The American Axis: Henry Ford, Charles Lindbergh, and the Rise of the Third Reich

With a lifelong interest in history, I knew that Lindbergh and Ford were anti-Semitic. But this book shows in thoroughly researched and clearly presented detail how these men were unrepentant hate mongers -- and Ford cooperated with the Nazis even during WW II. He and Lindbergh were friends, each supportive of the others hate mongering. I was utterly disgusted to learn that two men I was taught (in Catholic school) were great Americans were both decorated by Hitler -- and never returned or repudiated their Swastika-covered medals. The author reveals that it has long been kept secret that while watching footage from a liberated concentration camp, Ford suffered a debilitating stroke from which he never recovered. And to his dying day, Lindbergh never recanted his vile statement about Jews or his sympathy for Hitler -- both died claiming that Jews were to blame for WWII. With white supremacists on the rise, this book is a powerful and timely reminder of the way facts can be twisted or denied in an attempt to say there are "good people on both sides."

I found The American Axis by Max Wallace to be a very entertaining and informative read. As can be concluded from the cover, the book is about the ties of the industrial tycoon Henry Ford and the renowned pilot Charles Lindbergh to the Third Reich. Max Wallace has completed a very well researched work. Although both men are viewed as heroes of American history, both certainly had their negative impacts.Henry Ford owned the newspaper The Dearborn Independent and used it to publish anti-semitic propaganda blaming Jewish people for the wars of the world and warning agains a Jewish worldwide conspiracy. Charles Lindbergh had ties to the leadership of the Third Reich, especially Hermann Goering, and, possibly naively, was used by the Nazis to promote isolationist views throughout the United States, arguing against American aid to US allies, in particularly Great Britain. In addition, he was likely a white supremacist. Both men were awarded medals by the Nazi government and both men refused to return the medals upon American entry into the war.Anyhow, a very interesting work with a good bit of surprises for those less aware of Ford and Lindbergh.

I've known that Charles Lindbergh was an isolationist, opposed to US involvement in WWII, and I knew that he had visited Nazi Germany prior to the war, expressing a certain amount of admiration for their achievements. And I was vaguely aware that Henry Ford had expressed anti-Semitic views. But I was unaware that these two men had been friends, or the extent to which their views and positions had influenced and benefited Hitler and his regime.Henry Ford is largely (although by no means solely) responsible for bringing the fraudulent "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" to wide spread attention, firmly embedding it as part of the anti-Semitic worldview even today. Even after it was thoroughly discredited as a fraud, the fact that Ford had endorsed it trumped those findings and it continues to be viewed by anti-Semites as important evidence supporting their beliefs. In addition, the publication of "The International Jew" help inspire the Nazis (among many others), and helped to lay the foundations for the Holocaust. If this was the extent of Ford's involvement with Nazi Germany, it damning enough. But Ford's company actively resisted helping the UK in the early days of WWII, while simultaneously willingly contributing to the Nazi war machinery. And the Ford subsidiary in Germany was also a willing exploiter of forced and slave labor during the war, increasing its profits off the involuntary labor of Nazi victims. The Ford company has done a good job of burying this history and avoiding responsibility for its contributions to the atrocities committed during WWII by the Nazis.As for Lindbergh, it appears that he also came to hold significant anti-Semitic views, but his embrace of the Nazi's appears to have been more the result of incredible naivete than any sinister motives. Unfortunately, his willing acceptance of what he was shown by the Nazis caused him to become their pawn in the build up to the war, and evidence suggests that his opinions may have had an impact in the negotiations surrounding Hitler's annexation of the Sudetenland and ultimately all of Czechoslovakia, ultimately making the war longer and more costly than it might have been otherwise.Both Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh were awarded medals by the Nazis, and neither of them ever expressed any remorse for accepting those medals or made any effort to return them. Even after the war, Lindbergh never truly acknowledged the scope of the atrocities committed by the Nazis, even as he accused the Allies of imposing cruelty upon the conquered German nation.This book, published in 2003, is a disturbing look at how public heroes can influence public opinion in ways that are disturbing and dangerous. In the nearly two decades since, we have seen additional evidence of how this can happen. This book is an important historical corrective that looks behind the white wash that has been applied to these issues, and serves as a cautionary reminder that we always need to remain vigilant against those who might use their fame and fortune to promote dangerous ideas.

