STATEMENT
HENRY FORD
X\EGARDING Charges Against Jews Made in His Publications, The Dearborn Independent, and a Series of Pamphlets Entitled "The Inter- national Jew," Together With an Explanatory Statement by LOUIS MARSHALL, President of The American Jewish Committee, and His Reply to MR. FORD.
NEW YORK THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE 1927 STATEMENT BY MR MARSHALL
Sine* die public alien nf the statement by H«nry Ford re- LU.I j.ii1. i.'~i, .,.,::.-,••! ii -. •.:• li .'!,-•, :', • •, r.itu-t and in lh* ,™,hi,,, ,.,;,:,! -n,. i,,,-,. - : .; .,..,-, , i«. ,0,1
Cu explain the conililiaris umfcr which that document came into my
On several occasions 1 have been apprrjached. by miom t-i^rsim Ii-iv.L-^!I lii'ii mi'l iii. ]f"^ Ms r.-.-'.L'fr wag uniformly Ihic if "he had anything lo prcpaftc I -wauM rcc-eLve and consider
:^;; .•i.1;:. S:;.!,.; I t fiH that those wham he had put in charge of The Dearhnrn Initprofant '"J taken idvarngge -of him by publishini the «"i« of iitidt! nmclring tin jeitj, a, whbcli Ihe titter had a\ta lirabfl^t; Iha, In li:,,j l.i-.,,..,..• i«i»ir,(,! ili-i. i.ll of ihe cTiSfJc? made ^dinsi ihcm. ' " foundatiun and unju dan; to put an ti ' Jtwj toward hhimi . There-UBflli, I .tvicivcd. Ihe Tils^orj of Ihts; niLli.-^Lin
1 L fi -^ .in.:' I11r.il 'we .nil Mir -i.L .1-1.] \ .••[ -i'n ik.i T i L 1- f. th^rmtrVe«.oradV-«u"rd not=ti"(Sl 'ihe injW X '
In answer to tils. Messes. Davis and Palnm Inquired M what might be done to Ijiim; -i, ..:• . rv L-..i lilions. I anjwtt
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Aflei titilh.fr dl^cu^^ion. Mctsis. Djwis and Paima. said that
1 1 Sranf day*, latrr I i,, J i.il . ,! .r, -„• a,;.,,-, .,, ! riili^Kd t-ll-BI FoM would iceept lUeif .^,.^,-JI:-. riprt I,-I!;,.•.-;•! lurl^r /iwus i at jiETSOHil InisrvJcVYi in mj. o.ffic, *,,tt ^fr. Films, over llie lusig diiianoe I^IL'.-I.'II i- LII"I -.1 irLr.',\ w.lh i!\e rtstilt that flil 1 Tbur^day, Jiai-.c ':"', I i~rr ^fr [\il:nri :nf
There have been so many rc-qucsla [ar ccpirt of these docu- ments and of n,v 1,-v.v ,: .„ 1 .,-.l-:i«--.^ii a 'ilntui te Ford. that it na5 Im 0^i:.,-,| :•. ii. , •!>,:!, !.,ic;'.-il to give them the publicity wbicti is disircd hi all concemed. Ntw Y«rk, July H, 18W. LETTER FROM HENRY FORD righteous indignation entertained by Jews every- where toward me because of the mental anguish TO MR. EARL J. DAVIS occasioned by the unprovoked reflections made FORD MOTOR COMPANY upon them. Dearborn, Mich. This his led me to direct my personal attention lo thi& subject, in order to ascertain the exact Tune 30. 1927. nature of these articles. As a result of this sur- Mr. Earl J, Davis, vey I confess that I am deeply mortified that this Detroit, Michigan. journal, which is intended to be constructive and not destructive, has been made the medium for My dear Sir: resurrecting exploded fictions, fOf giving currency 1 hereby approve of the attached statement -and to the so-called Protocols of the Wise Men of authorize you and Mr. Joseph Palma to deliver Zicn. which have been demonstrated, as I learn, same to Louis Marshall, of New York City. to be gross forgeries, and for contending that the Yours respectfully, Jews have teen engaged m a. conspiracy to central the capital and the industries of ihe world, besides laying at their door many offenses against decency, public order and good morals. STATEMENT BY HENRY FORD Had I appreciated even the general nature, to TO LOUIS MARSHALL say nothing of the details, of these utterances, I would have forbidden their circulation without a For some time pabt I have given consideration moment's hesitation, because I am -fully aware of to the series of articles concerning Jews which, the -virtues of the Jewish people as a whole, of since 1920 have appeared in The Dearborn Inde- what they and their ancestors have done for pendent. Sane of them have been reprinted, in civilization and for mankind and toward the de- pamphlet form Uftder the title "The International 1 velopment of commerce and industry, of their Jew/ Although hoth publications are my prop- sobriety and diligence, their benevolence and their erty, it goes without saying that in the multitude unselfish interest in the public welfare. of my activities it has been impossible for me to devote personal attention to their management or Of course there are black sheep in every flock, to keep informed as to their contents. It has as there are among men. of all races, creeds and therefore inevitably followed that the conduct and nationalities who are at times evildoers. It is policies -of these publications had to be delegated wrong, however, to Judge a people by a. few indi- to men whom I placed in charge of them and upon viduals, and I therefore join in condemning un- whom I relied implicitly. Tpservedly all wholesale denunciations and