The Third Wave
Encyclopedia
The Third Wave was an experiment to demonstrate that even democratic societies are not immune to the appeal of fascism
. It was undertaken by history teacher Ron Jones
with sophomore
high school students attending his "Contemporary World" history class as part of a study of Nazi Germany
. The experiment took place at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California
, during the first week of April 1967. Jones, unable to explain to his students how the German population could claim ignorance of the extermination of the Jewish people
, decided to show them instead. Jones started a movement called "The Third Wave" and told his students that the movement aimed to eliminate democracy. The idea that democracy emphasizes individuality was considered as a drawback of democracy, and Jones emphasized this main point of the movement in its motto: "Strength through discipline, strength through community, strength through action, strength through pride."
The experiment was not well documented at the time. Of contemporary sources, the experiment is only mentioned in Cubberley High School student newspaper The Cubberley Catamount. It is only briefly mentioned in two issue
s, and one more issue of the paper has a longer article about this experiment at its conclusion. Jones himself wrote a detailed account of the experiment some nine years afterwards, and more articles about the experiment followed, including some that interview Jones and original students.
The 1981 TV special The Wave
, the 1981 book The Wave
and various stage adaptations were based upon the Third Wave story by Jones. The 2008 German film Die Welle
was also based on the experiment. In 2010 Jones staged a musical called "The Wave", written with some of the students in the class. On October 10, 2010, a film documentary "Lesson Plan", produced by another of Jones's students, Phillip Neel, had its world premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival, and it re-tells the entire original Third Wave story through the original students and teacher.
The first day's session was closed with only a few rules, intending to be a one day experiment. Students had to be sitting at attention before the second bell, had to stand up to ask or answer questions and had to do it in three words or fewer, and were required to preface each remark with "Mr. Jones".
On the second day he managed to meld his history class into a group with a supreme sense of discipline and community. Jones named the movement "The Third Wave", after the common belief that the third in a series of ocean waves
is last and largest. Jones made up a salute resembling that of the Nazi regime
and ordered class members to salute each other even outside the class. They all complied with this command.
The experiment took on a life of its own, with students from all over the school joining in: on the third day the class expanded from initial 30 students to 43 attendees. All of the students showed drastic improvement in their academic skills and tremendous motivation. All of the students were issued a member card and each of them received a special assignment (like designing a Third Wave Banner, stopping non-members from entering the class, etc.). Jones instructed the students on how to initiate new members, and by the end of the day the movement had over 200 participants. Jones was surprised that some of the students started reporting to him when other members of the movement failed to abide by the rules.
On Thursday, the fourth day of the experiment, Jones decided to terminate the movement because it was slipping out of his control. The students became increasingly involved in the project and their discipline and loyalty to the project was outstanding. He announced to the participants that this movement was a part of a nationwide movement and that on the next day a presidential candidate of the movement would publicly announce existence of the movement. Jones ordered students to attend a noon rally on Friday to witness the announcement.
Instead of a televised address of their leader, the students were presented with an empty channel
. After a few minutes of waiting, Jones announced that they had been a part of an experiment in fascism
and that they all willingly created a sense of superiority that German citizens had in the period of Nazi Germany. He then played them a film about the Nazi regime. That was the end of the experiment.
seeking to understand and prevent abuse of it, little has surfaced on the subject; Todd Strasser, under the pen name Morton Rhue, wrote a young-adult novel on the subject entitled The Wave
, which is a novelization of the TV movie (1981)
; later, Jones himself came forward with additional material. Another film based on the subject was later released theatrically
(2008). In this version, the experiment was transferred to modern-day Germany
called Die Welle. The original Third Wave students discuss their reactions and lessons learned in the 2010 documentary film "Lesson Plan".
A full account was given by Ron Jones in the 1980 edition of “The Next Whole Earth Catalog
” on pp. 374–377.
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
. It was undertaken by history teacher Ron Jones
Ron Jones (teacher)
Ron Jones is an American writer, and teacher in Palo Alto, California, and San Francisco, California. He started The Third Wave...
with sophomore
Sophomore
Sophomore is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the second year of study at high school or university.The word is also used as a synonym for "second", for the second album or EP released by a musician or group, the second movie of a director, or the second season of a...
high school students attending his "Contemporary World" history class as part of a study of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. The experiment took place at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, during the first week of April 1967. Jones, unable to explain to his students how the German population could claim ignorance of the extermination of the Jewish people
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, decided to show them instead. Jones started a movement called "The Third Wave" and told his students that the movement aimed to eliminate democracy. The idea that democracy emphasizes individuality was considered as a drawback of democracy, and Jones emphasized this main point of the movement in its motto: "Strength through discipline, strength through community, strength through action, strength through pride."
