text: Nestled in eastern Long Island is a sleepy little town called Yaphank where the streets have cozy names like Oak and Park, names that hide a dark past: they once bore signs like Hitler and Goebbels Streets. Yaphank, in the 1930s, appeared as a haven for Americans--most of them of German heritage--who sympathized with the causes of the Third Reich. In fact, it was largely founded as a Nazi camp, one of several scattered across the U.S., where the children in the German American Bund (AKA American Nazis) could fish, swim, hunt and learn about things like eugenics. Scroll down for video . Nazi camp: Yaphank, Long Island was once home to a camp for Nazis where like-minded individuals could drink beer and learn about eugenics . Camp Siegfried was founded by the American Nazi group, the German American Bund. The group set up pro-Nazi camps where they could put on military demonstrations, teach their children about fascism and enjoy the outdoors . Today, Yaphank is still a town on Long Island. Missing now, though, are the homes with swastikas built into the brick work and hedges, pro-Hitler parades and, of course, the Nazi camp. That camp was founded in 1935 by Friends of New Germany, writes Dangerousminds.net. That group went on to become the German American Bund. The Bund in Yaphank, as it did in similar communities in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and New Jersey, organized military demonstrations where they waved both the American and Nazi flags. In an article published in the Long Island History Journal, Stony Brook University historian Ryan Shaffer describes a typical day at Camp Siegfried thusly: . 'Locals from Yaphank, Jamesport, Aquebogue, and Riverhead visited the camp to drink beer, join in the festive atmosphere walking or driving down Hitler Street to salute American and Nazi flags.' Shaffer writes that 'support for Nazi Germany in the United States was a unique blend of German and American ideology rather than just a foreign import.' However, members had to be Aryan and were united in their belief that those with German blood would lead America into a 'new era.' Adolf Hitler Street: Yaphank once had streets named Adolf Hitler, Goebbels and Goering as well as Berliner and Hamberger. Most of the names have since been changed, but the county still retains the original maps . Swastika hedge: Gone now, too, are the swastikas that once adorned the lawns and buildings of the camp and town . 'Locals from Yaphank, Jamesport, Aquebogue, and Riverhead visited the camp to drink beer, join in the festive atmosphere walking or driving down Hitler Street to salute American and Nazi flags,' notes Stony Brook University historian Ryan Shaffer . In the years leading to America joining the Allies, the FBI and New York police started to keep an eye on the Bund in Yaphank. Photos that only recently became available were mainly taken by New York police and can be viewed here. The FBI once noted that Yaphank contained 150 to 300 children who 'used to wear a uniform like that of the Hitler Youth in Germany.' Things fell apart for the Bund in 1941 after the U.S. declared war on Germany and open support of Hitler became criminal. The bund's leader Fritz Julius Kuhn was imprisoned for tax evasion and embezzling and the group faded into obscurity. In Yaphank, Camp Siegfried was shut down and taken over by the German-American Settlement league, which still runs it today, according to untappedcities.com. The park is apparently for private use only. A German American Settlement League sign reads 'Private community -- members and guests only.' The street names like Hitler, Goebbels and Goering have gone. Adolf Hitler Street is now Park Street, Goering is now Oak and Goebbels is Northside Avenue. Nazi salute: In the run-up to 1941, the FBI and NYPD kept close tabs on the Bun. The FBI once noted the Yaphank had 150 to 300 children who 'used to wear a uniform like that of the Hitler Youth in Germany'
target: Yaphank in Long Island was founded in part by the German American Bund, a pro Nazi group that flourished in the 1930s .
  They established Camp Siegfried in 1935 as a place for like-minded Aryans to drink beer, hold military demonstrations and learn about eugenics .
  Yaphank remains a town in Long Island, but gone are the roads once called Adolf Hitler Street, Goebbels and Goering .