EDITOR'S FOREWORD
IN an interview published in the New York World February 17, 1921, Mr. Henry Ford put the case for the "Protocols of Zion" tersely and convincingly. He said: "The only statement I care to make about the Protocols is that they fit in with what is going on. They are sixteen years old and they have fitted the world situation up to this time. They fit it now."
He made this statement when Jewish leaders and the Jewish Press in America were fulminating against a series of articles printed in Ford's newspaper The Dearborn Independent during the years 1920 to 1922. After some years of pressure such as only organized Jewry can conceive or inflict, Henry Ford was made to apologise to Jewry in a letter addressed to Louis Marshall, then leader of the American Jewish Committee, dated June 30, 1927. Ford's apology was abject, but neither then nor since did he ever deny the truth of the articles.
As clearly as the "Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion" reveal a concerted plan of action, of intention and achievement, through centuries of world history, so the long series of articles in The Dearborn Independent expose the powerful concentration of forces organized by Jewish interests and the effects of Jewish influences in the United States from the time of the Civil War up to the uneasy years following the first world war.The scope of the original articles is wide, the analysis of the relentless march of Jewish ambition and the rapid acquisition of political power is deep and dispassionate. In their entirety they present a most thorough exposition of the range of Jewish influences in America over many decades; they provide adequate evidence of the motives that inspire such phenomena and the ultimate objective towards which Jewish policy is leading the world. In the 29 years that have passed since the publication of the series began, Jewish power in the United States has developed to a degree far out-distancing even the alarming proportions exposed at that time.
The Jewish "National State" of which we have heard so much deceptive talk elsewhere is already firmly established. De jure and de facto the United States of America can claim that title, though many American citizens may even yet be astonished and no doubt indignant to read the statement.
But, examine the FACTS. The Dearborn Independent articles fitted the American scene 30 years ago, they fit it now! The Jewish Question continues to mount the scale of public attention all over the civilized world, attracting ever a higher type of mind to the discussion of its significance. It cannot be encompassed within the range of a single volume.
This edited version seeks merely to give the gist of the four volumes in which the famous series of articles were printed under the title: THE INTERNATIONAL JEW. Presenting the essential facts in easier sequence and condensed to about one-tenth of the original wordage, many contemporary illustrations have been eliminated, but the implications of the Jewish Question in America and the evidence of the impact of the Jewish Idea on the lives of ordinary American citizens have been marshalled in a form readily assimilable by new readers, providing a useful digest for the informed. The way to a just solution of "the world's foremost problem" is clearly indicated.
Truth is visible when honest men seek Her diligently. The reader, wherever he may be, to whatever nation he may belong, should seriously reflect upon the fact that the conditions long-operating in the United States and the conclusions which emerge from this investigation of the Jewish Question in that powerful country, can, in all probability, now be paralleled in his own land, his own city. If he should seek confirmation -- let him look around.
G. F. Green.
London, February, 1948.
HENRY FORD - THE MAN
HENRY FORD was born on July 30, 1863, during the American Civil War, on a farm at Dearborn, near Detroit, Michigan. He was the son of William Ford, a prosperous farmer who was of Irish stock. His mother was of mixed Dutch and Scandinavian origin. At 17 he became an apprentice in a machine shop in Detroit, and he also kept a machine shop of his own and worked for a harvester company by repairing their portable farm engines. His mechanical genius showed itself in early youth, and in 1890, when he secured a post with the Detroit Edison Electric Company, he realized that the public were more interested in road vehicles than in tractors and he studied the principles of the gas engine to overcome the weight of steam engines. In 1887 he had built his first gas engine and kept on building more. His first gasoline "buggy" was given a public trial in 1893 at which it attained a speed of 25 miles an hour.
