17. Hitler Referred to Henry Ford as “My Inspiration“
Henry Ford probably had no problem with Jews as individuals, or at least no problem with some Jews as individuals. However, this great man had some serious problems when it came to Jews collectively. He was an out-and-out anti-Semite who believed that Jews were conspiring to take over the world. To that end, and to spread the alarm about this perceived Jewish threat, Ford purchased and published a weekly newspaper, The Dearborn Independent, that had a decidedly anti-Jewish bent. Ford required all of his car dealers to stock his newspaper, and through that and other measures, got its circulation up to 900,000 by 1925, second only to The New York Times.
Adolf Hitler was a great admirer of Henry Ford. The Nazi leader lauded the American industrialist in Mein Kampf, referred to him as “my inspiration“, and kept a photo of him on his desk. On Ford’s 75th birthday in 1938, he was awarded The Grand Cross of the German Eagle, the highest medal that Nazi Germany bestowed on foreigners.