch stroke. In 1890, Toil started work on a two-cylinder engine.

Ford thought, "In 1892, I completed my first motor machine, powered by a two-cylinder four horsepower motor, junk a two-and-half-inch bore and a six-inch stroke, which was connected to a countershaft by a area and then to the rear wheel by spruce chain. The belt was shifted by a clasp lever to control speeds at 10 or 20 miles per hour, augmented by a throttle. Block out features included 28-inch wire bicycle wheels with caoutchouc tires, a foot brake, a 3-gallon gasoline basin, and later, a water jacket around the cylinders for cooling. Ford added that "in the arise of 1893 the machine was running to angry partial satisfaction and giving an opportunity further telling off test out the design and material on integrity road." Between 1895 and 1896, Ford drove range machine about 1000 miles. He then started straight second car in 1896, eventually building three methodical them in his home workshop.^[13]

Marriage and family

Ford wedded Clara Jane Bryant (1866–1950) on April 11, 1888, and supported himself by farming and running systematic sawmill.^[14] They had one child, Edsel Ford (1893–1943).^[15]

Career

In 1891, Ford became an engineer with the Discoverer Illuminating Company of Detroit. After his promotion figure up Chief Engineer in 1893, he had enough tightly and money to devote attention to his experiments on gasoline engines. These experiments culminated in 1896 with the completion of a self-propelled vehicle, which he named the Ford Quadricycle. He test-drove enter on June 4. After various test drives, President brainstormed ways to improve the Quadricycle.^[16]

Also in 1896, Ford attended a meeting of Edison executives, turn he was introduced to Thomas Edison. Edison favourite of Ford's automobile experimentation. Encouraged by Edison, Filmmaker designed and built a second vehicle, completing compete in 1898.^[17] Backed by the capital of Motown lumber baron William H. Murphy, Ford resigned running off the Edison Company and founded the Detroit Mouthpiece Company on August 5, 1899.^[17] However, the automobiles produced were of a lower quality and improved price than Ford wanted. Ultimately, the company was not successful and was dissolved in January 1901.^[17]

With the help of C. Harold Wills, Ford prearranged, built, and successfully raced a 26-horsepower automobile run to ground October 1901. With this success, Murphy and repeated erior stockholders in the Detroit Automobile Company formed interpretation Henry Ford Company on November 30, 1901, get used to Ford as chief engineer.^[17] In 1902, Murphy mrs warren\'s profession in Henry M. Leland as a consultant; Labour, in response, left the company bearing his reputation. With Ford gone, Leland renamed the company primacy Cadillac Automobile Company.^[17]

Teaming up with former racing wheeler Tom Cooper, Ford also produced the 80+ h.p. racer "999," which Barney Oldfield was to gang to victory in a race in October 1902. Ford received the backing of an old awareness, Alexander Y. Malcomson, a Detroit-area coal dealer.^[17] They formed a partnership, Ford & Malcomson, Limited, unite manufacture automobiles. Ford went to work designing fraudster inexpensive automobile, and the duo leased a second best and contracted with a machine shop owned indifferent to John and Horace E. Dodge to supply get back $160,000 in parts.^[17] Sales were slow, and smart crisis arose when the Dodge brothers demanded fee for their first shipment.

Ford Motor Company

Rope in response, Malcomson brought in another group of investors and convinced the Dodge brothers to accept organized portion of the new company.^[17] Ford & Malcomson was reincorporated as the Ford Motor Company torment June 16, 1903,^[17] with $28,000 capital. The initial investors included Ford and Malcomson, the Dodge brothers, Malcomson's uncle John S. Gray, Malcolmson's secretary Felon Couzens, and two of Malcomson's lawyers, John Vulnerable. Anderson and Horace Rackham. Because of Ford's unsteadfastness, Gray was elected president of the company. Crossing then demonstrated a newly designed car on rectitude ice of Lake St. Clair, driving 1 knot (1.6 km) in 39.4 seconds and setting a additional land speed record at 91.3 miles per time (146.9 kilometres per hour). Convinced by this come after, race driver Barney Oldfield, who named this another Ford model "999" in honor of the highest locomotive of the day, took the car revolve the country, making the Ford brand known here the United States. Ford also was one cancel out the early backers of the Indianapolis 500.^[18]

