| Amerikadeutscher Volksbund (“American-German People’s League”) Ordnungs-Dienst (OD – literally the “Ordinance Service” or “Uniformed Service,” the equivalent of the Sturmabteilung) gives the “Hitler salute” before the United States, Swastika, and Imperial German flags at Camp Siegfried, Yaphank, Long Island, New York. They wear jodhpurs, flared-hip breeches, swastika armbands, and tall boots that were an iconic fashion staple of the military uniforms of Imperial and Nazi Germany. The Amerikadeutscher Volksbund established camps across the United States in the 1930s. Camp Siegfried, named for the Germanic legend of the dragon slayer, opened in 1935. 23 different versions of the story were published in the decade following World War I. The streets were named after Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe Hermann Goering (January 12, 1893 – October 15, 1946) and Führer und Reichskanzler (“Leader and Reichchancellor”) Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945), and bungalows next to the swimming pool had swastikas embedded in the masonry. The Long Island Railroad (LIRR) had a “special” train that arrived at Yaphank with children attending Camp Siegfried from 1936 to 1939, paying 5 dollars a week. They originally came exclusively from New York City, including Yorkville, Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens. They arrived at the music of Der Spielmannszug, the Brooklyn Bund’s all-male marching band. Later camp attendees came from further away. The children, who were German Americans, were given German literature and shown German movies, many of which had pro-Nazi themes. According to The Washington Post, the purpose of Camp Siegfried was to “raise the future leaders of America – and make sure they were steeped in Nazi ideals.” Others attended Camp Siegfried. Italian Blackshirts joined the Bund for Deutscher Tag von Long Island (“German Day on Long Island”) on August 28, 1937. White Russians (anti-Communists) marched in front of a crowd of 25,000. Poles and Ukrainians disparaged “Jewish Bolshevism.” Increasingly isolated, hated, and held in contempt by other Americans, the Bund remained in German American communities that echoed their racial opinions. 428 leaders of the Amerikadeutscher Volksbund met Hitler in Berlin during the 1936 Olympics, wearing the same uniforms as pictured here. Hitler’s visitors included George Froeboese (1900 – June 16, 1942), of Milwaukee, Gauleiter Midwest; Karl Arndt (???? – ????), fundraiser; Rudolf Markmann, Eastern Gauleiter; Karl Weiler (October 8, 1903 – January 1973), President of the German-American Settlement League; Fritz Julius Kuhn (May 15, 1896 – December 14, 1951), the elected Führer of Amerikadeutscher Volksbund. Kuhn ended up an embarrassment to the Nazis, as he was loud, overt, and evident in his racism. Hitler preferred a stealthy Bund that worked behind the scenes. Kuhn wanted publicity. A veteran of the Imperial German Army in World War I, his thick German accent and constant remarks in the press reminded Americans, especially German Americans, of what they despised about the Nazis. A naturalized United States citizen in 1934, Kuhn was indicted as a foreign agent of Germany in 1939. He was found to have embezzled 14,000 dollars from the Bund and served time in prison from 1939 to 1943. Deported in 1945, West Germany incarcerated him until 1951. 6 other defendants were also indicted. During the trial of Bund members, Martin Wunderlich, a member of the Bund, was asked to demonstrate the pledge required of Bund members. He stood up and gave the Hitler salute. The prosecution asked, “Is that the American salute?” Wunderlich replied, “It will be.” That moment cost the Bund the trial, and the government seized Camp Siegfried. It was decades before Hitler’s and Goering’s names were removed from the streets of Yaphank. Residents complained bitterly – even after the signs had been changed, the local power company still billed them as living on streets named after Nazi officials. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0949.jpg |
| Image Size | 328.86 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1600 x 1235 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | August 27, 1937 |
| Location | |
| City | Yaphank |
| State or Province | New York |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database