In 1903 he formed the Ford Motor Company with 12 shareholders and a capital of 100,000 dollars. In 1924 he was producing one thousand of the world-famous Ford motor-cars a day. In 1924 the annual production of the Ford works reached the towering peak of two million cars, trucks and tractors. The secret of his success lay in mass production methods, and high wages. Of humble origin himself he had a deep feeling for his employees, and worked out rough and ready principles in regard to labour which he constantly applied. One was to pay the highest possible wages, and in this he was a true reformer; another, to accept applicants for work without questions or references.Many European socialists were impressed by Ford's proof demonstration that Marx had been rendered obsolete by Ford and that capitalism could be rationalized and moralized. In 1918, Ford, who had been a supporter of President Wilson, had unsuccessfully run for the Senate, and there was some talk later -- it caused alarm among the professional politicians -- that he would run for the Presidency, but he announced that he would not stand against Coolidge. Ford made great endeavours, most of them impracticable, to negotiate peace between the warring nations of Europe in the first world war.
In 1920 he went into print and bought "The Dearborn Independent," a virile and very independent journal published in his home town. It was noted for its courageous and continuous examination of the Jewish Question in America, and for its objective views on true Americanism.
Ford was accused by many Jews, along with Deterding and Greuger, to be a financial backer of the Hitler movement in Germany. At the Nuremberg Tribunal, Baldur Von Shirach, Hitler Youth Leader, said he had become "Jew-wise" through reading Ford's books.
Ford was a resolute opponent of Roosevelt's policy of "controls" in industry and commerce, but in his later years his political and other public activities were few. He died aged 83, at Detroit, April 7, 1947. A famous American and one of the world's outstanding individuals.* * * *
In his book "My Life and Work," published in 1922, Henry Ford includes the following concerning the "International Jew" series of articles: "The work which we describe as Studies in the Jewish Question, and which is variously described by antagonists as "the Jewish campaign," "the attack on the Jews," "the anti-Semitic pogrom," and so forth, needs no explanation to those who have followed it. Its motives and purposes must be judged by the work itself. It is offered as a contribution to a question which deeply affects the country, a question which is racial at its source, and which concerns influences and ideals rather than persons.
Our statements must be judged by candid readers who are intelligent enough to lay our words alongside life as they are able to observe it. If our word and their observation agree, the case is made. It is perfectly silly to begin to damn us before it has been shown that our statements are baseless or reckless. The first item to be considered is the truth of what we have set forth. And that is precisely the item which our critics choose to evade. Readers of our articles will see at once that we are not actuated by any kind of prejudice, except it may be a prejudice in favour of the principles which have made our civilization.
There had been observed in this country certain streams of influence which were causing a marked deterioration in our literature, amusements, and social conduct; business was departing from its old-time substantial soundness; a general letting-down of standards was felt everywhere. It was not the robust coarseness of the white man, the rude indelicacy, say, of Shakespeare's characters, but a nasty Orientalism which has insidiously affected every channel of expression -- and to such an extent that it was time to challenge it.The fact that these influences are all traceable to one racial source is a fact to be reckoned with . . . Our work does not pretend to say that last word on the Jew in America. It says only the word which describes his present impress on that country. When that impress is changed, the report of it can be changed . . . Our opposition is only to ideas, false ideas . . . which are sapping the moral stamina of the people. These ideas proceed from easily identified sources, they are promulgated by easily discoverable methods and they are controlled by mere exposure.
When people learn to identify the source and nature of these influences swirling around them, it is sufficient. Let the American people once understand that it is not natural degeneracy but calculated subversion that inflicts us, and they are safe. The explanation is the cure. This work was taken up without personal motives. When it reached a stage where we believed the American people could grasp the key, we let it rest for the time.Our enemies say that we began it for revenge and that we laid it down in fear. Time will show that our critics are merely dealing in evasion because they dare not tackle the main question."
by Gerald L.K. Smith
At the apex of his business career Henry Ford, the industrial genius sensed that a terrific effort was being made to take his business from him and manipulate it into the hands of the money-changers. Mr. Ford had the impression that these manipulators were being engineered by powerful Jewish financiers.
He called to his office the most intelligent research men within his acquaintance. He commissioned them to make a thorough study of the International Jew and publish their findings in "The Dearborn Independent," which at that time was the official organ of the Ford Motor Company. No expense was spared, and it is estimated that literally millions of dollars were spent by Mr. Ford on this project. The original articles were carried first in "The Dearborn Independent," and then published in book form.
I have in my possession every copy of "The Dearborn Independent." This complete set is beautifully bound in Morocco leather and was given to me by an inner-circle member of Mr. Ford's personal staff.
