#1-Christ, #2-Napoleon, #3-Henry Ford?

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Gerald L. K. Smith "considered Henry Ford the best American representative of Christian faith, hard work, and patriotism."

A poll of college students in 1920 voted Ford the third greatest figure in recorded history, behind Jesus Christ and Napoleon.

Ford believed that Jewish moneylenders caused wars and manipulated the stock market and that Jewish intellectuals had created Communism. He thought Jews "lewd" and "erotic" and accused them of corrupting the morals of Gentiles by promoting chorus girls, liquor, and jazz.

G erald L. K. Smith was not an aberration. His form of Christianity did not exist in a vacuum. Jews cannot be safe precisely because Christians like Gerald L. K. Smith have proven to be forgettable. As his hatred for Jews has been hidden below the surface and forgotten, anti-Semitism also remains dormant. It will not disappear; it will only be forgotten. Anti-Semitism may not arise until it can come forth in a more respectable fashion. First, all the traces of its disrespectful past must fade. To some it would seem that those scars are no longer obvious and sensitive so the fading process may have begun.

As has been shown, men like Gerald L. K Smith were masters of manipulation. They knew how to apply "heat" to the emotions of the masses. Smith once explained his methodology. "In a moment of candor he revealed his basic approach: 'Religion and patriotism, keep going on that. It's the only way you can get them really het up .'" Smith needed the turmoil caused by national problems to build his platforms of hatred. The Reverend Smith was a self-avowed teacher of hatred. Discontent was his greatest tool. He once remarked about his use of political turmoil:

When the politicians overplay their hand, certain nerve centers of the population will begin to twitch. The people will start fomenting and fermenting and then a fellow like myself, someone with courage enough to capture the people, will get on the radio, make three or four speeches, and have them in his hand, I'll teach 'em how to hate (emphasis mine).

Hatred is bred in the darkness of men's hearts. It rarely grows by itself. The venomous emotions of Gerald L. K. Smith were not unique among the rich and powerful.

#1-Christ, #2-Napoleon, #3-Henry Ford?

Many Gentile Christian Americans may remember that in 1920, Henry Ford was the richest man in the world. America was in love with the genius behind movable assembly lines and the successful American industrial complex. Henry Ford was so beloved that:

A poll of college students in 1920 voted Ford the third greatest figure in recorded history, behind Jesus Christ and Napoleon. There was even a grassroots movement to promote him for president-and one observer believed that he was just a Dale Carnegie course away from political office.

Henry Ford is still greatly admired. The Ford Foundation recently performed a promotional coup d'état of outstanding proportions. They sponsored the commercial-free television performance of Schindler's List . This film depicted the atrocities of the Nazi Holocaust against Jews. It is a cinematic monument to help us never forget. The movie shines a light on our obligation to insure that the Jews will NEVER AGAIN be without a place of refuge. The TV presentation undoubtedly brought great publicity to the Ford Foundation and created an aura of tolerance about the man for which the foundation is named. Yet was Henry Ford tolerant? Did his life suggest that he voiced the same concerns about the plight of the Jews? Did his personal efforts regarding the Jews mirror the sentiments of the film or the Ford Foundation? What can be ascertained with certainty about the man behind the motorcar? What can be learned about American sensibilities from studying his legacy?

The Henry Ford museum is located in Dearborn, Michigan. It is a monument to American ingenuity. If Gentile Christian America is capable of losing sight of the behavior of a public figure like Henry Ford, they are capable of selective memory to frightening degrees. If Henry Ford's volatile brand of anti-Semitism can be forgotten, history can diffuse any form of hatred into an idiosyncrasy. Henry Ford's beliefs were not eccentric, they were outrageous. It must therefore be asked whether the decision by the Ford Foundation to sponsor Schindler's List was for the benefit of TV viewers, or rather, was it an act of penance on behalf of the monster that lived inside the man who also reinvented America's manufacturing process? If it was an act of repentance, it failed. Since no public confession followed the presentation, it must have simply been an expensive work of publicity.

