''The International Jew'' is a four-volume set of
antisemitic booklets or pamphlets originally published and distributed in the early 1920s by the Dearborn Publishing Company, an outlet owned by
Henry Ford
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...
, the American
industrialist and automobile manufacturer.
The booklets were a collection of articles originally serialized in Ford's ''
Dearborn Independent
''The Dearborn Independent'', also known as ''The Ford International Weekly'', was a weekly newspaper established in 1901, and published by Henry Ford from 1919 through 1927. The paper reached a circulation of 900,000 by 1925, second only to the ...
'' newspaper, beginning with ''The International Jew: The World's Problem,'' published on May 22, 1920.
Background
At the beginning of 1920, Ford's personal newspaper, ''
The Dearborn Independent
''The Dearborn Independent'', also known as ''The Ford International Weekly'', was a weekly newspaper established in 1901, and published by Henry Ford from 1919 through 1927. The paper reached a circulation of 900,000 by 1925, second only to the ...
'', was languishing in subscriptions and losing money. Ford and his personal secretary,
Ernest G. Liebold, began to discuss a series of articles on the
Jewish question
The Jewish question, also referred to as the Jewish problem, was a wide-ranging debate in 19th- and 20th-century European society that pertained to the appropriate status and treatment of Jews. The debate, which was similar to other " national ...
.
While it was Liebold who claimed to have come up with the title ''The International Jew'', he turned to "the walking dictionary"
William J. Cameron for most of the writing. For 91 issues, the weekly paper announced a variety of Jewish-evil-influenced major stories in its headlines.
Editor
E. G. Pipp left the ''Independent'' in April 1920 in disgust with the planned antisemitic articles, which began in May; he was replaced by Cameron. While Ford did not personally write the articles, he expressed his opinions verbally to Cameron and Liebold. Cameron had the main responsibility for expanding these opinions into article form. Liebold was responsible for collecting more material to support the articles.
The most popular and aggressive stories were then chosen to be reprinted into four volumes called ''The International Jew''.
The first volume was published in November 1920 as an anthology of articles that had been published in the ''Independent'' from May 22 to October 2, 1920. The original print run of the first edition was estimated to be between 200,000 and 500,000 copies. Three additional volumes were published over the next 18 months.
Liebold never copyrighted ''The International Jew'' and therefore had no control over anyone else publishing it themselves. The book was ultimately translated into 16 languages, including six editions in Germany between 1920 and 1922, and has remained in the public domain.
Libel suit
Following the publishing of an article in the ''Independent'' that alleged Jewish control of New York banks that were holding Texas cotton farmers hostage financially,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
lawyer and Jewish farm cooperative organizer
Aaron Sapiro sued Ford and Dearborn Publishing for libel in a $1 million lawsuit.
During the trial,
William J. Cameron, the editor of Ford's "Own Page", testified that Ford had nothing to do with the editorials even though they were under his byline. Cameron testified at the libel trial that he never discussed the content of the pages nor sent them to Ford for his approval. Investigative journalist
Max Wallace doubted the veracity of this claim and wrote that
James M. Miller, a former ''Dearborn Independent'' employee, swore under oath that Ford had told him he intended to expose Sapiro.
According to political scientist
Michael Barkun
__NOTOC__
Michael Barkun (born April 8, 1938) is an American academic who serves as Professor Emeritus of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, specializing in political and religious ext ...
, "That Cameron would have continued to publish such controversial material without Ford's explicit instructions seemed unthinkable to those who knew both men. Mrs. Stanley Ruddiman, a Ford family intimate, remarked that 'I don't think Mr. Cameron ever wrote anything for publication without Mr. Ford's approval.
Ultimately, the libel suit led Ford to issue a retraction and public apology in which he indicated having been unaware of the nature of the remarks, both those published in the ''Independent'', and the subsequent pamphlets, and was "shocked" by the content.
Soon after the trial, Ford closed the ''Independent'' on December 31, 1927.
