In this 1938 British Pathé, the Assistant District Attorney talks about the prosecution of the American Bund Nazi who ran the camp.

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The following year, the Wisconsin Federation of German-American societies—which had formally disassociated itself from the Bund—allied itself with local businesses and acquired the lease to Camp Hindenburg, renaming it Camp Carl Schurz in honor of the 19th century German-American political leader, and turned it into its own youth camp. The president of the Federation said that children would be taught “Americanism” and that the only acceptable flag would be the “stars and stripes.” The Bund reacted by claiming the camp had been stolen from it, and quickly established another camp nearby.

After Germany declared war on the United States in December 1941, it was game over for the homegrown fascists. It officially became illegal to be a Nazi in the US, and American Bund members were arrested. Prior to that, the American Nazis were protected by 1st Amendment rights. But with war declared, it was illegal for American citizens to swear allegiance to Germany.

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As for Kuhn, he was charged with tax evasion and embezzlement, and sentenced to between two and three years in prison. The FBI raided the camps, seized incriminating materials, and closed them down for subversive activities. Kuhn was eventually deported back to Germany after having spent most of the war in prison.


Sources: Jim Bredemus: American Bund (Traces) | Mark D. Van Ells: Americans for Hitler—The Bund (America in World War II) | Mike Stainkamp: A history of Nazi influence on Long Island at Camp Siegfried (Long Island Report | Ryan Shaffer: Long Island Nazis: A Local Synthesis of Transnational Politics (Long Island History Journal) | Cathryn J. Prince: When Hitler Youth Summered Near Long Island (Times of Israel)

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Email the author at george@gizmodo.com and follow him at @dvorsky. Top image by Town of Brookhaven Historical Society