Unlike the founder of America's Great Passion Play , Gerald L. K. Smith, Henry Ford did not run for president. He did, however, run for political office in 1918. Ford was a Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate. He lost and attributed "almost everything that went wrong with his political fortunes to Jews and Jewish capitalism." Gerald L. K. Smith "considered Henry Ford the best American representative of Christian faith, hard work, and patriotism." American Christians should understand the reason that Smith was so enamored with Henry Ford (most Jews are already familiar with many of these facts about Ford). Sometimes it seems that the Church in America is unaware of the bitter legacy of Henry Ford.

Have You Been Driven By a Ford Lately ?
Even Smith needed a mentor before he could teach others how to hate. He claimed that Henry Ford had been the one to teach him the relationship that existed between the Jews and the Communists. The two men met in 1937 at which time Smith claimed to have been less anti-Semitic than Ford. However, it is alleged that Ford had already gained a better understanding about the Jews and the problems they presented. Ford believed that Jewish people posed very real dangers to America.

Smith claimed that Ford once asked him when he would recognize the real enemy of America. Smith asked Ford what he meant and Ford replied: "No one can under- stand the issues of this hour unless he understands the Jewish question." Smith then read The International Jew and concluded, "The day came when I embraced the research of Mr. Ford and his associates and became courageous enough and honest enough and informed enough to use the words: "Communism is Jewish."

Though he tended to exaggerate the depth of his relationships with famous people, Smith was very outspoken of his admiration for Henry Ford. Of course, as has been previously shown, Gerald L. K. Smith argued that "Hitler was a Bible-believing Christian" (see prior chapter). If Smith is not a qualified character-witness against his "teacher" of hatred, what can we learn from the leading anti-Semite of modern history-Adolf Hitler? (More on Ford's behavior later.)

Hitler's Church Connection

Henry Ford was known for his hatred of Jews. However, he lived in an era when Jew-hating was a popular theme in other cultures. The name "Hitler" has become synonymous with hatred and genocide. It is well known that Adolf Hitler highly admired Henry Ford. However there is much that is not widely known about the most despicable megalomaniac of the 20th century. For example, Adolf Hitler had his roots in the Church. He had been born into a Catholic family and he remained connected into adulthood. His youth had been influenced by Church music and worship. His father desired to become the local pastor of their hometown. Young Adolf had even aspired to ascend to the position of Abbot. In Hitler's own words,

"I received singing lessons in my spare time in the choir of the Lambach Convent, I repeatedly had an excellent opportunity of intoxicating myself with the solemn splendor of the magnificent church festivals. It was perfectly natural that the position of abbot appeared to me to be the highest ideal obtainable, just as that of being the village pastor had appealed to my father."

There is no doubt that the Church had impacted Adolf Hitler. After studying his writing, I am convinced that he had a reasonable acquaintance with the Holy Bible. For example, while criticizing certain political gatherings in his book (that revealed both his political aspirations and his incredible plan to rid the world of Jews) Hitler gleaned a scripture verse from the parable of Jesus in Matthew 7:6 to help him make his point. He wrote, "To speak before such a 'forum' means really to cast pearls before certain well-known animals. This is really not worthwhile."

Hitler also exhibited a minimal command of biblical history and the Babylonian captivity experienced by the Jewish people. What I found to be quite astonishing was that Hitler had some limited connection to the ancient Hebrew language. He demonstrated this mastery by discussing, in very impressive terms, a relevant theological concept based on interpretations of the opening verses of the Bible in the original language of the Jewish Scriptures. He wrote eloquently about his hope for the dismantling and removal of the political system controlling Germany in the 1920's. Hitler explained that only the total collapse of the failing German government would make way for a new system to replace it and thereby save Germany from total ruin. In so doing, he also showed a rudimentary understanding of Jewish history contained in the Bible. It is quite extraordinary that he selected the same term used by the God of Israel in the first chapter of Genesis to describe the environment in which his proposed change would materialize. Using that powerful imagery of the Bible, he chose to refer to the well-known rabbinic concept of tohuvavohu to make his point . The concept put forth in Scripture is that the earth was "without form and void" (Gen. 1:2). These few words are pregnant with relevance to Jewish and Christian scholars. As God created the world from nothing, Hitler proposed he would do the same from the chaos and confusion in the leadership vacuum he perceived in the governing body of 1920's Germany that he derided. Hitler was therefore extremely creative as he infused powerful new meaning into the application of the theological language he selected stating,

