Adolf Hitler Campbell Custody Battle: Parents Who Gave Kids Nazi Names Lose Custody

Heath and Deborah Campbell say the ruling was based not on any evidence of abuse but on the names chosen for their kids.

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Associated Press

Heath Campbell (L) and Deborah Campbell (R) lost custody of their four children, including Adolf Hitler Campbell (M) after a New Jersey court deemed them unfit to raise children.

A New Jersey couple has lost a three-year custody battle over their four children, three of whom are named after Nazi figures.

Last week a superior court in New Jersey ruled that Adolf Hitler Campbell, 4, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell, 3, Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell, 2, and Hons Campbell, 7 months, would remain in the care of the state, reports the New Jersey Star-Ledger. Officials say they had evidence of abuse by the parents Heath Campbell, 37, and Deborah Campbell, 27. Court documents indicate that “the children were being strapped into their booster seats for unusually long periods of time amid ongoing domestic violence,” reported ABC News.

(MORE: Baby Name Game: How a Name Can Affect Your Child’s Future)

Heath Campbell, a self-described Nazi, denied the allegations of mistreatment, telling the Star-Ledger that the court ruling was based on the names he and his wife chose for their children. “These kids weren’t abused. Our kids weren’t taken because of abuse,” he said. “If I have to give up my Nazism, then so be it. I’ll do it… [The children are] more my heart and soul and everything than anything.”

The Campbell children have been in state custody since January 2009, shortly after a store refused to write the name Adolf Hitler Campbell on a birthday cake; all four children will remain in the care of New Jersey’s Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS). A DYFS spokesperson could not comment on the latest ruling because of confidentiality laws.

The Campbell family attorney says the couple, who now live separately, will appeal the latest court ruling.

(MORE: How Child Abuse Primes the Brain for Future Mental Illness)