| Original caption: “Henry Ford was decorated yesterday with the grand cross of the German eagle for his industrial accomplishments. Karl Kapp, German consul at Cleveland, pins the medal on Ford while Fritz Heller, German consul at Detroit, shakes Ford’s hand. The presentation was made on Ford’s seventy-fifth birthday.” Consul General of Cleveland Karl Kapp (October 19, 1889 – June 19, 1947), left, and Consul General of Detroit Fritz Hailer (February 3, 1887 – November 4, 1962), right, pin the Verdienstorden vom Deutschen Adler (“Order of Merit of the German Eagle”) on American industrialist Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) in his office at 3000 Schaefer Road. Many of Ford’s ideas and attitudes to life were expressed in the books he wrote, with the help of a man called Samuel Crowther (June 14, 1880 – October 27, 1947): My Life and Work (1922); Today and Tomorrow (1926); Philosophy of Labour (1929), and Moving Forward (1931). He also wrote a weekly page in his own magazine, the Dearborn Independent, which 1st appeared in January 1919. Most of his writings for “Mr. Ford’s Own Page,” his column in the Dearborn Independent, were devoted to his more eccentric beliefs and were not so well received. It was a long series of unsigned pieces, which 1st appeared some months after the magazine was launched, that most people were to remember. Headed The International Jew, these cruel, prejudiced articles blamed the Jewish people, particularly the international bankers, for many of the world’s problems at that time. As Henry owned the magazine, he was held responsible, and the whole affair was to have long-term repercussions. The 1st reaction was 1 of shock, but, as the articles continued, anger against Henry and his magazine grew. So bitter did the feeling against him become that Jews stopped buying Ford cars or having business dealings with his company, and prominent members of the Jewish community took out actions for libel against him and the Dearborn Independent. Even an accident in 1927 – when Henry was forced off the road in his car and down a steep bank, giving him severe shock and other injuries – was reported by some newspapers as having been an assassination attempt by an unknown driver. Although Henry later made a public apology, claiming he had not been fully aware of the implications of these articles and would stop their publication, the damage had already been done, and worse was to follow. When the articles were later published in book form under his name and translated into several European languages, they were taken up and used by Hitler’s Nazi Party in Germany for propaganda purposes. This convinced many Jews that Henry had Nazi sympathies, and they were even more certain when, in 1938, he accepted the Grand Cross of the Supreme Order of the German Eagle – the highest honour the German State could bestow upon a foreigner. According to the citation, the award was for Henry’s part in bringing motoring to the masses, and he could not understand why there should have been such a reaction to his acceptance on those terms, especially as he had a large factory in Germany which employed German workers. But the bad feeling against him persisted, and once again he was forced into making a statement, declaring that those who had known him for many years must realise that anything that bred hate was ‘repulsive’ to him and that he would continue to do everything within his power to give oppressed Jews an opportunity to rebuild their lives in America. It nevertheless took a long time before the matter of “The International Jew” was finally allowed to be forgotten – and then, with a speech in New York City on April 28, 1938, Ford brought it all back again, without even mentioning Jews. In a 28-word speech, Ford said, “They are after us, they are trying to kill competition.” Who, asked the press? “They, the powers that be,” said Ford. In April 1938, the board of directors of the European subsidiary Ford AG, chaired by the “dominant” Dr. Heinrich F. Albert (February 12, 1874 – November 1, 1960) – publicly praised in January 1937 by the propaganda office of the Reich Ministry of Economics – voted to enlarge the Cologne plant and also to build an assembly factory in Berlin-Johannisthal for trucks and passenger cars. In June 1938, as a direct signal of approval that Ford cars sold in Germany were finally being made entirely in Germany, the Nazi government placed an order for 3,150 custom-designed, 3-ton V-8 trucks. Were these trucks being built for military use? Nonsense, cabled Charles E. Sorensen (September 7, 1881 – August 11, 1968) from the home office in Dearborn. There was no danger of war on the horizon; besides, if the German consumer market did not overwhelmingly warm to the 4-cylinder Ford “Eifel” sedan, then the company needed to cater to the demand for other vehicles. Coming to terms with the necessity of cooperating with the new government was a significant breakthrough for Ford AG, 1 that Albert had been pushing with the powers in the states for several years, beginning when he fired the ineffective Edmund Heine. Albert also encouraged the Dearborn and Dagenham factories to purchase tractor parts, transmissions, and axles manufactured in Germany, as a diplomatic gesture aimed at enhancing German export activity. Stockholders were pleased to see Ford AG’s foreign sales triple. In 1938, for the 1st time in its history, Ford AG paid a dividend. A year later, the company changed its official name to Ford-Werke Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung “as a symbol of its wholly German identity.” In light of these developments, Henry Ford was delighted when, upon the occasion of his 75th birthday, July 30, 1938, he became the 1st American recipient of the Verdienstorden vom Deutschen Adler (“Order of Merit of the German Eagle”). Contrary to some published accounts, the presentation of this award, created by Hitler in 1937, “as the highest honor given by Germany to distinguished foreigners,” was not a surprise. It was announced at Ford’s birthday dinner, attended by an invited audience of more than 1,500 prominent Detroiters. The Editor of the Dearborn Independent, William J. Cameron (December 29, 1878 – August 1, 1955), made the keynote speech, in which he praised “the Ford influence upon engineering and production and upon society.” The German consul in Cleveland, Karl Kapp, then read the formal, laudatory citation from a parchment scroll signed by Ford’s longtime admirer, Nazi German Führer und Reichskanzler (“Leader and Reichchancellor”) Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945), “in recognition of Ford’s pioneering auto work in motorization and in making autos available to the masses.” Flanked by Kapp on his left and German Consul Heiler of Detroit on his right, Ford beamed as a red leather box was opened before his eyes. There nestled a golden cross surrounded by 4 small swastikas, finished in white enamel, strung on a red ribbon with white and black borders. Kapp draped a broad, red satin sash over Henry Ford’s right shoulder, extending down to his left hip, and then pinned the medal to the breast pocket of his white suit.” Ford operated slave labor factories in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany during World War II. 60 percent of the Nazi German Heer (“Army”) 3-ton trucks were made by Ford’s subsidiaries. The United States Government suspected that Robert H. Schmidt (1899-1962), the manager of all Ford’s European factories, traveled to Lisbon, Portugal, to meet with executives from Dearborn, an act of illegal communication under American law. Ford could say he “hoped neither side wins,” because Ford was making money from both sides. Kapp was recalled from the United States with other German diplomats, hastily ending a vacation, when the United States closed all German consulates. His daughter, Nele Kapp (July 31, 1919 – October 12, 1978), a Junior at Western Reserve University, was expelled. Posted to Sofia, Bulgaria, Nele was an embassy secretary. She was soon spying for the Americans and moved to Ankara, Turkey, in January 1944. There, she exposed the “Cicero” spy, Elyesa Bazna (July 28, 1904 – December 21, 1970). “Unser Fritz” Heiler was dismissed at the outbreak of war, returned to Detroit, and was active in local social, cultural, and religious work. Heiler studied United States President Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865). | |
| Image Filename | wwii0930.jpg |
| Image Size | 233.51 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1792 x 1430 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | July 30, 1940 |
| Location | |
| City | Dearborn |
| State or Province | Michigan |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database