 In 1936, a Ford executive visiting Germany was informed by a Nazi official that Ford's Cologne plant manager was a Jew (he had one grandparent who was Jewish), prompting discussions at Ford offices in both Germany and the U.S. Heinrich Albert, Ford's Germany-U.S. liaison, insisted that the manager be fired.The manager was replaced by Robert Schmidt, who would play an important role in Germany's war effort.Henry Ford had said war was a waste of time, and did not want to profit from it.