 Speaking in 1931 to a "Detroit News" reporter, Hitler said he regarded Ford as his "inspiration", explaining his reason for keeping Ford's life-size portrait next to his desk.Steven Watts wrote that Hitler "revered" Ford, proclaiming that "I shall do my best to put his theories into practice in Germany", and modeling the Volkswagen, the people's car, on the Model T. Max Wallace has stated "History records that ... Adolf Hitler was an ardent Anti-Semite before he ever read Ford's "The International Jew".