Wonderful Cars from Woeful Figures of History

Even evil people may leave great legacies that benefit humanity.  Their trespasses do not discount the fact that they did something good, too.  I refer to two anti-Semites: Adolf Hitler and Henry Ford.  Hitler undoubtedly is the most notorious anti-Semite of all time.  Not as infamous is Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford who promoted anti-Semitism in his newspaper The Dearborn Independent and series of pamphlets The International Jew.¹

Hitler was actually inspired by Ford and “also believed the automaker shared much of his ideology.”¹

Ford’s descendants do not share their predecessor’s views.²  Ford Foundation which has helped a lot of causes exists to this day and is founded by Henry Ford.  Ford’s letter of apology to Louis Marshall can be downloaded from the American Jewish Committee Web site.³

The best-known car of all time⁴ and the most recognizable car name in the world⁵ is the Volkswagen Beetle also known as the Bug.

The car was commissioned for production by Adolf Hitler who envisioned the Bug as the people’s car.  It is well known that Henry Ford made cars inexpensive for Americans.  Hitler was inspired by Ford’s people’s car concept and prompted the creation of the Bug.¹

The Beetle is the first car in Antarctica⁶ and the No. 4 best-selling car of all time.⁷

We see and recognize Volkswagen Beetles everywhere.  Ford Motor Company has produced great cars through the decades.  Ford Mustang, in particular, is one of the most famous cars ever made and holds the No. 8 position as the most recognizable car name.⁵

We do not consider the villainous minds that spawned these cars when we see, use or buy them.  Should we?  The sin of the father is not the sin of the son.⁸

When sincere efforts have been exerted to rectify a mistake, it may be in our best interest not to bother with who created what – in time (not right away but in time).  Some things are easier said than done.  It takes a while for many of us to forgive when wronged.  And, we shall never forget.⁹

Notes

¹Phil Patton.  Bug: The Strange Mutations of the World’s Most Famous Automobile.  2002.  Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2004.  8.

²Ronnie Schreiber.  “Henry Ford II and the Jews – Righting a Wrong.”  News Blog.  The Truth About Cars, 13 Dec. 2012.  Web.  24 Sep. 2017.  <www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/12/henry-ford-ii-and-the-jews-righting-a-wrong/>.

The title of this article goes back to an earlier publication, the book Henry Ford and the Jews: The Mass Production of Hate by Neil Baldwin, published by PublicAffairs in 2002.

³Statement by Henry Ford.  30 June 1927.  New York: The American Jewish Committee, 1927.  <www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/F-46.PDF>.

⁴Patton 2.

⁵Raphael Orlove.  “The Ten Most Recognizable Car Names.”  Answers of the Day.  Jalopnik, 26 Aug. 2014.  Web.  16 Oct. 2017.  <jalopnik.com/the-ten-most-recognizable-car-names-1626803583>.

⁶Raphael Orlove.  “This Was the First Car in Antarctica.”  Car History.  Jalopnik, 15 Dec. 2011.  Web.  16 Oct. 2017.  <jalopnik.com/5868236/this-was-the-first-car-in-antarctica>.

⁷Wade Thiel.  “The 25 Best-Selling Cars of All Time.”  Automobiles.  CheatSheet, 11 Oct. 2017.  Web.  16 Oct. 2017.  <www.cheatsheet.com/automobiles/best-selling-cars-of-all-time.html/?a=viewall>.

⁸The sentence is based on Ezekiel 18:20 from the Holy Bible and varies in syntax depending on what bible version (New International Version, King James, etc.) is consulted.  Whatever version is used, the message remains intact.

⁹The pink triangle as a gay symbol traces its roots to the Holocaust when Nazis assigned a symbol for each group they massacred.  When I had my identity crisis in the late 1980s, I searched book stores and libraries for reading materials about homosexuality.  In the early days of the gay movement, the activists appropriated the pink triangle to send the message that never again shall they (we) allow such atrocity toward their (our) kind.  The pink triangle is now a symbol of gay pride.  Apart from history books, I also read fictional representations of gay men in different genres.  The book adaptation of Mart Crowley’s play The Boys in the Band is especially memorable to me because it captured the pervasive homophobia of its time, and it brought home the point that a Jewish gay man is doubly persecuted – for being gay and for being Jewish.  The inverted pink triangle and The Boys in the Band endowed me with a personal remembrance that consistently reminds me of what it is like to be persecuted and of the power in our voices, our efforts, to stop a juggernaut like Adolf Hitler.  I shall never forget.