The front of the Dark Enlightenment recruitment form found hidden at the Columbia University library. Photo: Bwog.

Jews at Columbia University in New York City were rattled Wednesday by the discovery at the library of application forms for an alt-right neo-fascist organization in a box covered with the book jacket of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles.

According to the Columbia/Barnard branch of the Jewish campus organization Hillel, finding the forms for the neo-Nazi Dark Enlightenment movement “profoundly disturbed our community, many of whom have close family members who are Holocaust survivors and know all too well the effects of these hateful agendas.”

Hillel said that its “staff has been in touch with University officials, Public Safety, and outside organizations, all of whom are looking into this discovery. Though little information has come to light, we…want to affirm that we unequivocally stand against any presence of antisemitism and bigotry on our campus.”

According to the independent Columbia news website Bwog, the documents filled with neo-Nazi imagery and language were uncovered when a student working at the library found what looked like a copy of Hardy’s novel placed in the wrong section.

Bwog said the forms — featuring an image similar to the German Reichsadler, the Third Reich’s coat of arms depicting an eagle on top of a swastika — asked applicants to rank their objectives, availability, topics of concern and interest in leadership positions. 

This is not the first time that Dark Enlightenment has made its presence known at Columbia. According to Bwog, in September, the group posted recruitment fliers in campus men’s rooms. 

The fake book containing recruitment forms for an alt-right neo-Nazi organization. Photo: Bwog.

The inside of the Dark Enlightenment recruitment form found hidden at the Columbia University library. Photo: Bwog.