Share and Follow
A prominent Democratic fundraiser from Michigan has recently taken down social media posts honoring her German grandfather after military experts identified elements in the images that suggest connections to the Nazi regime. The photos appeared to depict SS uniforms and Nazi concentration camp structures.
Kelly Neumann, 46, chose to remove the photos and her tribute to her grandfather, Albert Neumann, who served in the German military during World War II. This decision followed a wave of criticism from the Jewish community and members of her own party.
An investigation by the Daily Mail has brought to light concerning aspects of her family’s history during the war, indicating that her grandfather’s role may have extended beyond that of an ordinary soldier.
Experts in military history, who reviewed Neumann’s collection of family photographs, noted that some images appeared to feature the uniforms of the Schutzstaffel (SS), the elite paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party.
The pictures also seemed to have been taken at Sachsenhausen, a notorious concentration camp located north of Berlin, where more than 30,000 prisoners lost their lives.
Millions of German men were conscripted into the regular army during World War II, often without ideological allegiance to Adolf Hitler’s regime.
But historians stress that service in the Nazi Party’s SS units was fundamentally different – it was explicitly ideological and membership typically required demonstrated loyalty to the Nazi state.Â
The controversy around Neumann has already seen prominent Democrats distance themselves the lawyer, who has worked as a fundraising co-chair for several high-profile Michigan candidates.
Kelly Neumann, who is also a principal attorney at Neumann Law Group, said her grandfather was one of her ‘best friends’ who accepted her as a gay woman
Kelly Neumann, a fundraising co-chair for several Democratic candidates in Michigan, posted a tribute to her German Army grandfather on Veterans Day in 2024Â
And the revelation put her own beliefs in new context.
Neumann is an LGBTQ+ campaigner who reportedly co-chaired a Democratic fundraiser dinner last year with a sign outside that declared ‘MAGA=NAZI.’
She’s also gone to war against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), offering legal support to those caught up in the agency’s tough crackdown.
Pedro Filipuzzi, an Argentine engineer and military historian, examined the aged and grainy photographs at the Mail’s request.
The buildings in the background closely match the distinctive architecture of Sachsenhausen, said Filipuzzi.
‘At least 30,000 detainees died at Sachsenhausen, perhaps many more,’ he told the Daily Mail.
‘Any German service member who was there must have known about the horrors that took place there.’
The color, materials and institutional style are consistent with structures at the concentration camp, which served as the SS administrative hub and training center, he added.
The camp housed some 200,000 prisoners during the war, including Jews, gay people, Roma, political dissidents and others targeted by the Nazi regime.
Neumann posted a selection of photos showcasing her grandfather Albert’s military career
Laurence De Mello, another expert on the Third Reich, analyzed the uniforms visible in the photographs.
‘These men are most likely SS camp staff rather than standard German Army,’ said De Mello, author of Churchill’s Secret Commander.
‘Although the image is too blurry for definitive identification, the collar braiding and overall cut of the uniforms appear closer to SS patterns, and there are no visible [German Army] branch colors.’
She noted that the ‘lower-ranking’ servicemen were unarmed and posed casually, most likely at an administrative setting rather than on the frontlines.
Neumann originally shared the photographs on Facebook on Veterans Day in 2024 as part of a tribute to family and friends who served in the military. The post only came to wider attention in January.Â
She presented her relative as a regular soldier who fought for Nazi Germany and revealed he escaped to Brazil after 1945 before making his way to Detroit.
Among the collection was this photo, showing what experts said appeared to be SS servicemen in a concentration campÂ
The architectural features are remarkably similar to the Nazi’s Sachsenhausen concentration camp, north of BerlinÂ
That detail raised additional red flags.
Brazil was a popular destination for high-ranking Nazis fleeing justice during the Nuremberg trials, though many ordinary German migrants and former service members also settled there in the postwar period.Â
As a regular Wehrmacht officer without specific war crimes allegations, Albert Neumann would not have faced trial. He would have been held in a prisoner of war camp and released within weeks or months.
Records show Albert Neumann left Brazil for the US in 1949. He lived in Michigan until his death in 2012. His son Jurgen worked in the state’s automotive industry, according to his LinkedIn profile.
In her now-deleted post, Kelly Neumann wrote warmly about her relationship with Albert.
‘My grandfather was one of my best friends,’ she posted.
‘He was one of the first people in my life that accepted me as gay when I was nervous and scared.’
She added: ‘I’ll never forget him embracing me and loving me for who I am. His story is a true testament that people can change and love indeed can win.’
Her post opened with a Veterans Day greeting, praising US service members, before switching to her family.
‘Interesting story, I do not talk much about but my Grandfather, Albert Neumann was on the German side in WWI & WWII,’ Neumann wrote.
‘He escaped to Brazil with my Father after Germany lost in WWII and then made their way to Detroit, where they spoke no English and worked their way up to provide a stable life for their family.’
The post, first reported by Jewish Insider, attracted fierce criticism online after resurfacing from two years ago.
David Wolpe, a prominent American Rabbi, shared the outlet’s coverage on social media.
‘This is so outrageous I had to double check it wasn’t a hoax,’ he wrote in January.
Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens was among the Democrats to distance themselves from Neumann, despite the lawyer hosting a fundraiser for her in March 2025.
‘Haley rejects antisemitism in all forms, and has spent her career standing up to and calling out hate,’ Stevens’ spokesman told Jewish Insider.
The SS ran the concentration camp system and carried out many of the worst atrocities of the Nazi regime.
Allied forces were stunned to discover the brutal reality of Nazi Germany’s concentration camps when they liberated the continent in 1945Â
The SS, led by Heinrich Himmler, served as Adolf Hitler’s elite paramilitary force
The political ‘activist’ (far right) also has close ties to the Democratic party in Michigan, including to the state’s current Governor Gretchen Whitmer (far left)
The images showed her grandfather wearing what appeared to be an officer’s uniform
‘Had Haley seen the post celebrating Ms. Neumann’s grandfather’s service to the SS, Ms. Neumann would not have hosted that event.’
The controversy could not come at a worse time for Neumann’s political allies.
She serves as co-chair of the finance committees for Michigan Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow and gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson. She has co-hosted fundraisers for both campaigns.
Neumann also maintains close ties to Michigan’s Democratic establishment. She hosted a fundraiser for Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in December, according to her Instagram account.
This month she announced on Instagram that she and her legal partner are taking on ICE and offering representation to anyone injured by federal agents amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Neumann, a principal attorney at Neumann Law Group, did not respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.
The Nazis, officially the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, ruled Germany under dictator Adolf Hitler from 1933 to 1945.
The regime was responsible for the murder of six million Jews during the Holocaust. Millions more Poles, Slavs, Roma, disabled people and other minorities were also killed.
Regular Wehrmacht soldiers were not necessarily Nazi Party members and should not be confused with the SS units that committed widespread war crimes during World War Two.
The SS, led by Heinrich Himmler, served as Hitler’s elite paramilitary force. It ran the concentration camp system and carried out many of the worst atrocities of the Nazi regime.
Sachsenhausen was considered by the Nazis to be the model concentration camp. Located north of Berlin, it served as the administrative headquarters for the entire camp system.
Prisoners were subjected to forced labor, medical experiments and mass executions. Many died from starvation, disease and abuse. The camp operated from 1936 until liberation by Soviet forces in April 1945.