During the 1930s, the German-American Bund, a revived organization emerging from the disbanded Friends of New Germany under the leadership of immigrant Fritz Kuhn, established more than twenty youth camps across the country. To most outsiders, these camps appeared to be summer camps to give German-American youth opportunities to engage with sports and the land. But in reality, they were fronts of the Nazi movement. One camp in particular, Camp Nordland, operated in Sussex County, New Jersey, from 1937 until early 1941.

Barbara Krasner, a historian and prize winning poet, has written about Camp Nordland and how it unraveled a friendship between two Newark teens, one Jewish and one German-American. Dr. Krasner will present the history of the Bund in America, the establishment of these camps with a special emphasis on Nordland, and read selections from her novel in verse, Facing the Enemy: How a Nazi Youth Camp in America Tested a Friendship (Calkins Creek, 2023). She’ll also discuss the importance of upstanding to protect human rights then and now.

This event is free and open to the public. Professional development hours provided.

For more information, please contact: Erica V. Colace, Director, Kean Skylands
keanskylands@kean.edu | (908) 737-1612