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Supermarket defends itself over Adolf Hitler cake

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-18 09:39

EASTON, Pa. – A supermarket is defending itself for refusing to write out 3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell's name on his birthday cake. Deborah Campbell, 25, of nearby Hunterdon County, N.J., said she phoned in her order last week to the Greenwich ShopRite. When she told the bakery department she wanted her son's name spelled out, she was told to talk to a supervisor, who denied the request.

Heath Campbell, left, with his wife, Deborah, and son Adolf Hitler Campbell, 3, pose in Easton, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008. Deborah and Heath attempted to buy a birthday cake for their son at a nearby ShopRite supermarket in Greenwich, N.J. but were told that the store would not spell the youngster's name out on the cake. The Campbells also have two daughters, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell. [Agencies]

Karen Meleta, a ShopRite spokeswoman, said the store denied similar requests from the Campbells the last two years, including a request for a swastika.

Related readings:  Cake request for 3-year-old Hitler namesake denied

"We reserve the right not to print anything on the cake that we deem to be inappropriate," Meleta said. "We considered this inappropriate."

The Campbells ultimately got their cake decorated at a Wal-Mart in Pennsylvania, Deborah Campbell said Tuesday.

A Wal-Mart spokesman said on Wednesday that in light of the incident, the company would review its guidelines regarding cake decorations and other requests.

"It's clear that in serving this customer, some people were offended," spokesman Greg Rossiter said. "As a result, we're going to review our policies."

Heath Campbell said he named his son after Adolf Hitler because he liked the name and because "no one else in the world would have that name."

The Campbells' two other children are named JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell, who turns 2 in a few months, and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell, who will be 1 in April.

Campbell said he was raised not to avoid people of other races but not to mix with them socially or romantically. But he said he would try to raise his children differently.

"Say he grows up and hangs out with black people. That's fine, I don't really care," he said. "That's his choice."

He said about 12 people attended the birthday party Sunday, including several children of mixed race.