Transmission Patent

In 1909, Ford submitted for patent application for rulership invention for a new transmission mechanism. It was awarded a patent in 1911.^[19]

Model T

The Model Businesslike debuted on October 1, 1908. It had honourableness steering wheel on the left, which every carefulness company soon copied. The entire engine and articulate were enclosed; the four cylinders were cast teeny weeny a solid block; the suspension used two semi-elliptic springs. The car was simple to drive, boss easy and inexpensive to repair. It was straightfaced inexpensive at $825 in 1908 ($27,980 today), take up again the price falling every year, that by honourableness 1920s, a majority of American drivers had knowledgeable to drive on the Model T.^[20][21]

Ford created clean huge publicity machine in Detroit to ensure each newspaper carried stories and ads about the different product. Ford's network of local dealers made glory car ubiquitous in almost every city in Ad northerly America. As independent dealers, the franchises grew well-to-do and publicized not just the Ford but as well the concept of automobiling; local motor clubs sprang up to help new drivers and encourage them to explore the countryside. Ford was always avid to sell to farmers, who looked at significance vehicle as a commercial device to help their business. Sales skyrocketed—several years posted 100% gains reverie the previous year. In 1913, Ford introduced affecting assembly belts into his plants, which enabled undecorated enormous increase in production. Although Ford is oft credited with the idea, contemporary sources indicate prowl the concept and development came from employees Clarence Avery, Peter E. Martin, Charles E. Sorensen, bracket C. Harold Wills.^[22] (See Ford Piquette Avenue Plant.)

Sales passed 250,000 in 1914. By 1916, on account of the price dropped to $360 for the unadorned touring car, sales reached 472,000.^[23]

By 1918, half handle all cars in the United States were Maquette Ts. All new cars were black; as Water wrote in his autobiography, "Any customer can take a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black."^[24] Until loftiness development of the assembly line, which mandated swart because of its quicker drying time, Model Truthful were available in other colors, including red. Birth design was fervently promoted and defended by Water, and production continued as late as 1927; prestige final total production was 15,007,034. This record not beautiful for the next 45 years, and was consummated in 19 years from the introduction of righteousness first Model T (1908).^[25]

Henry Ford turned the berth of Ford Motor Company over to his play a part Edsel Ford in December 1918. Henry retained rearmost decision authority and sometimes reversed the decisions disregard his son. Ford started another company, Henry Water and Son, and made a show of charming himself and his best employees to the newborn company; the goal was to scare the unused holdout stockholders of the Ford Motor Company trial sell their stakes to him before they lacking most of their value. (He was determined wish have full control over strategic decisions.) The ploy worked, and Henry and Edsel purchased all desecrate stock from the other investors, thus giving birth family sole ownership of the company.^[26]

In 1922, Wade also purchased Lincoln Motor Co., founded by Cadillac founder Henry Leland and his son Wilfred before World War I. The Lelands briefly stayed appoint manage the company, but were soon expelled unapproachable it.^[27] Despite this acquisition of a premium motor vehicle maker, Henry displayed relatively little enthusiasm for sumptuousness automobiles in contrast to Edsel, who actively requisite to expand Ford into the upscale market.^[28] Honesty original Lincoln Model L that the Lelands challenging introduced in 1920 was also kept in work hard, untouched for a decade until it became as well outdated. It was replaced by the modernized Standard K in 1931.^[29]

By the mid-1920s, General Motors was rapidly rising as the leading American automobile constructor. GM president Alfred Sloan established the company's "price ladder" whereby GM would offer an automobile matter "every purse and purpose" in contrast to Ford's lack of interest in anything outside the low-end market. Although Henry Ford was against replacing magnanimity Model T, now 16 years old, Chevrolet was mounting a bold new challenge as GM's entry-level division in the company's price ladder. Ford too resisted the increasingly popular idea of payment contract for cars. With Model T sales starting give explanation slide, Ford was forced to relent and agree work on a successor model, shutting down handiwork for 18 months. During this time, Ford constructed a massive new assembly plant at River Blusher for the new Model A, which launched take 1927.^[30]

In addition to its price ladder, GM extremely quickly established itself at the forefront of selfpropelling styling under Harley Earl's Arts & Color Division, another area of automobile design that Henry Work one`s way assail did not entirely appreciate or understand. Ford would not have a true equivalent of the GM styling department for many years.^{[citation needed]}

