ANT KATZ

“I saw this in a Dodge advert,” writes user Sarah in Seattle, Washington. She took a screenshot from her TV which we have used as our title picture, she says, just to share with SAJR users.

“It was for their new Charger and Challenger cars, but it showed some of the original cars from the early 1900s. I spotted the Magen David on one of them,” writes Sarah, “Pretty cool huh!”

Well, we certainly were intrigued and so we did some research. It turns out, if the information we have been able to ascertain from the Dodge Club is correct, that it isn’t a Magen David. So what is it…?

RIGHT: The logo that was used from 1914 to 1927

It turns out that the look-alike Star of David was used as the Dodge Brothers emblem from 1914 to 1927. It was a circle, with two interlocking triangles forming a six-pointed star in the middle; an interlocked “DB” was at the centre of the star, and the words “Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicles” encircled the outside edge. Although the “Brothers” was dropped from the name for trucks in 1929 and cars in 1930, the DB star remained in the cars until the 1939 models were introduced.

So, what could the meaning have been?

Unfortunately, John and Horace Dodge died before they publicly told anyone how they arrived at this symbol.

If any family members knew the reasons behind this, nothing was ever revealed or discovered.

Apparently no one thought to ask them!

Among the possibilities:

1. These are two interlocking Greek letter “deltas” or “Ds” for the two Dodge brothers

2. A mediaeval symbol of mysticism and the joining of mind and body, also possibly the joining of two brothers, who were known to be personally very close, in this business venture.

3. An abstraction of the square and compass of the Freemasons.

4. Nothing more or less than a badge with six pointed star similar to those used for law-enforcement officers’ badges, some outlined with triangles. Sheriff, Marshall, and police badges frequently were and are six-pointed stars. The old-west Dodge City badge had six points. Horace Dodge was said to enjoy accompanying local law-enforcement officers on their runs.

5. There are other instances of a company “logo” selected for no particular deep meaning other than that it suited the fancy of those who selected it. The Chevrolet “bow-tie” is a classic example, as it was copied from the wall paper of a hotel room.

6. At the time the emblem was selected (most likely 1912-1914) it’s likely that the Dodge brothers were unaware of its use in Judaism. In fact, at this time, that symbol was not used universally in this context.

Rumours that are wrong include:

1. They chose the “Star of David” as a Jewish symbol to anger Henry Ford. FACT: The brothers were actually friends with Ford at the time the emblem was selected. They were business partners with Ford and even were guests at Edsel Ford’s wedding.

2. They chose the “Star of David” as a Jewish symbol to appease Jewish bankers who financed the business.  FACT: There were no outside investors.

3. The Dodge Brothers were Jewish. FACT: They were not.

Nu, so who knows?

Sarah’s full screenshot of the beauty of old