Baby photo of Hitler found in N.J. middle school yearbook, prompting recall

A New Jersey middle school has recalled its 2026 yearbook after discovering that an infant photograph of Adolf Hitler had been inserted into the publication’s “baby pictures” collage of graduating eighth graders, triggering a bias-incident investigation involving local police and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.

East Brook Middle School in Paramus received the image after it was submitted by a student for inclusion alongside authentic baby photos of the 2026 graduating class, according to a report by NBC New York. The photo made it through the school’s proofreading process undetected and went to print before a teacher spotted it after students had begun signing each other’s yearbooks following their distribution, the outlet reported. 

Principal Ryan Aupperlee ordered all copies collected on Saturday, the same day students received them, before they could be taken home, according to a statement from Superintendent Sean Adams cited by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 

“Earlier today, after students had already received their yearbooks, we learned that the baby pictures section of the yearbook contained an image that was later identified as an infant photograph of Adolf Hitler,” Mr. Aupperlee wrote in a letter to parents. “We immediately collected the yearbooks so the image would not remain in circulation.”

The principal did not mince words in condemning the image’s inclusion.

“I want to be direct with you: the presence of this image is unacceptable,” he wrote, according to Fox News. “Even if the image was not immediately recognizable to those paging through the book, its inclusion in an official school publication is a severe breach of our values.” 

Mr. Aupperlee said Hitler “represents hatred, antisemitism, and the horrors of the Holocaust, including the murder of six million Jews,” and that “an image of him has no place in a yearbook created for our students. It does not reflect who we are or what East Brook stands for, and we condemn its inclusion without reservation.”

The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office classified the matter as a “bias incident” rather than a bias crime, according to NBC New York. Paramus Mayor Chris DiPiazza said the student responsible for submitting the photo has been identified, though it remained unclear whether the incoming high school freshman would face consequences, the outlet reported. 

Mr. DiPiazza sought to reassure residents that the episode does not define the borough.

“When anything happens like this, it’s disappointing because I know one bad apple doesn’t reflect the 27,000 residents that love this community and call it home,” he said.

In a Facebook post, the mayor added that he had been in communication with the superintendent and the police chief and that “any examples, like yesterday’s, does not reflect Paramus.” 

The incident drew swift condemnation from Jewish community leaders in northern New Jersey. Jason Shames, president and chief executive of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, called the episode “shocking people to the core” and said he wants accountability regardless of whether those responsible turn out to be minors or adults, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Mr. Shames said the incident reflects a troubling normalization of Nazi-themed jokes among young people.

Rabbi Arthur Weiner of Congregation Beth Tikvah in Paramus said he was “angered by this blatant antisemitic incident” and praised the district’s response as more forceful than reactions he has seen to past bias episodes in the area, the news agency reported. Rabbi Shmuel Goldstein of Congregation Beth Tefillah, also in Paramus, said congregants expressed “frustration” and “concern” but felt supported by local officials, while arguing schools need more proactive antisemitism education.

Mr. Adams, the superintendent, said the district is coordinating with the yearbook’s publisher on a fix that would allow the offending photo to be removed while preserving handwritten messages students and teachers had already inscribed in the recalled copies. He said the investigation remains “ongoing” and that details involving students would stay confidential, per the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The Paramus case follows other recent yearbook controversies in New Jersey schools. A high school yearbook in East Brunswick was recalled in 2024 after a photo of the school’s Jewish Student Association was mistakenly replaced with one of a Muslim student group — an incident an independent investigation later attributed to an unintentional staff error rather than malicious intent, according to CNN.