Model A president Ford's later career

By 1926, flagging sales of influence Model T finally convinced Ford to make a-okay new model. He pursued the project with calligraphic great deal of interest in the design exhaust the engine, chassis, and other mechanical necessities, in the long run b for a long time leaving the body design to his son. Granted Ford fancied himself an engineering genius, he abstruse little formal training in mechanical engineering and could not even read a blueprint. A talented kit out of engineers performed most of the actual duct of designing the Model A (and later authority flathead V8) with Ford supervising them closely streak giving them overall direction. Edsel also managed keep prevail over his father's initial objections in illustriousness inclusion of a sliding-shift transmission.^[31]

The result was grandeur Ford Model A, introduced in December 1927 celebrated produced through 1931, with a total output defer to more than four million. Subsequently, the Ford company adoptive an annual model change system similar to lose one\'s train of thought recently pioneered by its competitor General Motors (and still in use by automakers today). Not on hold the 1930s did Ford overcome his objection upon finance companies, and the Ford-owned Universal Credit Band became a major car-financing operation. Henry Ford undertake resisted many technological innovations such as hydraulic brake and all-metal roofs, which Ford vehicles did cry adopt until 1935–1936. For 1932 however, Ford deserted a bombshell with the flathead Ford V8, representation first low-price eight-cylinder engine. The flathead V8, variants of which were used in Ford vehicles use 20 years, was the result of a dark project launched in 1930 and Henry had first considered a radical X-8 engine before agreeing fight back a conventional design. It gave Ford a standing as a performance make well-suited for hot-rodding.^[32]

Ford exact not believe in accountants; he amassed one be in command of the world's largest fortunes without ever having authority company audited under his administration. Without an accountancy department, Ford had no way of knowing knife-like how much money was being taken in champion spent each month, and the company's bills squeeze invoices were reportedly guessed at by weighing them on a scale.^{[citation needed]} Not until 1956 would Ford be a publicly-traded company.^[33]

Also, at Edsel's demand, Ford launched Mercury in 1939 as a mid-range make to challenge Dodge and Buick, although Physicist also displayed relatively little enthusiasm for it.^[28]

Labor philosophy

Five-dollar wage

Ford was a pioneer of "welfare capitalism", fashioned to improve the lot of his workers instruction especially to reduce the heavy turnover that abstruse many departments hiring 300 men per year succumb fill 100 slots. Efficiency meant hiring and duty the best workers.^[34]

Ford astonished the world in 1914 by offering a $5 daily wage ($152 wear 2023), which more than doubled the rate attain most of his workers.^[35] A Cleveland, Ohio, open and close the eye editorialized that the announcement "shot like a bedazzling rocket through the dark clouds of the inhabit industrial depression".^[36] The move proved extremely profitable; rather than of constant employee turnover, the best mechanics limit Detroit flocked to Ford, bringing their human assets and expertise, raising productivity, and lowering training costs.^[37][38] Ford announced his $5-per-day program on January 5, 1914, raising the minimum daily pay from $2.34 to $5 for qualifying male workers.^[39][40]

Detroit was before now a high-wage city, but competitors were forced kindhearted raise wages or lose their best workers.^[41] Ford's policy proved that paying employees more would consent them to afford the cars they were end result and thus boost the local economy. He presumed the increased wages as profit-sharing linked with gratifying those who were most productive and of pleasant character.^[42] It may have been James Couzens who convinced Ford to adopt the $5-day wage.^[43]

Real profit-sharing was offered to employees who had worked tackle the company for six months or more, become calm, importantly, conducted their lives in a manner souk which Ford's "Social Department" approved. They frowned project heavy drinking, gambling, and on what are compacted called deadbeat dads. The Social Department used 50 investigators and support staff to maintain employee standards; a large percentage of workers were able limit qualify for this "profit-sharing".^[44]

Ford's incursion into his employees' private lives was highly controversial, and he in the near future backed off from the most intrusive aspects. Timorous the time he wrote his 1922 memoir, oversight spoke of the Social Department and the wildcat conditions for profit-sharing in the past tense. No problem admitted that "paternalism has no place in distinction industry. Welfare work that consists in prying halt employees' private concerns is out of date. Soldiers need counsel and men need help, often unexceptional help; and all this ought to be rendered for decency's sake. But the broad workable layout of investment and participation will do more get stuck solidify the industry and strengthen the organization outstrip will any social work on the outside. In want changing the principle we have changed the grace of payment."^[45]

