FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 | 31
Something Missing?
Ford-sponsored Auschwitz exhibit at National Archives
failed to mention founder’
s role in Holocaust.
A
three-week-long
exhibit sponsored
by the Ford Motor
Company Fund honored
the 75th anniversary of the
liberation of Auschwitz at
the National Archives in
Washington, D.C. But the
exhibit raised eyebrows by
overlooking Ford’
s own role
in fueling anti-Semitism
during the Nazi regime.
The exhibition was held
Jan. 16-Feb. 5, showcasing
documents about Nazi war
crimes and investigations
by the U.S. government, as
well as German records used
at the Nuremberg trials.
There was also a silent video
showing the liberation of
Auschwitz.
Ford Motor Company has
previously acknowledged
its influence during the
Holocaust, including
creating a third of
Germany’
s army trucks
using laborers who were
forced to work in German
factories owned by
American companies or
their subsidiaries.
According to the Jewish
Telegraphic Agency (JTA),
Ford Motor Company
donated $2 million to a $5
billion fund for victims of
slave labor in 2001.
While the National
Archives have some
documents that contain
this information, none of
them was shown during the
exhibit.
These documents also
provide details on how Ford
Motor Company, based
in Dearborn, encouraged
its French subsidiary to
work with the Nazis after
occupying France.
Henry Ford himself was
also a well-known anti-
Semite who spread hateful
ideologies through his
newspaper, The Dearborn
Independent.
Jamie Wraight, the
director of the Voice/Vision
Holocaust Survivor Oral
History Archive at the
University of Michigan-
Dearborn, was surprised
that the National Archives
did not mention Ford’
s role,
both as a company and as an
owner, in the Holocaust.
“As a historian in
Dearborn, this idea that we
should not remember what
happened with Henry Ford
and his involvement and the
company’
s involvement in
the Holocaust is ludicrous,”
Wraight said. “This is not
a secret, and to confront,
expose and talk about it is
the only way to ever receive
any closure on the matter.
We can’
t keep sweeping
these matters under the rug.”
While the National
Archives could not be
reached for comment on
the lack of information on
Ford’
s influence during
the Holocaust, Ford Motor
Company released a
statement to the Jewish News
on Feb. 10.
“Ford Motor Company
condemns anti-Semitism
and every form of
discrimination,” the
statement said. “Ford
Motor Company Fund, the
company’
s philanthropic
arm, has supported
the National Archives
Foundation and other
historical groups for many
years to foster awareness
and understanding of our
past. We remain committed
to the advancement of
understanding and goodwill
among all races, religions
and cultures.”
CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER
Jews in the D
SUSANA RAAB VIA JTA
An exhibit at the National Archives marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation
of Auschwitz, in a photo taken Feb. 5, 2020.
JN Editor Lapin to
Speak on Coughlin
at JCC on Feb. 23
Andrew Lapin, editor of the
Jewish News, will deliver
a talk on Father Charles
Coughlin and anti-Semitism
at the Jewish Community
Center in West Bloomfield,
Sunday, Feb. 23
at 2 p.m.
The talk,
“Father
Coughlin’
s
Children:
Modern Anti-
Semitism in
America,” is sponsored
by the Sholem Aleichem
Institute, a secular non-
political Jewish organization
which organizes educational,
cultural and social activities.
Lapin will discuss his own
independent research into
the life and lasting influence
of Coughlin, the anti-
Semitic “radio priest” who
founded the Shrine of the
Little Flower Catholic parish
in Royal Oak, and explore
modern-day parallels to the
mass-media demagogue.
He will also discuss the JN’
s
ongoing year-long reporting
project on anti-Semitism
and his goals for how the
publication can cover this
pressing threat.
There is no charge to
attend.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Andrew Lapin
Coughlin