Pre-WWII Nazi Summer Camp in Long Island, New York



In 1935, an American Nazi organization called the German American Bund founded a Nazi camp for children, which they called Camp Siegfried. The goal of the Bund was to promote a positive image of Nazi Germany to Americans. The parcel of land in Yaphank, New York that the camp was built upon was owned by the German-American Settlement League, an organization which still exists today. 

Before the camp was shut down by the U.S. government upon Germany's declaration of war in 1941, the children who attended Camp Siegfried were taught fundamental Nazi values and participated in activities such as creating and trimming swastika topiaries, wearing Nazi uniforms and mocking U.S. policy. 

These photos are taken from a collection at the New York City Department of Records that has been recently digitized and made available by them. The NYPD took pictures such as these in the 1930s and early 1940s as records they kept on subversive political organizations. Read more about and see additional photos of Camp Siegfried at Messy Nessy Chic.

Images: New York City Department of Records


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