I, therefore welcomed every development which in my opinion would lead to the breakdown of the State which had pronounced the death sentence on ten million German people. The more the linguistic tohuwabohu [Hebrew-Genesis 1:2-meaning chaos, confusion, hubbub] ate into and tore at the parliament, the sooner would come the hour of doom of this Babylonia realm, and with it, the day of freedom for my German- Austrian people.

This example reveals Hitler's familiarity with the judgment of God on the Jews that resulted in the Exile from Israel. The Babylonian Captivity that followed the destruction of the Jewish Temple in the 6th century BCE became an allegory for Hitler to suggest that only he could bring Germany's political deliverance. He intended to create a new world order from the boiling chaos that consumed Germany.

Hitler clearly had an early link to the Church but it would be wrong to blame the convent for Hitler's malevolence. He had an insatiable urge to despise Jews. His hatred transcended anything the Church could have proposed. Hitler actually believed that as he worked to rid the world of Jews, he was being a faithful servant of the Lord. In his book Mein Kampf which means "My Battle," which was first published in 1925, the Nazi fiend declared,

If, with the help of the Marxian creed, the Jew conquers the nations of this world, his crown will become the funeral wreath of humanity, and once again this planet, empty of mankind, will move through the ether as it did thousands of years ago. . . . Therefore, I believe today that I am acting in the sense of the Almighty Creator: By warding off the Jews I am fighting for the Lord's work.

Yet remarkably, in the book he chose to present himself as tolerant of Jews early in his adult life. He wrote, "I had no idea at all that organized hostility against the Jews existed." He even admits to considering the few Jews that he had known to be "human; yes, I even looked upon them as Germans." But as only Hitler would confess, he then corrected that "wrong" view by declaring, "The nonsense of this notion was not clear to me."

Quite surprisingly, Hitler even brought criticism to the Church for the treatment they hurled on the Jews during the Crusades. And he rebuked the press of Vienna for slurs printed against the Jewish people, but he also implied their views caused him to modify his own. He wrote, "I did not agree with its [ Volksblatt- a local German newspaper] sharp anti-Semitic tone, but now and then I read explanations which made me stop and think." Hitler took the opportunity to cast himself as a liberal-minded, caring individual.

For reasons of human tolerance I continued to decline fighting on religious grounds. In my opinion, therefore, the language of the anti-Semitic Viennese press was unworthy of the cultural traditions of a great race. I was depressed by the memory of certain events in the Middle Ages which I did not wish to see repeated.

Of course, soon thereafter, Adolf Hitler perpetrated crimes far worse than the Crusaders that he criticized. If he sought affirmation for his deviant behavior, Hitler found welcome assurance in the writings of Henry Ford. In fact, Ford's printed materials were highly respected in the company of the world's worst bigots.

The International Jew

Henry Ford is credited with being one of the first Americans to publish the lies contained in the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion. These writings were reproduced in Ford's own newspaper, The Dearborn Independent. Ford's paper ran the article on page one May 22, 1920. He accused the Jews, as his lead article was subtitled, of being at the root of "The World's Problems." The International Jew " inaugurated a series of attacks upon Jews that the newspaper ran for 91 consecutive weeks, and then intermittently until 1927."

