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]
