Failed experiment with fascism now a movie
A high school experiment about Nazism that went horribly awry more than 50 years ago is the subject of a new documentary, “The Invisible Line,” available for streaming on The Marsh website. It started when a classroom of students at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto in 1967 were having a hard time understanding how German citizens could have accepted the horrific plans and actions of Adolf Hitler leading up to and during World War II. So, their history teacher, Ron Jones, organized a class project designed to demonstrate the appeal of fascism. The resulting social experiment — known as “The Third Wave” — went awry. “I should never have carried out the experiment and put my class in such incredible danger,” says Jones. “I crossed the invisible line and enjoyed my power, just like Stalin, Hitler, or Trump today.” The one-hour documentary features interviews with Jones as well as former students who participated in the nowinfamous experiment. It offers a lesson that is still relevant. “The story appeals to students and young people (because) the participants of the experiments were young people themselves,” says director Emanuel Rotstein. “It’s the same desires and aspirations, to be part of a group, a team, a community, that young people feel today. But it is also the desire to be noticed and to be valued.” Details: The film can be viewed for free as part of the “Solo Performer Spotlight” series at themarsh.org; donations are encouraged.