attacks. To my great regret I have learned that Jews Those who know me can bear witness that it is generallyh and particularly those of this country, not in Wy nature to inflict insult upon and to not only resent these publications as promoting occasion pain to anybody, and that it has been my anti-Semitism, but regard me as their enemy. effort to free myself from prejudice. Because of Trusted friends with wliom I have conferred re- that I frankly confess that I have been greatly cently have assured me in all sincerity that in shocked as a result of my study and examination their opinion the character of the charges and of the files of The Dearborn Independent and or insinuations made against the Jews, both indi- the pamphlets entitled "The International Jew." vidually and collectively', contained in many o£ the 1 deem it to be my duty as an honorable man articles which have been circulated periodically in to make amends for the wrong done to the Jews The Dearborn Independent and have been re- as fellow-men and brothers, by asking their for- printed in the pamphlets mentioned, justifies the giveness for the harm that I have unintentionally committed, by retracting so far as lies within my and its just laws, it would be impossible to en- power the offensive charges laid at their door by counter the hatred and rancor to which our breth- these publications, and by giving them the un- ren have been and still are subjected in other qualified assurance that henceforth they may look lands. We could not at first credit the information tame for friendship and good will. that The Dearborn Independent had permitted It is needless to add that the pamphlets which itself to be made the vehicle for disseminating have been distributed throughout the country and exploded falsehoods and the vilest concoctions of in foreign lands will be withdrawn from circula- vicious minds, invented by adventurers who had tion, that in every way possible I will make it barely found asylum here when tfiey attempted to known thai they have my unqualified disapproval, introduce the exotic growths of anti-Semitism. and that henceforth The Dearborn Independent Happily such excrescences could not flourish will be conducted under such aauspices that article* on American soil. Happily the enlightened press reflectinflti g upon the Jews will never again appear o£ this Country treated them with contempt and n its columns. as unworthy of notice. But we Jews none the less Finally, let me add that this statement is made suffered the anguish of tortured memories, the on my own initiative and wholly in the interest of. nightmares of a horrible past, and the sorrow that, right and justice and in accordance with what I in spite of the progress of civilization, there were, regard as my solemn duty as a mati and as a those who stood ready to misunderstand us. What seemed most mysterious was the fact that you whom we had never wronged and whom we had t FORD. looked upon as a kindly man, should have lent yourself to such a campaign of villifkation appar- Dearlonl, Mich., June 30, 192?. ently carried on .with your sanction. The statement which yQU have sent me gives us assurance of your retraction of the offensive LETTER FROM MR. MARSHALL charges, of your proposed change of policies in the conduct of The Dearborn Independent, of TO MR. FORD your future friendship and good will, of your July 5, 1927. desire to make amends, and what is to be expected from any man of honor, you couple these assur- Dear Sir: ances with a request for pardon. So far as my 1 am in receipt of your letter to Mr. Earl J. influence can further that end, it will be exerted, Davis accompanied by your statement regarding simply because there flows in my veins the blood the long series of vituperative articl.es which since of ancestors who were inured to suffering and May, 1920, has appeared in The Dearborn Indt- nevertheless remained steadfast in their trust in ptndent and which contains the most violent at- God, Referring to the teachings of the Sermon on tacks upon the Jews. You now declare that after the Mount, Israel ZangrwM once said that we Jews an examination of those articles you fed shocked are after all the only Christians. He might have and mortified because of the harm which they added that it is because essentially the spirit of have clone, and you ask for forgiveness. forgiveness is a Jewish trait. For twenty centuries we Jews have been acews- It is my sincere hope that never a^ain shall tomed to forgive insults and injuries, persecution such a recrudescence of ancient superstition mani- and intolerance, hoping that we might behold the fest itself upon our horizon. day when brotherhood and good will would be universal. We had fondly hoped that in this Very truly youTS, blessed Republic, with its glorious Constitution Louis MARSHALL.