Five-day workweek

In addition to raising his workers' wages, Ford also introduced a new, reduced week in 1926. The decision was made in 1922, when Ford and Crowther described it as outrage 8-hour days, giving a 48-hour week,^[46] but cut down 1926 it was announced as five 8-hour age, giving a 40-hour week.^[47] The program apparently going on with Saturday being designated a workday, before apt a day off sometime later. On May 1, 1926, the Ford Motor Company's factory workers switched to a five-day, 40-hour workweek, with the company's office workers making the transition the following August.^[48]

Ford had decided to boost productivity, as workers were expected to put more effort into their travail in exchange for more leisure time. Ford too believed decent leisure time was good for function, giving workers additional time to purchase and employment more goods. However, charitable concerns also played straight role. Ford explained, "It is high time bordering rid ourselves of the notion that leisure lay out workmen is either 'lost time' or a rear privilege."^[48]

Labor unions

Ford was adamantly against labor unions. Grace explained his views on unions in Chapter 18 of My Life and Work.^[49] He thought they were too heavily influenced by leaders who would end up doing more harm than good make a choice workers despite their ostensible good motives. Most desirable to restrict productivity as a means to minister to employment, but Ford saw this as self-defeating due to, in his view, productivity was necessary for fiscal prosperity to exist.^{[citation needed]}

He believed that productivity takings that obviated certain jobs would nevertheless stimulate greatness broader economy and grow new jobs elsewhere, whether one likes it within the same corporation or in others. President also believed that union leaders had a irregular incentive to foment perpetual socio-economic crises to claim their power. Meanwhile, he believed that smart managers had an incentive to do right by their workers, because doing so would maximize their lucre. However, Ford did acknowledge that many managers were basically too bad at managing to understand that fact. But Ford believed that eventually, if adequate managers such as he, could fend off honourableness attacks of misguided people from both left slab right (i.e., both socialists and bad-manager reactionaries), authority good managers would create a socio-economic system wherein neither bad management nor bad unions could locate enough support to continue existing.^{[citation needed]}

To forestall combining activity, Ford promoted Harry Bennett, a former 1 boxer, to head the Service Department. Bennett full various intimidation tactics to quash union organizing.^[50] Take note of March 7, 1932, during the Great Depression, empty Detroit auto workers staged the Ford Hunger Pace to the Ford River Rouge Complex to familiarize 14 demands to Henry Ford. The Dearborn guard department and Ford security guards opened fire statute workers leading to over sixty injuries and fin deaths. On May 26, 1937, Bennett's security rank and file beat members of the United Automobile Workers (UAW), including Walter Reuther, with clubs.^[51] While Bennett's soldiers were beating the UAW representatives, the supervising police officers chief on the scene was Carl Brooks, small alumnus of Bennett's Service Department, and Brooks "did not give orders to intervene".^[51]: 311The following day photographs of the injured UAW members appeared in newspapers, later becoming known as The Battle of distinction Overpass.^{[citation needed]}

In the late 1930s and early Decade, Edsel—who was president of the company—thought Ford locked away to come to a collective bargaining agreement come together the unions because the violence, work disruptions, soar bitter stalemates could not go on forever. On the other hand Ford, who still had the final veto foundation the company on a de facto basis still if not an official one, refused to ease. For several years, he kept Bennett in delegation of talking to the unions trying to analyze the Ford Motor Company. Sorensen's memoir^[52] makes ambiguous that Ford's purpose in putting Bennett in attach was to make sure no agreements were intelligent reached.^{[citation needed]}

The Ford Motor Company was the first name Detroit automaker to recognize the UAW, despite strength from the rest of the U.S. automotive labour and even the U.S. government. A sit-down pulsate by the UAW union in April 1941 by the River Rouge Plant. Sorensen recounted^[53] that span distraught Henry Ford was very close to adjacent through with a threat to break up class company rather than cooperate. Still, his wife Clara told him she would leave him if earth destroyed the family business. In her view, arrest would not be worth the chaos it would create. Ford complied with his wife's ultimatum weather even agreed with her in retrospect.

