Judges: Baby Hitler, Siblings Do Not Belong With Parents

Heath Campbell and wife Deborah with son Adolf Hitler Campbell

Back in December of 2008, a NJ family became infamous after complaining that a Shop-Rite supermarket refused to give them a birthday cake with their son's name on it. The son's name? Adolf Hitler Campbell. With the spotlight on the family, led by father Heath Campbell, a "Nazi fan" (his other kids are JoyceLynn Aryan Nation and Honszlyn Hinler Jeannie) and Holocaust denier who decorates his home with swastikas, NJ's Division of Youth and Family Services removed Adolf and his sisters from their parents custody a month later. Now a panel of judges agrees that DYFS did the right thing.

The children weren't taken away because of their names, but over domestic abuse allegations. The Star-Ledger reports, "The trio of appellate judges concluded that 'evidence of prior domestic violence committed by defendant-father against his ex-wife and the two children of a prior marriage was admissible in this case to prove the risk of harm to these children,' the judges wrote."

Heath Campbell had previously claimed his children weren't being cared for by the state. As for his son's unusual name, "There's a new president and he says it's time for a change. Well, then it's time for a change. They need to accept a name. A name's a name. The kid isn't going to grow up and do what [Hitler] did."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on August 5, 2010 3:28 PM

Comments [rss]

sofaman

There's just no shortage of Nazi news these days. I'm thinking of buying up the trademark, 'cause everytime someone says 'Nazi' I want to hear my bank acount go Ka-Ching.

Anyone but Obama

OK. These moron parents should not be allowed to have children. They should both be sterilized and not allowed to be near kids. Anyone who would be so inconsiderate to give their child a name like that is retarded.

Did they ever think once what this kid is going to go through for his entire life. It would be really ironic if he murdered them in their sleep when he is old enough to hold a gun. What dopes.

John L

Good job DYFS! Keep up the good work!

virjin

it's just a name

robingee

Says you, Pol Pot Mussolini Manson.

Spirit of 76

So you wouldn't mind if your parents had named you, say, Batshit Crazy? It'd be only a name, right?

The father is an unmitigated fool for not understanding that a name can impose psychological baggage on a person. Reasonable people know to avoid either name for their extremely negative connotations. Adolf hasn't been popular as a name in Germany since the early 20th century. It hasn't been in the top 500 baby boy names there in decades. Likewise, almost all Hitlers have changed the spelling of their family names. Only a complete idiot would name his son Adolf Hitler anything.

allthewine

Does Baby Hitler have anything to say about this?

ChampionOfTheSun

Little Hitler's mom looks like a reject from an 80's teen flick. All that's missing is a huge set of braces of her teeth.

Rocknrope

Seriously, and John Cusak cuddled up next to them. The title of the film would be "Curly Adolf"

bleeckerite

omg, LOL...

the parents look like part of the true Nordic master race! WHITE STRONG! HURR

justthinkin

You try growing up with a name like Adolph Hitler and I think you'll conclude that your life has been endangered.

Cannibal

agreed!

Boogie Down

Mommy and daddy look inbred.

JayNYC

Okay, I'm torn. Yes, the parents are batshit crazy, but does the father's sociopolitical beliefs break the law or endanger the children? Do New Jersey's child welfare people typically take children away from BOTH parents when one parent has been abused? No. Typically they would leave the children with the custodial parent as long as she was out of the home and away from the abusive husband. I'd like to think New Jersey is justified in this, but something stinks of it being more about the fucked up names the kids have. Morally repugnant, yes. Unlawful and worthy of forcibly removing children from BOTH parents? I dunno.

Dogsbody

Jay,

I may be wrong, but this is how I understand it (just from reading the gothamist article, not the linked stories):

Heath and Deborah are married and are the parents of baby Hitler and his siblings. They all live together.

Heath is accused of violence towards an ex-wife (i.e. NOT Deborah), and the children that she bore him.

So the DYFS can't take away Baby Hitler and give custody to the other parent, because that other parent (Deborah)still lives with Heath.

Like I say, I may have completely misread it, so apologies if I'm completely missing something.

PKMKII

I'd like to point out that the decision to remove the children from custody was not, in any way, based on the names or the Nazi birthday cake. They found plenty of other stuff to justify the removal of custody.

JayNYC

Either way PKMKII, the kids likely needed to be out of that environment; but being a big old card carrying member of the ACLU, I typically worry about any alternate motives behind things like this, given I know nothing of the details other than what I've read and heard. But my first question was, WHY weren't kids placed with mom? We know mom's friggen nuts to let her kids be named like that, but given you can't base such action on anyone's personal view of race or politics, what was the reasoning behind keeping them away from both parents. I'm sure there's a lot more to it, so I trust New Jersey officials did their homework before taking the kids.

joellevand

Actually, you're missing three facts Jay

1. Mom also wrote a note to a neighbor stating she was in fear of her life, and that if she was to ever be found dead, to make sure the authorities did an autopsy because her husband had threatened to either "have her killed or kill her himself". When DYFS investigated the house, according to one report, they found all the windows nailed shut and Dad was in constant possession of the only phone (a cell phone) and the keys to the family's single car.

2. DYFS said they would allow Mom to have the kids if she left Dad. Her response was "You want me to choose between my husband and my kids?" and then she said "TAKE THEM!"

3. Both parents have learning & psychological disabilities and refuse to seek help. A state psychologist testified that they were inflicting great psychological damage on the children.

RIF

smilez4milez

The nazi-named kids are children of the woman who continues to live with Mini Mel. I think the logistics of keeping them with the sweet angel I'm sure she and away from his goofy ass would be difficult within one house which is probably small and shitty. I feel like there's probably precedent(though I'm completely making this up)for an adult chosing an abusive partner over their children and losing the children though they themselves never harmed the dears.