Camp Wille und Macht
Camp Wille und Macht ("Camp Will and Might") was an American Nazi summer camp for approximately 200 German-American boys that was operated by the Friends of New Germany along the Delaware and Raritan Canal in the Griggstown section of Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, in 1934.[1][2]
Campers were between ages eight and 16 and came from New York, Brooklyn, Buffalo, and Philadelphia.[3] The Associated Press distributed several photos of the camp in 1934 with the caption: "As much conversation as possible is carried on in German, the 200 students wear brown shirts and drill in 'goose-step', and fly the Nazi flag alongside the Stars and Stripes. The leader, H. Haas, is shown drilling the boys."[4] Haas denied that the brown color of the camp uniform had anything to do with the Brown Shirts.[2] Haas also stated, "We are not Nazis in the accepted sense of the word. We are exactly what our name implies, friends of a new-found order in the Fatherland. Nazism is only part of that new order. We teach these boys the spirit and principles of true citizenship, self-reliance, and obedience. We teach them to speak the language of their mother country and to sing the songs their fathers loved to sing in their youth."[2]
Rep. Samuel Dickstein of the House Un-American Activities Committee opened an investigation and summoned Harry Haas and Gregory Lochner, administrators of the camp, for questioning.[5] He found that the campers were mostly ages six to 12 and most of the camp counselors were foreign nationals.[5] He described it as "an out-and-out Hitler camp" and was also concerned about the quantity of poison ivy on the campgrounds.[5]
The camp opened around July 7, 1934,[2] and closed on August 27, 1934.[6] On August 8, 1934, the camp held a memorial service for Paul von Hindenburg.[2]
See also
[edit]- New Jersey Minutemen – Mob-organized pre-WWII antifa
References
[edit]- ^ "A Princeton-Area Nazi Boys Camp and Civil Liberties in New Jersey in the 1930s". University Archives. 2021-06-23. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
- ^ a b c d e "NAZIS OPEN CAMP IN JERSEY FOR BOYS; Swastika and American Flags Side by Side on Tents at Site Near Princeton". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
- ^ "German Boys Drill in Nazi Camp in New Jersey". Press of Atlantic City. 1934-08-13. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
- ^ "Transcript-Telegram 10 Aug 1934, page 14". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
- ^ a b c "Dickstein Questions Nazi Camp Leaders; ' I Would Not Keep a Dog There,' His Comment Before Hearing on Jersey Children's Centre". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
- ^ Special to the New York Times (1934-08-27). "Nazi Boys Quit Camp At Griggstown, N.J.; New Yorkers Return Home in Three Trucks -- Leader Haas Criticizes Dickstein". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
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