The Mussolini of Detroit

Henry Ford was called the "Mussolini of Detroit" and had his very own secret security force which was basically an army of criminals known as "The Service Department". They were above the law and answered only to him. He was a fierce anti-semite and a close friend of Adolf Hitler who held Ford in the highest esteem. In fact, Hitler praised Henry Ford in many of his writings including Mein Kampf and is believed to have modeled his Gestapo after Ford's "Service Department". James Pool, the author of Who Financed Hitler: The Secret Funding of Hitler's Rise to Power (1979) has pointed out: Not only did Hitler specifically praise Henry Ford in Mein Kampf, but many of Hitler's ideas were also a direct reflection of Ford's racist philosophy. There is a great similarity between The International Jew and Hitler's Mein Kampf, and some passages are so identical that it has been said Hitler copies directly from Ford's publication. Hitler also read Ford's autobiography, My Life and Work, which was published in 1922 and was a best seller in Germany, as well as Ford's book entitled Today and Tomorrow. There can be no doubt as to the influence of Henry Ford's ideas on Hitler." In 1938 on Ford's 75th birthday, Adolf Hitler awarded Henry Ford the Grand Cross of the Supreme Order of the German Eagle. Henry Ford was the first American recipient of this order, an honor created in 1937 by Adolf Hitler. This was the highest honor Nazi Germany could give to any foreigner and represented Adolf Hitler’s personal admiration and indebtedness to Henry Ford.