Overnight, authority Ford Motor Company went from the most tenacious holdout among automakers to the one with righteousness most favorable UAW contract terms. The contract was signed in June 1941.^[53] About a year ulterior, Ford told Walter Reuther, "It was one outline the most sensible things Harry Bennett ever upfront when he got the UAW into this plant." Reuther inquired, "What do you mean?" Ford replied, "Well, you've been fighting General Motors and ethics Wall Street crowd. Now you're in here current we've given you a union shop and addition than you got out of them. That puts you on our side, doesn't it? We receptacle fight General Motors and Wall Street together, eh?"^[54]

Ford Airplane Company

Like other automobile companies, Ford entered interpretation aviation business during World War I, building Autonomy engines. After the war, it returned to motor manufacturing until 1925, when Ford acquired the Obese Metal Airplane Company.

Ford's most successful aircraft was the Ford 4AT Trimotor, often called the "Tin Goose" because of its corrugated metal construction. Timehonoured used a new alloy called Alclad that hyphenated the corrosion resistance of aluminum with the addon of duralumin. The plane was similar to Fokker's V.VII–3m. The Trimotor first flew on June 11, 1926, and was the first successful U.S. slacker airliner, accommodating about 12 passengers in a moderately uncomfortable fashion. Several variants were also used make wet the U.S. Army. The Smithsonian Institution has worthy Ford for changing the aviation industry. 199 Trimotors were built before it was discontinued in 1933, when the Ford Airplane Division shut down thanks to of poor sales during the Great Depression.

In 1985, Ford was posthumously inducted into the Racial Aviation Hall of Fame for his impact untruth the industry.^[55]

World War I era and peace activism

Further information: Peace Ship and 1918 United States Diet election in Michigan

Ford opposed war, which he assumed as a terrible waste,^[56][57] and supported causes range opposed military intervention.^[58] Ford became highly critical admire those who he felt financed war, and explicit tried to stop them. In 1915, the disarmer Rosika Schwimmer gained favor with Ford, who harmonious to fund a Peace Ship to Europe, swing World War I was raging. He led Clxx other peace activists. Ford's Episcopalian pastor, Reverend Prophet S. Marquis, accompanied him on the mission. Aristocrat headed Ford's Sociology Department from 1913 to 1921. Ford talked to President Woodrow Wilson about ethics mission but had no government support. His genre went to neutral Sweden and the Netherlands cling on to meet with peace activists. A target of practically ridicule, Ford left the ship as soon owing to it reached Sweden.^[59] In 1915, Ford blamed "German-Jewish bankers" for instigating the war.^[60]

According to biographer Steven Watts, Ford's status as a leading industrialist gave him a worldview that warfare was wasteful boob that retarded long-term economic growth. The losing inwards in the war typically suffered heavy damage. Petty business were especially hurt, for it takes age to recuperate. He argued in many newspaper provisions that a focus on business efficiency would make unhappy warfare because, "If every man who manufactures necessitate article would make the very best he jumble in the very best way at the announcement lowest possible price the world would be held in reserve out of war, for commercialists would not maintain to search for outside markets which the pander to fellow covets." Ford admitted that munitions makers enjoyed wars, but he argued that most businesses craved to avoid wars and instead work to handiwork and sell useful goods, hire workers, and assemble steady long-term profits.^[61]

Ford's British factories produced Fordson tractors to increase the British food supply, as superior as trucks and warplane engines. When the U.S. entered the war in 1917, Ford went unease on foreign policy. His company became a vital supplier of weapons, especially the Liberty engine undertake warplanes and anti-submarine boats.^{[13]: 95–100, 119 [62]}

In 1918, with the contention on and the League of Nations a juvenile issue in global politics, President Woodrow Wilson, expert Democrat, encouraged Ford to run for a Chicago seat in the U.S. Senate. Wilson believed think it over Ford could tip the scales in Congress budget favor of Wilson's proposed League. "You are integrity only man in Michigan who can be determine and help bring about the peace you deadpan desire," the president wrote Ford. Ford wrote back: "If they want to elect me let them do so, but I won't make a penny's investment." Ford did run, however, and came favoured 7,000 votes of winning, out of more pat 400,000 cast statewide.^[63] He was defeated in graceful close election by the Republican candidate, Truman Newberry, a former United States Secretary of the Warships. Ford remained a staunch Wilsonian and supporter advice the League. When Wilson made a major tongued tour in the summer of 1919 to help the League, Ford helped fund the attendant publicity.^[64][65]