Influence on Nazi anti-Semitism
Ford's
''International Jew'' was translated into
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
in 1922 and cited as an influence by
Baldur von Schirach, one of the
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
leaders, who stated "I read it and became anti-Semitic. In those days this book made such a deep impression on my friends and myself because we saw in
Henry Ford
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...
the representative of success, also the exponent of a progressive social policy. In the poverty-stricken and wretched Germany of the time, youth looked toward America, and apart from the great benefactor,
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...
, it was Henry Ford who to us represented America."
Praising American leadership in
eugenics
Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior o ...
in his book ,
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
considered Ford an inspiration, and noted this admiration in his book, calling him "a single great man".
Hitler was also known to keep copies of ''The International Jew'' as well as a large portrait of Ford in his Munich office.
Content
After publication in the ''Independent'', the articles were compiled as chapters into a four volume set as follows:
Volume 1: ''The International Jew: The World's Foremost Problem'' (1920)
# The Jew in Character and Business
# Germany's Reaction Against the Jew
# Jewish History in the United States
# The
Jewish Question
The Jewish question, also referred to as the Jewish problem, was a wide-ranging debate in 19th- and 20th-century European society that pertained to the appropriate status and treatment of Jews. The debate, which was similar to other " national ...
—Fact or Fancy?
# Anti-Semitism—Will It Appear in the U.S.?
# Jewish Question Breaks Into the Magazines
#
Arthur Brisbane
Arthur Brisbane (December 12, 1864 – December 25, 1936) was one of the best known American newspaper editors of the 20th century as well as a real estate investor. He was also a speech writer, orator, and public relations professional who coach ...
Leaps to the Help of Jewry
# Does a Definite Jewish World Program Exist?
# The Historic Basis of Jewish Imperialism
# An Introduction to the "
Jewish Protocols"
# "Jewish" Estimate of
Gentile
Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym fo ...
Human Nature
# "Jewish Protocols" Claim Partial Fulfillment
# "Jewish" Plan to Split Society by "Ideas"
# Did the Jews Foresee
the World War?
# Is the Jewish "
Kahal" the Modern "Soviet"?
# How the "Jewish Question" Touches the Farm
# Does Jewish Power Control the World Press?
# Does This Explain Jewish Political Power?
# The All-Jewish Mark on "
Red Russia"
# Jewish Testimony in Favor of
Bolshevism
Bolshevism (from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined party of social revolution, ...
Volume 2: ''Jewish Activities in the United States'' (1921)
#
How Jews in the U.S. Conceal Their Strength
# Jewish Testimony on "Are Jews a Nation?"
# Jew Versus Non-Jew in New York Finance
# The High and Low of Jewish Money Power
# "Disraeli of America"—A Jew of Super-Power
# The Scope of Jewish Dictatorship in the U.S.
# Jewish Copper Kings Reap Rich War-Profits
# Jewish Control of the American Theater
# The Rise of the First Jewish Theatrical Trust
# How Jews Capitalized a Protest Against Jews
# The Jewish Aspect of the "Movie" Problem
# Jewish Supremacy in Motion Picture World
# Rule of the Jewish
Kehillah Grips New York
# The Jewish Demand for "Rights" in America
# "Jewish Rights" Clash With American Rights
# "Jewish Rights" to Put Studies Out of Schools
#
Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a centr ...
—
British Premier, Portrays the Jews
#
Taft Once Tried to Resist Jews—and Failed
# When Editors Were Independent of the Jews
# Why the Jews Dislike the
Morgenthau Report The Morgenthau report, officially the ''Report of the Mission of the United States to Poland'', was a report compiled by Henry Morgenthau, Sr., as member of the "Mission of the United States to Poland" which was appointed by the American Commission ...
# Jews Use
the Peace Conference to Bind Poland
# The Present Status of the Jewish Question
Volume 3: ''Jewish Influence in American Life'' (1921)
#
The Jews and the "Religious Persecution" Cry
# Are the Jews Victims or Persecutors?
# Jewish Gamblers Corrupt American Baseball
# Jewish Degradation of American Baseball
# Jewish Jazz Becomes Our National Music
# How the Jewish Song Trust Makes You Sing
# Jewish Hot-Beds of Bolshevism in the U.S.
# Jew Trades Link With World Revolutionaries
# Will Jewish
Zionism
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
Bring
Armageddon
According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...