When the report on "The International Jew" was originally published it opened each chapter with a text taken from "The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion," or from the published statements of world prominent Jews. The moment the manuscripts dealing with the Jewish problem reached the public, a terrific howl went up from official Jewry.
If I were to summarize the campaign of reprisal and abuse which was carried on against Mr. Ford and his Company, this summary alone would require a book. Every instrument of torture and abuse which could he imagined was carried on against Mr. Ford – smear, character assassination, ridicule, physical threat, boycott. The pressure was constant, consistent and endless. The most powerful and enigmatic pressures imaginable were brought to bear on Mr. Ford to stop the publication of "The International Jew."
Finally the order came through to cease publication and to destroy the copies which were available. Jews and others went into the bookstores and bought and destroyed all copies which could be found. Sneak thieves were commissioned to visit libraries and steal the report out of the libraries. This made the book so rare and unfindable that it became a collector’s item.
The day finally came when the one ambition of the Jews was fulfilled. Mr. Ford apologized for publishing "The International Jew" and blamed subordinates for the deed.
In 1940 I interviewed Mr. Ford on numerous occasions. In fact, on the day before his first automobile was put under glass, he and Mrs. Ford invited Mrs. Smith and myself to be their guests at Dearborn. On this occasion he told me the whole story of his first car and how he happened to make it. Among the precious souvenirs which have come to Mrs. Smith and myself is a New Testament autographed by Mr. Ford, and handwritten letters from Mrs. Ford commenting favorably on some of my speeches and expressing in her own handwriting Mr. Ford’s appreciation for my activities.
It was on the occasion of one of these personal visits with Mr. Ford that he gave me a sensational and shocking report. He said: "Mr. Smith, my apology for publishing ‘The International Jew’ was given great publicity, but I did not sign that apology. It was signed by Harry Bennett."
For the information of the reader Harry Bennett was a very officious and aggressive employee of the Ford Motor Company. He presumed his way into the confidence of Mr. Ford and later became known as an enigmatic and obnoxious personality. Space will not permit a thorough discussion of the activities of Harry Bennett. Mr. Ford's personal secretary for 34 years, Mr. Ernest Liebold, told me that one of the worst things that ever happened to the Ford Motor Company was the employment of Harry Bennett.
For a certain period of time Bennett exerted virtually a dictatorial control over the affairs of the Company. His alleged deeds, if summarized might make rather a scandalous book.
When Mr. Ford told me that he had not signed the apology, it seemed almost unbelievable. In fact, I could scarcely believe my own ears. Furthermore, on the occasion of this same visit, Mr. Ford said: "Mr. Smith, I hope to republish ‘The International Jew’ again some time." He showed no signs of regret for having published it in the beginning.
I did not report this conversation even to my most faithful followers because the original ‘apology’ had been so thoroughly publicized that I knew it would be difficult to make people believe what I had heard from Mr. Ford’s own lips.
After Mr. Ford died, the man Harry Bennett evidently was very much disillusioned and embittered by the fact that he did not share generously in the inheritance. He collaborated with a Jew by the name of Paul Marcus in the writing of a book entitled '"We Never Called Him Henry."
Here is Mr. Bennett’s own story concerning the much publicized "apology" Mr. Ford is supposed to have made for exposing the machinations of the International Jew. Here are Mr. Bennett’s own words:
- "I got in touch with Arthur Brisbane, and through him learned that the American Jewish Committee could settle the matter. I entered into negotiations with Samuel Untermeyer and Louis Marshall of that organization, and with Brisbane. They drew up the now-famous ‘apology,’ which was to be the basis for a settlement. In this formal statement, it was said that Mr. Ford would see to it that no more anti-Semitic material circulated in his name and that he would call in all undistributed copies of ‘The International Jew,’ which were booklet reprints of the (Dearborn) Independent's articles. For the rest, the ‘apology’ said that Mr. Ford had had no knowledge of what had been published in the Dearborn Independent, and was ‘shocked’ and ‘mortified’ to learn about it.
- "Arthur Brisbane brought this statement to me at 1710 Broadway. I phoned Mr. Ford. I told him an ‘apology’ had been drawn up, and added ‘It’s pretty bad, Mr. Ford.’ I tried to read it to him over the phone, but he stopped me.