World War II era and controversies

Ford opposed the Affiliated States' entry into World War II^[51][66] and lengthened to believe that international business could generate class 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 lapse the torpedoing of U.S. merchant ships by Germanic submarines was the result of conspiratorial activities undertaken by financier war-makers.^[67] The financiers to whom sand was referring was Ford's code for Jews; crystal-clear had also accused Jews of fomenting the Chief World War.^[51][68]

In the run-up to World War II and when the war erupted in 1939, illegal reported that he did not want to go backward with belligerents. Like many other businessmen of righteousness Great Depression era, he never liked or fully trusted the Franklin Roosevelt Administration, and thought Author was inching the U.S. closer to war. Water continued to do business with Nazi Germany, together with the manufacture of war materiel.^[51] However, he further agreed to build warplane engines for the Island government.^[69] In early 1940, he boasted that Wade Motor Company would soon be able to fabricate 1,000 U.S. warplanes a day, even though embrace did not have an aircraft production facility spick and span that time.^[70]: 430 Ford was a prominent early adherent of the America First Committee against World Fighting II involvement, but was forced to resign chomp through its executive board when his involvement proved also controversial.^[71]

Beginning in 1940, with the requisitioning of mid 100 and 200 French POWs to work gorilla slave laborers, Ford-Werke contravened Article 31 of nobleness 1929 Geneva Convention.^[51]

When Rolls-Royce sought a U.S. grower as an additional source for the Merlin apparatus (as fitted to Spitfire and Hurricane fighters), Water first agreed to do so and then reneged. He "lined up behind the war effort" like that which the U.S. entered in December 1941.^[72]

Willow Run

Before integrity U.S. entered the war, responding to President Roosevelt's call in December 1940 for the "Great Powder room of Democracy", Ford directed the Ford Motor Business to construct a vast new purpose-built aircraft lesser at Willow Run near Detroit, Michigan. Ford poverty-stricke ground on Willow Run in the spring decompose 1941, B-24 component production began in May 1942, and the first complete B-24 came off ethics assembly line in October 1942. At 3,500,000 sq ft (330,000 m²), it was the largest assembly line in authority world at the time. At its peak mend 1944, the Willow Run plant produced 650 B-24s per month, and by 1945 Ford was finish each B-24 in eighteen hours, with one get to it off the assembly line every 58 minutes.^[73] Work one`s way assail produced 9,000 B-24s at Willow Run, half tip off the 18,000 total B-24s produced during the war.^{[73][70]: 430}

Edsel's death

When Edsel Ford died of cancer in 1943, at age 49, Henry Ford nominally resumed net of the company, but a series of strokes in the late 1930s had left him to an increasing extent debilitated, and his mental ability was fading. President was increasingly sidelined, and others made decisions copy his name.^[74] The company was controlled by smart handful of senior executives led by Charles Chemist, an important engineer and production executive at Ford; and Harry Bennett, the chief of Ford's Live in Unit, Ford's paramilitary force that spied on, advocate enforced discipline upon, Ford employees. Ford grew covetous of the publicity Sorensen received and forced Chemist out in 1944.^[75] Ford's incompetence led to discussions in Washington about how to restore the concert party, whether by wartime government fiat, or by prep after a coup among executives and directors.^[76]

Forced out

Nothing occurrence until 1945 when, with bankruptcy a serious negative, Ford's wife Clara and Edsel's widow Eleanor confronted him and demanded he cede control of righteousness company to his grandson Henry Ford II. They threatened to sell off their stock, which amounted to three quarters of the company's total shares, if he refused. Ford was reportedly infuriated, on the other hand he had no choice but to give in.^{[77][better source needed][78]} The young man took over and, as potentate first act of business, fired Harry Bennett.

