In the spring of 1967, history teacher Ron Jones at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California, launched an experiment that would leave a lasting imprint on educational and cultural discourse. Designed to demonstrate how easily people could be swayed by authoritarianism, Jones imposed strict discipline, curtailed student freedom, and turned the class into a unit that demanded conformity. The students quickly embraced the structure with enthusiasm, policing one another, ostracizing dissenters, and even spying on classmates. Although initially intended to last only a day, the experiment extended over five days before Jones terminated it.
The event, dubbed The Third Wave, inspired numerous cultural artifacts over the decades, including books, theater productions, musicals, comics, and the 2008 German film adaptation La Ola by Dennis Gansel. The film modernized the experiment’s setting to early 21st-century Germany, highlighting the mechanisms of authoritarianism—discipline, unity, intimidation, aggression, and public spectacle—in a concentrated timeframe.
Carles Feixa, professor of social anthropology at Universitat Pompeu Fabra and coordinator of the Informe Juventud en España 2024, has used La Ola as a central educational tool in Spain since 2010. Through 50 sessions conducted in secondary schools, Bachillerato, and vocational programs, Feixa has guided students in discussions about historical authoritarian movements and their contemporary parallels.
“Initially, most students dismissed the possibility of something resembling Nazism happening again,” Feixa told El País. “But over the last decade, interest and awareness have grown. Increasingly, young people recognize the risks of authoritarian tendencies, even if they remain critical and reflective.”
The sessions involve screening the film, contextualizing historical events such as the rise of Hitler, and drawing connections to modern political developments: the 2008 financial crisis, austerity measures, social movements like the 15-M, the Catalan independence process, Brexit, and the global rise of populist leaders such as Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro, Nayib Bukele, and Giorgia Meloni. By condensing complex socio-political dynamics into the film’s narrative arc, students explore the stages of authoritarian consolidation: crisis of power, discipline, unity, action, intimidation, aggression, and public spectacle.
Feixa warns that these lessons are particularly urgent in light of the 2024 Informe Juventud en España findings, which reveal concerning trends among Spanish youth, including ideological polarization, intolerance toward difference, and growing generational grievances linked to social inequality, the pandemic, and economic precarity. These factors, he argues, make youth susceptible to simplistic or demagogic solutions, though not necessarily extremist ideologies.
Importantly, Feixa stresses that the sessions are not intended to brand young people as fascists. Instead, they are designed to equip students with the analytical tools and moral frameworks needed to resist authoritarian allure. He highlights examples from global youth activism, citing movements in Morocco, Madagascar, and Nepal, where young people have successfully mobilized around democratic principles and social justice.
“The metaphor of surfing the waves is apt,” Feixa explains. “Tsunamis are unpredictable, but if we train young people to recognize the forces shaping society and think critically, they can navigate them. Engaging students in dialogue, reflection, and action is crucial to ensuring the resilience of democracy.”
The program also emphasizes the importance of shared cultural literacy and historical knowledge. Feixa notes that understanding collective memory—from the Spanish Civil War to the Holocaust—is key to contextualizing contemporary political events. Without a foundation of common cultural and historical references, he argues, students are more vulnerable to manipulation by polarizing narratives and social media disinformation.
By combining film, historical analysis, and participatory debate, Feixa’s initiative demonstrates how educational strategies can foster critical thinking and civic engagement. As interest in La Ola continues to grow, the program provides a model for schools globally seeking to educate youth about the dangers of authoritarianism and the importance of active, informed citizenship, as highlighted in El País.
