East Brook Middle School in Paramus, New Jersey, has recalled its yearbooks after a photograph identified as an infant Adolf Hitler was discovered in the student baby pictures section. Principal Ryan Aupperlee informed families of the issue in a letter on June 25, stating that the yearbooks were collected immediately after the discovery to prevent further circulation.
Aupperlee described the image's inclusion as "unacceptable" and a "severe breach of our values," emphasizing that any image of Hitler, who represents "hatred, antisemitism, and the horrors of the Holocaust," has no place in a school publication. He affirmed that the school condemns the inclusion without reservation and that it does not reflect the school's commitment to respect, inclusion, and dignity.
The school is cooperating with local law enforcement in an investigation into how the photograph was included. It remains unclear whether a student was responsible for submitting the image or how it was identified.
East Brook Middle School is planning to produce an amended yearbook as quickly as possible and will communicate further details regarding the confiscated yearbooks and the distribution of the corrected versions. This incident follows other instances where references to Hitler or Nazi figures have appeared in yearbooks, sometimes intentionally included by students for shock value.