The experiment was not well documented at the time. Of contemporary sources, the experiment is only mentioned in Cubberley High School student newspaper The Cubberley Catamount. It is only briefly mentioned in two issue
Issue
Issue may refer to:* Issue , a monthly Korean comics anthology magazine* Issues, a Jewish magazine published by the American Council for Judaism* Issue , a unit of work to accomplish an improvement in a data system...
s, and one more issue of the paper has a longer article about this experiment at its conclusion. Jones himself wrote a detailed account of the experiment some nine years afterwards, and more articles about the experiment followed, including some that interview Jones and original students.
The 1981 TV special The Wave
The Wave (TV special)
The Wave, is a short made-for-TV movie directed by Alexander Grasshoff, based on Ron Jones' The Third Wave experiment. Though more prominently featured as an episode of the ABC Afterschool Special series, this show debuted October 4, 1981, almost two years before being featured in the Afterschool...
, the 1981 book The Wave
The Wave (book)
The Wave is a 1981 young adult novel by Todd Strasser under the pen name Morton Rhue. It is a novelization of a teleplay by Johnny Dawkins for the movie The Wave, a fictionalized account of the "Third Wave" teaching experiment by Ron Jones that took place in a Cubberley High School history class in...
and various stage adaptations were based upon the Third Wave story by Jones. The 2008 German film Die Welle
The Wave (2008 film)
The Wave is a 2008 German film directed by Dennis Gansel and starring Jürgen Vogel, Max Riemelt, Jennifer Ulrich, Jacob Matschenz and Frederick Lau. It is based on the book The Wave which was inspired by the social experiment The Third Wave. The film was produced by Christian Becker for Rat Pack...
was also based on the experiment. In 2010 Jones staged a musical called "The Wave", written with some of the students in the class. On October 10, 2010, a film documentary "Lesson Plan", produced by another of Jones's students, Phillip Neel, had its world premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival, and it re-tells the entire original Third Wave story through the original students and teacher.
Chronology
Jones writes that he started the first day of the experiment with simple things like proper seating, drilling the students until they were able to move from outside the classroom to their seats and take the proper seating position in less than 30 seconds without making a sound. He then proceeded to enforce strict classroom discipline by emerging as an authoritarian figure and dramatically improving the efficiency of the class.The first day's session was closed with only a few rules, intending to be a one day experiment. Students had to be sitting at attention before the second bell, had to stand up to ask or answer questions and had to do it in three words or fewer, and were required to preface each remark with "Mr. Jones".
On the second day he managed to meld his history class into a group with a supreme sense of discipline and community. Jones named the movement "The Third Wave", after the common belief that the third in a series of ocean waves
Ocean surface wave
In fluid dynamics, wind waves or, more precisely, wind-generated waves are surface waves that occur on the free surface of oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and canals or even on small puddles and ponds. They usually result from the wind blowing over a vast enough stretch of fluid surface. Waves in the...
is last and largest. Jones made up a salute resembling that of the Nazi regime
Hitler salute
The Nazi salute, or Hitler salute , was a gesture of greeting in Nazi Germany usually accompanied by saying, Heil Hitler! ["Hail Hitler!"], Heil, mein Führer ["Hail, my leader!"], or Sieg Heil! ["Hail victory!"]...
and ordered class members to salute each other even outside the class. They all complied with this command.
The experiment took on a life of its own, with students from all over the school joining in: on the third day the class expanded from initial 30 students to 43 attendees. All of the students showed drastic improvement in their academic skills and tremendous motivation. All of the students were issued a member card and each of them received a special assignment (like designing a Third Wave Banner, stopping non-members from entering the class, etc.). Jones instructed the students on how to initiate new members, and by the end of the day the movement had over 200 participants. Jones was surprised that some of the students started reporting to him when other members of the movement failed to abide by the rules.
On Thursday, the fourth day of the experiment, Jones decided to terminate the movement because it was slipping out of his control. The students became increasingly involved in the project and their discipline and loyalty to the project was outstanding. He announced to the participants that this movement was a part of a nationwide movement and that on the next day a presidential candidate of the movement would publicly announce existence of the movement. Jones ordered students to attend a noon rally on Friday to witness the announcement.
Instead of a televised address of their leader, the students were presented with an empty channel
Noise (video)
Noise, in analog video and television, is a random dot pattern of static displayed when no transmission signal is obtained by the antenna receiver of television set and other display devices...