- "So I signed Mr. Ford’s signature to the document. I had always been able to sign his name as realistically as he could himself. I sent the statement to Untermeyer and Marshall. The signature was verified, and the case was closed.
- "All this was done without Mr. Ford’s taking anyone else into his confidence. Edsel knew nothing about it, and Cameron and Senator Reed heard about it by reading the papers.
- "Cameron’s reaction was quoted by the newspaper: ‘It’s all news to me and I cannot believe it is true’."
Later, Mr. Bennett’s story appeared in abbreviated form in True Magazine. The above quotation appeared on page 125 of that magazine for October, 1951.
I give the reader this information in order that he may read what follows without the risk of any deception concerning the Ford apology.
To summarize:
1. The press quoted Mr. Ford as apologizing for the publication of "The International Jew."
2. Mr. Ford told me in the presence of Mrs. Ford, Mrs. Smith and Mr. Ernest Liebold (his secretary for 34 years) that he hoped to republish it and that he did not sign the apology.
3. Mr. Bennett, who at one time was one of the three most powerful individuals connected with the Ford Motor Company, admits that Mr. Ford did not sign the apology but that he (Bennett) copied Mr. Ford's signature with accuracy and that this signature is the only one which appeared on the formal apology.
As far as I am concerned, I am willing to base my Conclusions relative to the report ("The International Jew") on the personal statement which Mr. Ford made to me.
Whatever the case may be, the report in its original form as well as the abridged edition herewith, speaks for itself and is supported by the logic of its contents.
Concerning "The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion" Mr. Ford said on February 17, 1921: "The only statement I care to make about the Protocols is that they fit in with what is going on . . . They have fitted the world situation up to this time. They fit it now.
It must be observed that when Mr. Ford made this statement concerning the Protocols in relationship to his publication "The International Jew," this document, which is allegedly the secret minutes of the Elders of Zion, was only 16 years old. The Jews had advertised to the world that "The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion" were forgeries. Mr. Ford wasted no time arguing this question. He merely said to his friends: "No matter what they are, they fit what is going on."
Some students of the situation have pointed out that even the word "forgery" implies that the object referred to is an accurate reproduction of the original. For that reason every student of the Jewish problem should have a copy of "The Protocols of the Learned Eiders of Zion." Copies may be obtained by addressing orders to the christian Nationalist Crusade, P. O. Box 27895, Los Angeles 27, California. Price 50c.
In his book entitled "My Life and Work," which was published in 1922, Mr. Ford comments on his "International Jew" series with the following words:
- "Readers of our articles will see at once that we are not actuated by any kind of prejudice, except it may be a prejudice in favor of the principles which have made our civilization.
- "There had been observed in this country certain streams of influence which were causing a marked deterioration in our literature, amusements, and social conduct; business was departing from its old-time substantial soundness; a general letting-down of standards were felt everywhere. It was not the robust coarseness of the white man, the rude indelicacy, say, of Shakespeare’s characters, but a nasty Orientalism which has insidiously affected every channel of expression – and to such an extent that it was time to challenge it. The fact that these influences are all traceable to one racial source is a fact to be reckoned with . . . Our work does not pretend to say the last word on the Jew in America. It says only the word which describes his present impress on this country. When that impress is changed, the report can be changed . . . Our opposition is only to ideas, false ideas, which are sapping the moral stamina of the people. These ideas proceed from easily identified sources, they are promulgated by easily discoverable methods and they are controlled by mere exposure.
- "When people learn to identify the source and nature of the influence swirling around them, it is sufficient.. Let the American people once understand that it is not natural degeneracy but calculated subversion that afflicts us, and they are safe.
- "The explanation is the cure. This work was taken up without personal motives. When it reached a stage where we believed the American people could grasp the key, we let it rest for the time. Our enemies say that we began it for revenge and that we laid it down in fear. Time will show that our critics (the Jews) are merely dealing in evasion because they dare not tackle the main question."
No mature-minded thinker – in fact, no honest reader, could question Mr. Ford’s logic as summarized above. I agree completely with Mr. Ford in his expressed convictions that all America and the world needs is to know the truth ‘and the truth shall set us free.’