The Dearborn Independent' s first consideration of Jewish matters was titled THE INTERNATIONAL JEW: THE WORLD'S PROBLEM and announced, "There is a race, a part of humanity which has never yet been received as a welcome part." It went on from there, every issue without fail for years on end discussing Jewish evil. The Jews were responsible for short skirts and immorality among the young and the decline of wrestling as a sport. "Jewish Jazz-Moron Music" was a disgrace, as were the lyrics of Irving Berlin, which the Independent could not print: "The pages of this paper never yet have been defiled by obscenity." . . . Baseball had one trouble: "Too much Jew." These unscrupulous "Orientals" concocted "nigger gin, a peculiarly vile beverage compounded to act upon the Negro in a most vicious manner," producing "Negro- outbursts" that led to rape . . . The Treaty of Versailles was Jew-inspired, and all wars were the Jews' harvest; they controlled financial markets and the price of gold and mercilessly exploited the farmer and craftsman.

It would seem that thinking Americans would have recognized how abhorrent and untrue the articles were. But some Americans have trouble separating fact from fiction. The circulation of the Dearborn Independent might be an example of the power of the press to deceive.

When the essays began, The Dearborn Independent had a circulation of about 72,000 copies a week. By 1922 that figure had increased to 300,000. It peaked in 1924 at 700,000, only 50,000 fewer than that of the largest daily paper in the United States at that time.

It would appear that anti-Semitism sold newspapers. Ford lacked less than 7% in added distribution to have surpassed the highest circulation of the most successful daily newspaper in America. This was definitely an outstanding accomplishment from an unforgettable character. Yet is appears that his character has been forgotten. Henry Ford was a genius. However, he was also a man given to hatred. In spite of his personal flaws, he had the "Midas touch." How many other newspapers could lay claim to Ford's 10-fold circulation increase in just a few years?

Mr. Ford was convinced that the nation's major newspapers were unwilling to publish the stories about the "Jewish problems." His delusion was fueled by views that the press was controlled by Jews. He seemed to perceive an obligation to pro- claim that the Jews were the primary problem of Wall Street, big business, and the banking industry. Even though "no industry has been more antisemitic than commercial banking."

Jews have never controlled the purse strings of America or Europe. Ford was compelled by his racist ideology to poison the minds of Americans against the Jews. He determined that his paper would be, The Chronicler of the Neglected Truth. He ordered that every purchaser of a Ford car should be sold a year's subscription. That meant a lot of potential readers, for the Ford

Motor Company was on its way to turning out nearly 60 percent of all American cars and about half the cars produced elsewhere. He may have been the greatest American industrialist that ever lived, but he was also one of the most anti-Semitic men on earth. This is not an exaggeration. Ford was committed beyond reason to the goal of promoting his disparaging views of the Jewish people.

Henry Ford had an obsession that began early and lasted all his life. He detested Jews. There was nothing he would not attribute to them. They had ruined one of his favorite candy bars; it didn't taste nearly as good as it used to. They had been behind Lincoln's assassination. They had put Benedict Arnold up to his evil deeds. These financiers and middlemen and moneylenders were dedicated to cheating and corrupting God-fearing, hardworking people. No one could tell him otherwise.

However vocal Henry Ford was about his animosity toward Jews, he was obviously not alone in his generation. I have shown some of the connections that existed between these bigoted racists and the attitudes that influenced certain passion play presentations. These attitudes ultimately were reflected in negative actions taken against Jews. Without doubt, the attitudes and actions of Adolf Hitler established the benchmark for the worst examples of racism and bigotry. Yet few realize the clear philosophical connections that existed between the leading hate mongers in America and the leading figure of Nazi hatred. To make this link clear we must consider a few final facts about Adolf Hitler.

Hitler's Helper?

Adolf Hitler was a great fan of the writings of Henry Ford. Hitler publicly declared his high esteem for Henry Ford in the infamous text of Mein Kampf . Incredible as it might seem to those unfamiliar with the anti-Semitic hatred of Henry Ford, he was the only American to be discussed in Hitler's book. The Nazi leader raved about an alleged Jewish conspiracy to oppress the world referring to so-called Jewish control of the monetary system. "Every year they manage to become increasingly the controlling masters of the labor power or a people of 120,000,000 souls; one great man, Ford, to their exasperation still holds out independently even now " (emphasis added). Hitler was deceived, but he was obviously not alone. Henry Ford was filled with the same venomous hatred for Jews.

