‘Long overdue’: Newly restored Henry Ford home will confront his antisemitism

Curators at Fair Lane, Henry Ford's historic Dearborn manor, plan to address his antisemitism when the museum reopens in June 2027 after a 17-year restoration. Staff will teach visitors about Ford's publication of conspiracy theories in The Dearborn Independent, his admiration by Hitler, and Nazi Germany's medal award to him. Jewish leaders applaud the commitment as long overdue.

Curators at Fair Lane, the historic Dearborn, Michigan home of Henry and Clara Ford, plan to address the industrialist's antisemitism when the museum reopens to the public in June 2027 after a 17-year restoration. Staff will teach visitors about Ford's publication of venomous conspiracy theories in his newspaper, The Dearborn Independent, for years, his admiration by Hitler, and Nazi Germany's award of the Grand Cross of the German Eagle to him in 1938. The curators, Austin Eighmey and Hannah McCready, told JTA that discussions of antisemitism are core to the revitalized Fair Lane's statement of purpose, alongside other unflattering aspects of Ford's character such as his union-busting activities. Leaders of Jewish groups, including Catherine Cangany of the Jewish Historical Society of Michigan, applauded the commitment as long overdue, noting that local Jewish groups have been pushing for Ford's enterprises to acknowledge his antisemitism for years. The curators did not broach specifics of their educational plan with their Jewish audience in June but outlined their intentions in more detail in September.