 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