Ford's anti-Semitic publications even inspired Adolf Hitler. Hitler paraphrased Ford's anti-Jewish articles in Mein Kampf, hung a portrait of the automaker on his wall, and awarded Ford a medal which Ford unwisely accepted.

In retrospect, many of Ford's ridiculous accusations against the Jews appear so farfetched that they might sound humorous. It is certain that he meant no levity in his depictions.

Henry Ford never wavered in his beliefs. Months after Hitler's conquest of Poland and the commencement of the Second World War he told an acquaintance there really wasn't any war at all going on. "There hasn't been a shot fired. The whole thing has just been made up by the Jew bankers.

Henry Ford may have performed a few outward efforts to soften a few of his most abhorrent anti-Semitic positions later in his life. Walter Winchell, the well known newscaster and columnist of the war years, read a letter to his vast radio audience in 1941 purporting that Henry Ford was "disavowing anti-Semitism and repudiating certain native anti-Semitic movements." Though this might have helped improve Ford's image among car buyers. I doubt the genuineness of Ford's gesture. Unless the heart of man is first converted by love, hatred is bound to the soul. It may hide, but it will not disappear. After the war ended and information regarding the conditions discovered in the Nazi death camps was sent back to America, Ford was never to be the same.

In the spring of 1945 soldiers . . . liberated Hitler's concentration camps. The founder of the Ford Motor Company sat with one of Ford's first woman executives, Josephine Comon, to view newsreels of what the soldiers discovered. When he saw the piles of corpses and the few walking skeletons of what would be called the Holocaust, he was then and there taken by one of several massive strokes he suffered. "He never recovered his mind or physical strength," she wrote, and in a little while Henry Ford was dead.

When hatred is the focus of one's passion, even the richest people die in failure and despair. Sometimes they destroy multitudes in the wake of their hatred. No amount of denial will erase the pain caused by the Holocaust. When love embodies passion, passion enriches life. It is the passion of God for His people that provides life eternal. It is a particularly grievous sin for anyone to deny that love or to allow anti-Semitism to diminish God's intended expression of His passion. That is why true Christians must live by a standard of love that is clear and consistent. They must raise a clear, consistent, rational standard for Jews and non-Jews to appreciate.

Despite what you might think or have heard, "fake news" is not new. Lies, propaganda and manipulation have been around since the first humans. So has jealousy, hatred and selfish desire existed as long as humans since the fall. Through Politics of Hate, Crimes of Passion, you can be informed, educated and prepared to declare the truth, well armed with REAL news and well researched history. Buy your copy today.

In 1973, I had a hopeless marriage, a deadly drug problem, and a life without purpose. As a result of the suffering and passion of the man depicted in the film, His love healed my marriage, redeemed me from drugs,

and revealed a purpose for my life that is both compelling and renewing. If you lack hope, if you lack peace, or if you lack purpose, please embrace God's love.

Trust and obey the man called Jesus the Messiah. Contrary to what you might think, He declared Himself to be God and He was wor

shipped by His early Jewish followers. I declare my allegiance and remind you of His words, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). I realize this implies a very exclusive membership. However, all are welcome and the price has been paid by the One Who gave the invitation. Jesus said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). I know this is true because I came and I found rest. I remain eternally grateful and eternally His. Read More...

I am reaching out to you to ask for just 10 minutes of your time. I am currently working on some doctoral research on the different ways that Christian's engage the Bible.

Will you go to www.engagethebible.us and take a brief survey. Your participation will help the academic world and help provide quality research to the greater Christian community.

Thank you so much

Joshua Weiss

Abundant Life Assembly of God

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