Southbury, C.T.
On September 25, 1937, Wolfgang Jung purchased 178 acres of land in Southbury, Connecticut for the German-American Bund, intent on building a Nazi camp. The residents of Southbury immediately fought back lead by two local ministers and several local mothers. The camp was going to be named Camp General von Steuben with a capacity for around 1,000 campers. The townspeople were eventually successful in shutting down the camp by the end of the year.
On November 24th, 1937, Franklin Farnhan, in the Waterbury Democrat, wrote that the attention surrounding the building of a Nazi Camp in Southbury, CT was dramaticized by the national media- generalizing the actions of a few protestors as the opinion of the entire town. He argues that the town of Southbury, CT took no official stand against the “Camp General Von Steuben,” citing it was the fault of a media circus and several loud individuals who stirred up such a narrative.
However, several of aspects of the infamous town meeting on November 24th show the intense effect on Southbury.
One resident of Southbury and New York, Miss Jennie Hinman, proposed the resolution that “display of an emblem or flag not accompanied with the American flag… in the township… or wearing of… a uniform indicating allefiance to a foreign power… be forbidden.”
Rev. M. E. N. Linday pastor of South Britain Congregational church, reflected Miss Hinman’s sentiments, citing “we desire to save all mankind rather than condemn it and are not against men but against movements that hurt men.”
