06/12/2012

Jewish Intellectual property and the car industry

Alexander Zanzer

The hiring of a Jewish COO at the Ford company made news on every Jewish website. The symbolism was almost identical to the first American President. Henry Ford, a notorious anti-Semite, who dealt with the Nazi Party during the Holocaust, would certainly not appreciate that his company is run by a Jewish executive.
>> The history and importance of the Ford company makes the appointment a real event. The shift from anti-Semitism came over very long years. The first Jewish vice-president was nominated only in 1977. The Ford family tried successfully to gain acceptance among the Jewish community. In 1999, Benson Ford Jr., a greatgrandson of the auto tycoon, purchased a 500-year-old Thorah scroll and donated it to Temple Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield. The Torah was written in hiding between 1492 and 1560 in Spain or Portugal, where it was illegal to practice Judaism at the time. But we should not only focus on the US car industry. Europes car manufacturers still didnt come clean with their past. The story which speaks most to the imagination is that of Volkswagen. Yes, the largest European car manufacturer has made an agreement with the Claims Conference on slave labor. At that time, an agreement was signed to specify that those payments closed the compensation chapter. But there is something more than money. According to recent books and publications, Volkswagen took away Jewish Pride by stealing intellectual property, an asset all restitution committees forgot to mention. The Volkswagen beetle prototype was invented by Josef Ganz in 1930. He gave to the car the shape, the name and even the price setting. Hitler was fascinated by the design, but a Jewish car didnt fit in the Nazi manifest. The drawings were handled to Ferdinand Porsche who is still credited for the most popular car ever. After several assassination attempts, Ganz fled Germany to Switzerland. He died as a lonely man in Australia in 1967. More important than hiring Jewish executives it to recognize Jewish contributions to mankind, from science to art. Volkswagen should be forced to examine the claims and proclaim the truth. What the Jewish people cherish most are our accomplishments. It gives us self-confidence and pride. Those are the ingredients for a medicine without which the Jewish people will not survive.

"Hitler was fascinated by the design, but a Jewish car didnt fit in the Nazi manifest."