The author characterises the interwar years 1918-1945 as those in which US anti-Semitism flourished as never before or since. An exacerbation of previously existing prejudice,it permeated all aspects of society, fostered by the churches and influential public figures like automobile tycoon Henry Ford. Additional factors were the effects of the Great Depression, the Spanish Civil War, and traditional American isolationism. Jews were publicly accused of divided loyalties and exercising a disproportionate influence in politics, business and the arts. These attitudes persisted until the start of the postwar period.