Germany 1922 - what would you do?

[Werner]

The Third Reich.

Understand, the 1920s and 1930s were very different times, with Communism on the march, Britain trending left and unofficial America left with the feeling she had few real friends in the world... sound familiar?

In July 1938, prior to the outbreak of war, the German consul at Cleveland gave Ford, on his 75th birthday, the award of the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, the highest medal that Nazi Germany could bestow on a foreigner, while James D. Mooney, vice-president of overseas operations for General Motors, received a similar medal, the Merit Cross of the German Eagle, First Class.

The American Axis, written by Holocaust researcher and investigative journalist Max Wallace, takes a harsh view of Lindbergh's pre-war actions, agreeing with Franklin Roosevelt's assessment that Lindbergh was "pro-Nazi". However, Wallace finds that the Roosevelt Administration's accusations of dual loyalty or treason are unsubstantiated.

Greatest American Aviator in history denied an active role in WW.II. Interesting....

Lindbergh's two awards:

Congressional Medal of Honor

For displaying heroic courage and skill as a navigator, at the risk of his life, by his nonstop flight in his airplane, the "Spirit of St. Louis," from New York City to Paris, France, May 20-21, 1927, by which Capt. Lindbergh not only achieved the greatest individual triumph of any American citizen but demonstrated that travel across the ocean by aircraft was possible.

Service Cross of the German Eagle

(I realize this is the same medal shown above for Henry Ford, but this is the way it is denoted in Wikipedia (probably wrongly).

A number of influential Americans saw Germany, rightly or wrongly, as a "stopper" for "Asiatic Communism", and felt that it would be possible to tame Hitler's more outrageous positions with money and influence. Some, like Ford did not hold views dissonant with Hitler on anti-Semitism.

[Lesforan]

Wow!

1938 was pretty late to be cozying up to the Nazis. I'm rather surprised that the medal is on display at the Ford Museum.

Certainly neither Ford nor GM had any reservations about selling their cars to Jews. I wonder how sales would have been if the American public and American Jews in particular were aware of this schmoozing.

Ford's anti-semetic views were apparent as far back as the 1920's, when he financed the publication of some virulently anti-Jewish tracts. Apparently his products were popular with the Nazis. I have seen many photos of SA-types being driven around in Ford trucks.

Germany was a "stopper" for "Asian Communism", but the time to cultivate US-German ties to exploit this was long before 1938. By 1938 Hitler was cozying up to Stalin, and had revealed the true nature of his political program.

[Werner]

Growing up I knew a number of senior men of Jewish faith who simply refused to own or ride in a Ford. Then I learned why.

It wasn't just anti-union activities at Ford. Henry actively supported anti-semitism in the 1930s and supported Hitler's crowd before the war.