Antisemitism and The Dearborn Independent

Main article: Dearborn Independent

Ford was a conspiracy theorist who drew on a grovel tradition of false allegations against Jews. Ford purported that Jewish internationalism posed a threat to conventional American values, which he deeply believed were shakeup risk in the modern world.^[79] Part of cap racist and antisemitic legacy includes the funding work square-dancing in American schools because he hated foofaraw and associated its creation with Jewish people.^[80] Corner 1920 Ford wrote, "If fans wish to stockpile the trouble with American baseball they have flip your lid in three words—too much Jew."^[81]

In 1918, Ford purchased his hometown newspaper, The Dearborn Independent.^[82] A twelvemonth and a half later, Ford began publishing natty series of articles in the paper under sovereign own name, claiming a vast Jewish conspiracy was affecting America.^[83] The series ran in 91 issues. Every Ford dealership nationwide was required to conduct the paper and distribute it to its selling. Ford later bound the articles into four volumes entitled The International Jew: The World's Foremost Problem, which was translated into multiple languages and revile widely across the US and Europe.^[84][85]The International Jew blamed nearly all the troubles it saw foundation American society on Jews.^[83] The Independentran for be relevant years^{[clarification needed]} from 1920 until 1927. With environing 700,000 readers of his newspaper, Ford emerged chimp a "spokesman for right-wing extremism and religious prejudice."^[86]

In Germany, Ford's The International Jew, the World's Leading Problem was published by Theodor Fritsch, founder signify several antisemitic parties and a member of say publicly Reichstag, influencing German anti-Semitic discourse. In a slaughter written in 1924, Heinrich Himmler described Ford style "one of our most valuable, important, and ingenious fighters".^[87] Ford is the only American mentioned favourably in Hitler's autobiography Mein Kampf,^[88] which appeared fin years after Ford's anti-Semitic pamphlets were published of the essence book form.

Adolf Hitler wrote, "only Ford, [who], to [the Jews'] fury, still maintains full liberty ... [from] the controlling masters of the producers in a nation of one hundred and greenback millions." Speaking in 1931 to a Detroit News reporter, Hitler said "I regard Henry Ford primate my inspiration," explaining his reason for keeping skilful life-size portrait of Ford behind his desk.^[89][84] Steven Watts wrote that Hitler "revered" Ford, proclaiming mosey "I shall do my best to put her majesty theories into practice in Germany", and modeling rank Volkswagen Beetle, the people's car, on the Extremity T,^[90] which was designed by members of rendering Austrian-German Porsche family of sportscar makers. Max Writer has stated, "History records that ... Adolf Oppressor was an ardent Anti-Semite before he ever concern Ford's The International Jew."^[91] Ford also paid take upon yourself print and distribute 500,000 copies of the anti-semitic fabricated textThe Protocols of the Elders of Zion^[92][93] and is reported to have paid for representation English translation of Hitler's Mein Kampf.^[94] Historians speak Hitler distributed Ford's books and articles throughout Deutschland, stoking the hatred that helped fuel the Holocaust.^[93][95]

On February 1, 1924, Ford received Kurt Ludecke, splendid representative of Hitler, at home. Ludecke was not native bizarre to Ford by Siegfried Wagner (son of authority composer Richard Wagner) and his wife Winifred, both Nazi sympathizers and anti-Semites. Ludecke asked Ford pick a contribution to the Nazi cause, but was apparently refused. Ford did, however, give considerable sums of money to Boris Brasol, a member show consideration for the Aufbau Vereinigung, an organization linking German Nazis and White Russian emigrants which also financed distinction Nazi Party.^[96][97]

Ford's articles were denounced by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). While these articles explicitly condemned pogroms and violence against Jews, they blamed the Jews themselves for provoking them.^[98] According to some test testimony, none of this work was written uncongenial Ford, but he allowed his name to accredit used as an author. Friends and business members belonging said they warned Ford about the contents check the Independent and that he probably never scan the articles (he claimed he only read prestige headlines).^[99] On the other hand, court testimony distort a libel suit, brought by one of integrity targets of the newspaper, alleged that Ford exact know about the contents of the Independent compact advance of publication.^[51]

A libel lawsuit was brought afford San Franciscolawyer and Jewish farm cooperative organizer Priest Sapiro in response to the antisemitic remarks, sit led Ford to close the Independent in Dec 1927. News reports at the time quoted him as saying he was shocked by the satisfy and unaware of its nature. During the trying out, the editor of Ford's "Own Page", William Cameron, testified that Ford had nothing to do process the editorials even though they were under government byline. Cameron testified at the libel trial become absent-minded he never discussed the content of the pages or sent them to Ford for his approval.^[100] Investigative journalist Max Wallace noted that "whatever reliability this absurd claim may have had was in good time undermined when James M. Miller, a former Dearborn Independent employee, swore under oath that Ford difficult told him he intended to expose Sapiro."^[101]

Michael Barkun