Although]I have always been aware of the anti-semitism in the Untied States prior to and during the war and I knew of Ford and Lindbergh's hatred toward the Jews I didn't realize how deep it went. I can imageine how my parents who were Jewish must have felt during those frightening years while the rallys and speeches were going on. I can now understand why they looked to FDR as a sort of savior. Of course they couldn't have forseen that he didn't try to save one Jewish life during the war. Be that as it may he did fight the Isolationists and help to save the world from spinning out of control with his wonderful leadership. I was unaware that Ford helped the Nazi regime by using his factories to help build their war machine. I didn't know that he had Nazis working in top positions at Ford. I didn't know that the Newspaper he owned was translated into dozens of languages and circulated all over the world. He was a one man hate machine. I had read about Lindbergh and knew of his love for Germany and about his fathering other families. I guess he wanted to populate the world with his genes mixed with the pure Aryans of Germany. He was a hateful person and treated his wife Anne and their children horribly. I can't even comment on Father Coughlin.......there is nothing to say. I really believe that this book should be read by all Americans so that they can be aware of the dangers of racism. Particularly as it is rearing its ugly head all over the world once again. I am afraid that the human species will never learn and continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. I do remember that our parent's generation never bought Fords. That was their only way to fight back.

Das Thema ist wirklich sehr wichtig, durch welchen Personenkreis kurz nach der Machtergreifung Lenins in Russland die gefälschten Protokolle in den USA, England, Deutschland und Frankreich verbreitet wurden und mit Hilfe welcher Organisationen. Dem Autor ist also dafür zu danken, den Blick darauf geworfen zu haben.Leider kommt ihm kein Verdacht gegen die maßgeblichen Personen wie Boris Brasol, Casimir Pilenas, Dr. Harris Houghton, Natalie De Bogory und Mary Karadja, welche professionelle Agenten der USA, Englands und Russlands gewesen sind und Kontakte zu den Büros der Dienste hielten, etwa dem United States Department of War angehörten, dass sie ihre Rolle nur im Auftrag der Dienste gespielt haben und gar keine Antisemiten, sondern eben Agenten waren.Casimir Pilenas war ein britischer Agent und in die Belagerung der Sidney Street verwickelt gewesen, die durch Churchill seinerzeit eine große Aufmerksamkeit bekam. Vor allem aber war Charles Cleaves Daniels, der die Kampagne von Ford mit den Protokollen dirigierte, der Bruder des zum Ende des Weltkriegs amtierenden Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, ein Freund des späteren Präsidenten Roosevelt, der damals sein Assistant Secretary of the Navy war.Boris Brasol wurde später als sowjetischer Agent erkannt, der in den USA mit der Pushkin Society und deren General Viktor Yakhontoff verbunden war, auch ein ehemaliger zaristischer Offizier, der zum pro-sowjetischen Propagandisten wurde. Ein FBI-Report von 1942 meldet den Verdacht unter den Exilrussen in den USA, dass Boris Brasol ein Informant der Sowjets gewesen ist, der als ihr angeblicher Gegner deren wirkliche Gegner zu unterwandern und zu zersetzen beauftragt war.Da hätte es einen kritischeren Blick auf diese lächerlichen gefälschten Protokolle und die Motive ihrer Verbreitung in der Welt gebraucht. Hatten sie möglicherweise den Zweck, wegen des russischen Bürgerkriegs die Weißrussen, die Anhänger des Zarismus, als Antisemiten anzuschwärzen, die dann von England und den USA auf keinen Fall unterstützt werden durften? Kann sein, dass der Autor den Gedanken nicht wagen durfte und all diese Agenten in ihrer professionellen Rolle für echte Antisemiten halten sollte, aber dafür kann ich nur drei Sterne geben.

VGC