Last week I was watching documentary about World War II. It was all about what we were doing on the home front in our factories, in our lives and how we, as a nation, came together. One segment in the documentary was about Henry Ford and his part in the war effort. I was fascinated by what I saw and heard so I decided to check out some other facts about this man. Talk about a complex human being…..wow! Here are some very interesting facts about the man. There some that will shock you and probably anger you as well, but also some that will make you smile and proud. Like we said a complex man.
- He had multiple failed car companies: The Ford Motor Company was actually Ford’s third attempt at a successful car venture. His first, the Detroit Automobile Company, dissolved after two years.
- From 1920 to 1927, Ford used his newspaper, The Dearborn Independent, to publish a series of antisemitic articles under the banner headline “The International Jew: The World’s Problem”.
- Ford’s beliefs were widely admired by Adolf Hitler, who displayed a portrait of Ford in his office. A German translation of Ford’s collected articles was distributed to millions in Germany, providing ideological fodder for the Nazi Party.
- While he was a known antisemite, on the other hand, 20% of his entire work force were people who were disabled and even blind. He was very good to those who were impaired and treated them with dignity, respect and honor.
- In 1915, Ford, a pacifist, charted a ship to Europe to end World War I, believing he could persuade the warring nations to stop fighting. Dubbed the “Peace Ship” by the press, the mission was a highly publicized failure. The delegates feuded among themselves, and Ford abandoned the trip partway through.
- His being a pacifist was one of the reason’s that Ford was one of the last big corporations to switch over not wanting to stop building cars. FDR threatened to shut him down if he didn’t become part of the war effort. Within a couple of months after Pearl Harbor, Ford began the changeover.
- In 1942 his huge Willow Run plant grounds, also with a private airstrip, stopped auto making and began making the B-24 Liberator bombers that flew in both the European and Pacific battles.
- Because of his assembly line methods and employing 42,000 people, the huge size of the factory, 3.5 million square feet, they could produce fully operational B-24’s every 63 minutes and produce over 400 every month. By the end of production in 1944, Ford produced over 8,400 B-24 bombers for the U.S. war effort.
- Ford established the “Service Department,” a quasi-police and security force to monitor and control his employees. This intimidation force spied on workers and violently suppressed unionization efforts. Many were injured or died in actual beat down clashes.
- Did you know Ford created charcoal briquettes? In an effort to find a use for the wood scraps from his automobile production, Ford develop the compressed charcoal briquette. He named the product “Kingsford Charcoal” after his brother-in-law, E.G. Kingsford. Yes, the same ones we buy today.
Like we said, Henry Ford was a very complex man, but also one of the geniuses who helped build America. there was much more we could have added, both good and bad, but there a number of sites you can check for more info. If you want to know more about this man, here is one that you can check out: https://www.bentonvilleford.com/blogs/7512/10-interesting-facts-about-the-life-of-henry-ford
Art Koch, National Features & DVD Editor, NightMoves Magazine and AAN