. After a few minutes of waiting, Jones announced that they had been a part of an experiment in fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
and that they all willingly created a sense of superiority that German citizens had in the period of Nazi Germany. He then played them a film about the Nazi regime. That was the end of the experiment.
Reaction
Despite the clear implications of this study on the malleability of young minds, which is of particular interest to psychologistsPsychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
seeking to understand and prevent abuse of it, little has surfaced on the subject; Todd Strasser, under the pen name Morton Rhue, wrote a young-adult novel on the subject entitled The Wave
The Wave (book)
The Wave is a 1981 young adult novel by Todd Strasser under the pen name Morton Rhue. It is a novelization of a teleplay by Johnny Dawkins for the movie The Wave, a fictionalized account of the "Third Wave" teaching experiment by Ron Jones that took place in a Cubberley High School history class in...
, which is a novelization of the TV movie (1981)
The Wave (TV special)
The Wave, is a short made-for-TV movie directed by Alexander Grasshoff, based on Ron Jones' The Third Wave experiment. Though more prominently featured as an episode of the ABC Afterschool Special series, this show debuted October 4, 1981, almost two years before being featured in the Afterschool...
; later, Jones himself came forward with additional material. Another film based on the subject was later released theatrically
The Wave (2008 film)
The Wave is a 2008 German film directed by Dennis Gansel and starring Jürgen Vogel, Max Riemelt, Jennifer Ulrich, Jacob Matschenz and Frederick Lau. It is based on the book The Wave which was inspired by the social experiment The Third Wave. The film was produced by Christian Becker for Rat Pack...
(2008). In this version, the experiment was transferred to modern-day Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
called Die Welle. The original Third Wave students discuss their reactions and lessons learned in the 2010 documentary film "Lesson Plan".
A full account was given by Ron Jones in the 1980 edition of “The Next Whole Earth Catalog
Whole Earth Catalog
The Whole Earth Catalog was an American counterculture catalog published by Stewart Brand between 1968 and 1972, and occasionally thereafter, until 1998...
” on pp. 374–377.
See also
- Milgram experimentMilgram experimentThe Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures was a series of notable social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, which measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that...
- Stanford prison experimentStanford prison experimentThe Stanford prison experiment was a study of the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. The experiment was conducted from August 14th-20th, 1971, by a team of researchers led by psychology professor Philip Zimbardo at Stanford University...
- Human experimentation in the United StatesHuman experimentation in the United StatesThere have been numerous experiments performed on human test subjects in the United States that have been considered unethical, and were often performed illegally, without the knowledge, consent, or informed consent of the test subjects....
- Peer pressurePeer pressurePeer pressure refers to the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to group norms. Social groups affected include membership groups, when the individual is "formally" a member , or a social clique...
- Jane ElliottJane ElliottJane Elliott is an American teacher and anti-racism activist. She created the famous “blue-eyed/brown-eyed” exercise, first done with grade school children in the 1960s, and which later became the basis for her career in diversity training.-Origin of the idea:While there are variations of the...
brown-eye/blue-eye demonstration
Further reading
- Dawson, Jeff (31 August 2008), "The Wave shows how to turn children into Nazis", Sunday Times.
- Klink, Bill (April 21, 1967) "The Third Wave presents inside look at Fascism",The Cubberley Catamount, Volume 11, No. 14, Page 3. (News article in Cubberley student newspaper, following the Third Wave Rally, including details regarding the rally and names of some individuals involved.)
- Leler, Robin and Sakuma, Bernice. (April 7, 1967) The Cubberley Catamount, Volume 11, No. 13, Page 2. Column entitled "Through the Tiger Eye". (Article in Cubberley student newspaper makes brief reference to the events of the "Third Wave".)
- Strasser, T. (1981). The Wave. New York: Dell Publishing Co.
- Williams, Sylvia Berry. (1970) Hassling. New York: Little, Brown. Page 51 in Chapter 7 "A Bill of Particulars on the USM".
External links
- The original essay by Jones, 1976 (1972 is a typo)
- Remembering the 3rd Wave, 1991, Leslie Weinfield (on Ron Jones' website).
- www.thewave.tk includes information about novel, stage and screen adaptations of the story
- The Western Neighborhoods Project's short biography of Ron Jones
- Mob Mentality Act 2 (RealAudio)
- A preview of the German film Die Welle (The Wave) on european-films.net
- SPIEGEL Article on The Wave, Nazis für fünf Tage ("Nazis for five days") www.spiegel.de (German)
- The Wave, the Musical Canadian musical, circa 2000
- The Wave Home Official website: story history, FAQ, links, etc. by original Third Wave students
- Lesson Plan Official website of the documentary, as told by the original Third Wave students and teacher