The B'nai B'rith magazine · 1927-07-01 · 10 (7.1927) · p. Seite 412

Apology By Mr- Hen^y Ford " T N the multitude of my activities it has been impossible for me to devote personal attention to their management or to keep informed as to their contents. It has therefore inevitably followed that the conduct and policies of these publications had to be delegated to men whom I placed in charge of them and upon whom I relied implicitly. "To my great regret I have learned that Jews generally, and particularly those of this country, not only resent these publications as promoting antisemitism, but regard me as their enemy. Trusted friends with whom I have conferred recently have assured me in all' sincerity that in their opinion the character of the charges and insinuations made against the Jews both individually and collectively, contained in many of the articles which have been circulated periodically in the Dearborn Independent and have been reprinted in the pamphlets mentioned, justifies the righteous indignation entertained by Jews everywhere toward me, because of the mental anguish occasioned by the unprovoked reflections made upon them. "I'm Deeply Mortified" "This had led me to direct my personal attention to this subject, in order to ascertain the exact nature of these articles. As a result of this survey I confess that I am deeply mortified that this journal, which is intended to be constructive and not destructive, has been made the medium for resurrecting exploded fictions, for giving currency to the so-called protocols of the wise men of Zion, which have been demonstrated, as I learn, to be gross forgeries, and for contending that the Jews have been engaged in a conspiracy to control the capital and the industries of the world, besides laying at their door many offenses against decency, public order and good morals. "Had I appreciated even the general nature, to say nothing of the details of these utterances I would have forbidden their circulation without a moment's hesitation, because I am fully aware of the virtues of the Jewish people as a whole, of what they and their ancestors have done for civilization and for mankind toward the development of commerce and industry, of their sobriety and diligence, their benevolence and their unselfish interest in the public welfare. "Of course there are black sheep in every flock, as there are among men of all races, creeds and nationalities who are at times evildoers. It is wrong, however, to judge a people by a few individuals, and I therefore join in condemning unreservedly all wholesale denunciations and attacks. Magazine's Files Shock Him "Those who know me can bear witness that it is not my nature to inflict insult upon and to occasion pain to anybody and that it has been my effort to free myself from prejudice. Because of that I frankly confess that I have been greatly shocked as a result of my study and examination of the files of the Dearborn Independent and of the pamphlets entitled 'The International Jew.' "I deem it to be my duty as an honorable man to make amends for the wrong done to the Jews as fellow men and brothers by asking their forgiveness for the harm I have unintentionally committed, by retracting so far as lies within my power the offensive charges laid at their door by these publications and by giving them the unqualified assurance that henceforth they may look to me for friendship and good will." Comments Mr. Pipp, the first editor of the Dearborn Independent, states that the anti-Jewish campaign which that publication carried on was not only with Mr. Ford's approval, but on his orders, and that Mr. Cameron wrote the anti- Jewish articles, not because he believed what he wrote, but "to please Ford, to reflect Ford's views." Pipp's statement does not surprise me, he told me the same thing in 1920, but Mr. Ford's apology does surprise me. If he apologized because, as he states, he was "not aware of the general nature, to say nothing of the details of the utterances," he is entitled to credit. If, however, he gave the order for the anti-Jewish campaign and now is convinced that he was wrong, and that all the charges published in his paper against the Jews were invented and has the manhood to publicly say so, he is surely entitled to forgiveness. ADOLF KRAUS, Ex-President, I. 0. B. B. Honorable Alfred M. Cohen cabled from Prague, Czecko-Slovakia, on date of July 11: "Henry Ford will prove true contrition if he follows his request for forgiveness by dedicating himself and some of his enormous means to the service of removing prejudice against Jews and other peoples based on ignorance such as he now confesses. ALFRED M. COHEN, International President, I. O. B. B." "Never Too Late to Make Amends" —Rosenwald "Mr. Ford's statement is very greatly belated. This letter would have been very much greater to his credit had it been written five years ago. "It seems almost impossible to believe he has not been deluged with evidence on the very facts which he now seems to realize are true. "But it is never too late to make amends, and I congratulate Mr. Ford that he has at last seen the light. He will find that the spirit of forgiveness is not entirely a Christian virtue, but is equally a Jewish virtue." 412