?
# How the Jews Use Power—By an Eyewitness
# How Jews Ruled and Ruined
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...
# Jew Wires Direct Tammany's Gentile Puppets
#
B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peo ...
Leader Discusses the Jews
# Dr. Levy, a Jew, Admits His People's Error
# Jewish Idea in American
Monetary
Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are ...
Affairs
# Jewish Idea Molded
Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...
Plan
# Jewish Idea of Central Bank for America
# How Jewish International Finance Functions
# Jewish Power and America's Money Famine
Volume 4: ''Aspects of Jewish Power in the United States'' (1922)
#
How Jews Gained American Liquor Control
# Gigantic Jewish Liquor Trust and Its Career
# The Jewish Element in Bootlegging Evil
# Angles of Jewish Influence in American Life
# The Jews' Complaint Against "
Americanism"
# The Jewish Associates of
Benedict Arnold
# Benedict Arnold and Jewish Aid in Shady Deal
# Arnold and His Jewish Aids at
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
# The Gentle Art of Changing Jewish Names
# Jewish "
Kol Nidre
Kol Nidre (also known as Kol Nidrey or Kol Nidrei; Aramaic: ''kāl niḏrē'') is a Hebrew and Aramaic declaration which is recited in the synagogue before the beginning of the evening service on every Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement"). Strictly ...
" and "Eli, Eli" Explained
# Jews as New York Magistrates See Them
# Jews Are Silent, the National Voice Is Heard
# What Jews Attempted When they Had Power
# The Jewish Question in Current Testimony
# America's Jewish Enigma—
Louis Marshall
Louis Marshall (December 14, 1856 – September 11, 1929) was an American corporate, constitutional and civil rights lawyer as well as a mediator and Jewish community leader who worked to secure religious, political, and cultural freedom for a ...
# The Economic Plans of International Jews
# A Jew Sees His People As Others See Them
# Candid Address to Jews on the Jewish Problem
# An Address to "Gentiles" on the Jewish Problem
Abridged version in 1949
In June 1949, a 174-page, one-volume abridgement of the text appeared, titled ''The International Jew'', subtitled "The World's Foremost Problem", edited by George F. Green, who was editor of the ''Independent Nationalist'', a British
fascist publication.
[ This ''Independent Nationalist'' is not the same as the Irish political title "]Independent Nationalist
Independent Nationalist ( ga, Náisiúnach Neamhspleách) is a political title frequently used by Irish nationalists when contesting elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Great Britain and Ireland not as members of the Irish ...
". The book was sold in the United States by the
Christian Nationalist Crusade.
See also
*
Antisemitism in the United States
Antisemitism in the United States has existed for centuries. In the United States, most Jewish community relations agencies draw distinctions between antisemitism, which is measured in terms of attitudes and behaviors, and the security and status ...
*
New World Order (conspiracy theory)
The New World Order (NWO) is a conspiracy theory which hypothesizes a secretly emerging totalitarian world government.
The common theme in conspiracy theories about a New World Order is that a secretive power elite with a globalist agenda ...
*
Zionist Occupation Government conspiracy theory
The Zionist occupation government, Zionist occupational government or Zionist-occupied government (ZOG), sometimes also referred to as the Jewish occupational government (JOG), is an antisemitic conspiracy theory claiming Jews secretly contr ...
*
''The Eternal Jew'' (book)
*''
The International Jew'', full text on
Wikisource
Wikisource is an online digital library of free-content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole and the name for each instance of that project (each instance usually re ...
References
Secondary sources
*
Ford R. Bryan, ''Henry's Lieutenants'' (Detroit:
Wayne State University Press
Wayne State University Press (or WSU Press) is a university press that is part of Wayne State University. It publishes under its own name and also the imprints
Imprint or imprinting may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Imprint'' (TV series), ...
, 1993) (paper)
External links
Record- New York Public Library
''Statement by Henry Ford''- pamphlet issued by American Jewish Committee
{{DEFAULTSORT:International Jew, The
Antisemitic publications
1920 non-fiction books
1921 non-fiction books
1922 non-fiction books
Protocols of the Elders of Zion
Antisemitism in the United States
Henry Ford