Pro-Nazi Bund camp was one of 20 camps in the country, By Ginny Raue West Milford While the true intents and interests may be disputed and muddied in the waters of time, one fact is certain. If you drive down Macopin Road in West Milford, make a left onto Hamburg Turnpike, within two miles you will be passing the ruins of a 75-year-old German-American Bund Camp named Bergwald. It’s a steep climb to get to the camp grounds on Federal Hill which straddles the towns of Bloomingdale and Riverdale. Once there, however, you may find the remnants of cabins and rusted cot frames, a man-made swimming hole, shattered china, walkways, wells and flag pole foundations. So what went on in this wooded and rock strewn location? History of the Bund In 1933 Nazi Deputy Fuhrer Rudolph Hess ordered the creation of the “Friends of New Germany” organization in the United States. The group was openly pro-Nazi. With a minimal membership, the group survived until 1935 when Hess decreed that all Germans sever their ties to the organization and recalled its leaders to Germany. In 1936 a successor organization, the German-American Bund, formed in Buffalo, N.Y., under the leadership of Fritz Kuhn. Eventually over 20 camps arose, including Bergwald and a larger facility in Andover named Camp Nordland. Other camps opened in New York and around the country. One estimate reports that there were 25,000 dues-paying members including 8,000 uniformed members known as Storm Troopers. Bund members were sometimes referred to as “America’s Brownshirts.” Some Bund camps were said to be akin to the Hitler Youth camps where the children were steeped in the history and language of Germany and the Nazi philosophy. Rallies and parades where Bund, Nazi and American flags flew side by side were prominent. They were reported to be anti-Semitic, anti-communist and against inter-racial mixing. They published racist propaganda and pushed for the United States to remain neutral as war loomed in Europe. Investigations lead to outlawing the Bund The Federal Bureau of Investigation began to look into the Bund in 1937 and the German Ambassador to the United States expressed his concern that the group was arousing anti-German sentiments in the United States. It is said that the Bund was of little consequence to the leaders in Germany, although they allegedly provided covert funds to the group. While Kuhn was distrusted and even Adolph Hitler expressed his displeasure with the organization, other reports cited the possibility of Nazi backed anti-American activities at the camps. Madison Square Garden was the scene of a massive Bund rally in 1939. On stage was a likeness of George Washington, flanked by the American flag and Swastikas. In front of a crowd of 22,000, Kuhn expounded on his pro-Nazi sentiments. “Heil Hitler” was chanted and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was booed. Photos and film footage of this event survive. In 1939 the House Un-American Activities Committee held hearings and determined that there were links between the Bund and the Nazi government. Kuhn was eventually arrested on charges of embezzlement and was deported. After Germany and Italy declared war on the United States on Dec. 11, 1941, further investigations into the Bund resulted in more arrests and the United States government outlawed the Bund. Unpopular or misunderstood? The American populace did not look kindly on the Bund’s philosophies. Their flag waving, uniformed marchers and rallies did not sit well. The Order Service, a guard contingent for Bund meetings whose uniforms closely resembled those of the SS, perpetuated closer public scrutiny. There is, too, the other side of the coin, and research turned up some pro-Bund information. According to this data the Bund was misunderstood and maligned by the press. They purported that the Bund’s aim was to promote friendship and trade between Germany and the United States, encourage adoption of some aspects of National Socialism to aid the U.S. economy and preserve German culture. Their writings claim membership of 50,000 to 60,000 spread across 47 states. Finds at Camp Bergwald Back home in West Milford, there are not many folks left who were old enough at the time to have an understanding of Camp Bergwald. Peter Gillen, a lifelong resident but a young child at the time, recalls his father’s words about the Bund members riding the train with him from his job in the city. “They’d come in on the train from New York on Friday nights. They marched in cadence off the train and at the foot of the hill behind Slater’s Mill they’d go up to the camp,” the elder Gillen told his son and he expressed his dismay at the very existence of the camp. There have been some interesting finds at the camp site. In the 1950s someone stumbled upon camp records secreted in a man-made cave behind a metal door. These records can no longer be traced. In 1983 two young boys found more Bund records hidden under a huge rock. With perseverance they levered the rock away and retrieved a metal box. Hoping to find untold wealth, they were disappointed in discovering German language documents which included members’ names and addresses. The boy’s parents turned the find over to the New Jersey Historical Society and while the documents may be viewed under supervision, they may not be copied or photographed and the contents of the files may not be published. There may be much more to uncover at the site. Perhaps there are more secreted caches of Bund documents that await discovery, or maybe they have been lost to time and the elements. Was Camp Bergwald an active, pro-Nazi organization nestled in West Milford’s backyard or was this camp a harmless cultural association, a victim of pre-war hysteria? The definitive in this story is the existence of the camp. This is a bit of New Jersey history that cries out for more concrete evidence and a conclusive ending to a 75-year-old story.
They’d come in on the train from New York on Friday nights. They marched in cadence off the train and at the foot of the hill behind Slater’s Mill they’d go up to the camp.” Lifelong resident Peter Gillen recalling his father’s description of the Bund camp members
Sources: http://www.britanica.com; www.encyclopeids.com (video footage); “Buried Bergwald Secrets on Federal Hill,” Weird New Jersey, Mark Moran and Chris Gerhard; www.weirdnj.com; www.YouTube.com/WeirdNJTV; www. Williammaloney.com; http://en.metapedia.org; www.germanamericanbund.org; http://www.germaninternational.com