When a Nazi training camp was quietly planned in the small New England town of Southbury in the 1930s, local residents refused to look away—and their stand was almost forgotten. In this talk, historian and author Melinda Elliott shares the story behind her book No Swastikas in Southbury and shows how ordinary people uncovered and confronted extremism in their own backyard. Using this case as a springboard, she explores how communities can recover buried histories, why some stories disappear from the record, and how bringing them to light changes the way we understand both the past and the present.

Melinda K. Elliott is the president of the Southbury Historical Society and the chairman of Bullet Hill School–A Living Museum. She loves doing research and sharing her latest discoveries with anyone who will listen. Melinda is the author of three published books, Connecticut Schoolhouses Through Time, Southbury Through Time: Remnants of Our Past and No Swastikas in Southbury. Her personal motto during America’s 250th year, is “Telling Untold Stories.” Melinda and her husband Ray have three children, all living nearby, and eight grandchildren to spoil.