FLEMINGTON — A father apparently seeking to get visitation rights to his youngest son showed up at court in a Nazi uniform today.

Heath Campbell is the father of four children, including Adolf Hitler Campbell. The family drew national media attention in December 2008 when they tried to have a cake inscribed with "Happy Birthday Adolf Hitler." The store refused.

Shortly after the cake incident the children were taken from their Holland Township home by the Division of Youth and Family Services. A fourth child was born in November 2011 and taken away soon after his birth. Campbell told a television reporter from NBC 10 of Philadelphia that he is seeking visitation with the youngest child.

The children were taken into state custody in January 2009.

A year ago, a judge denied the couple's request for custody of all four children.

Although family court matters are closed to the press, NBC 10 filmed Campbell as he arrived at the courthouse. He was dressed in a Nazi uniform and smoking a cigarette. He also has visible swastikas tattooed on his neck.

Campbell said on camera that he is a good father. When asked if wearing a Nazi uniform would hurt his case, he replied that it depends upon the judge. "If they're good judges and they're good people, they'll look within, not what's on the outside," he said.

Campbell has maintained that the children were taken away solely because of the names. Officials have denied that but will not release details.

Although family court proceedings are closed, a 2010 appeal decision was released detailing what went one inside the home.

Deborah Campbell, left, and her husband, Heath Campbell, leave the courthouse with law clerk Georgina Palitto after appearing in family court in Hunterdon County in this 2009 file photo.

The children's removal was not because of their names but based on allegation of domestic violence within the home, according to the court opinion.

A Superior Court judge had ruled that the children should be returned to the parents provided they receive help. That decision, however, was stayed pending appeal by the children's court-appointed guardian and the Division of Youth and Family Services.

"Although the Family Part judge carefully and conscientiously analyzed the extensive record and made findings of fact supported by the record, we conclude that the judgment was based on an overly narrow view of the claims made by DYFS and the meaning of domestic violence in the context of abuse or neglect of children," the judge in the Appellate Division of Superior Court wrote.

The lower court judge did not consider claims made by Heath Campbell's former wife of abuse of her and her two children because it happened seven or eight years earlier. She provided detailed documentation regarding several incidents of physical and psychological abuse.

The appellate judges ruled that the earlier evidence should have been deemed admissible because it shows a pattern of behavior that would put Campbell's current wife and children at risk. They noted that the father has never participated in counseling for domestic violence despite a conviction for making terroristic threats against a former wife.

According to the 49-page decision, Campbell has been unemployed throughout his adult life because of medical and psychological disabilities. He can't read. He was married twice before and does not support or see his other children.

He and his third wife, Deborah Campbell, have since split up. She was also unemployed because of physical and psychological conditions. She dropped out of high school in her sophomore year, the court document says.

Both were abused as children themselves but neither has received adequate treatment for their serious psychological conditions, the court document says.

DYFS became involved with the family on Dec. 16, 2008, after receiving a complaint that the children were being strapped and confined for unusual amounts of time in child booster seats and that domestic violence occurred in the home, the court document says.

Deborah Campbell denied being abused by her husband. DYFS workers noted on Dec. 17, 2008, that the children appeared healthy and "that the home was clean and orderly, although it contained some unusual decorative features, such as skulls and knives," according to the court document.

The next day another complaint was received and a neighbor called and said she had been handed a disturbing letter from the mother a few days earlier. The handwritten note, fraught with misspellings and dated Dec. 11, 2008, said that if anything were to happen to Deborah Campbell then it was likely her husband had done it. Deborah Campbell said in the letter she feared for her life and the safety of her children.

When asked about the letter, Deborah Campbell first denied writing it, then offered several differing explanations about why she wrote it and what she meant, the appellate decision said.

There were also police reports dating back to October 2007 regarding loud arguments between the couple, and a neighbor also provided tape recordings she had made of arguments in the home in 2006 and 2007.

Deborah Campbell refused offers to take her and the children together to a safe place and eventually DYFS removed the children from the home.

The children and the parents were evaluated by Alice Nadelman, Ph.D., a psychologist who testified that the parents did not have the psychological capacity to properly care for the children.

Martha Rezeli, an expert in forensic risk assessment testified that Adolf had displayed aggression toward adults and other children, and he and his then 3-year-old sister showed delays in their speech development — common manifestations of being raised in an abusive environment, the court decision says.

Other expert witnesses said that shortly after being removed from the home, the boy threatened to kill his sister and his foster mother. After several months in foster care the children had "phenomenal progress," according to the witness.

Another expert testified that Deborah Campbell appeared to be the victim of "coercive" control by Heath Campbell.

Despite the testimony, the lower court found insufficient proof that the father had committed specific acts of domestic violence against the mother. The court ordered that the parents comply with certain services in preparation for reunification of the family, the decision said.

In overturning the lower court ruling, the appellate judges wrote, "Through the totality of the evidence, DYFS and the Law Guardian proved that the three children were abused or neglected" within the meaning of the law.

Heath Campbell told NBC 10 that the three eldest children have been adopted.

Any decision made by the judge today will not be made public by the court.

More Hunterdon County news: NJ.com/hunterdon • Facebook • Twitter