Ron Jones was a history teacher at Ellwood Cubberley High School in Palo Alto,

California. When his class studied World War II, one of the students asked Jones
how ordinary Germans could pretend to know nothing about the concentration camps
and mass genocide in their country. Since the class was ahead of schedule, Jones
decided to conduct a one-week experiment devoted to this subject.
Monday
On Monday, Jones gave a lecture about the power of discipline. He told the students
to sit at attention, stand up, and then sit down in a new position. Then they had
to leave the classroom several times and silently come in and take their seats. The
students liked the new game, and they followed their teachers instructions with
enthusiasm. When Jones told the students to give clear and vivid answers to his
questions, everybody obeyed, even those who used to be passive at the lectures.
Tuesday
On Tuesday, when Jones entered the classroom he found his students silently sitting
at attention. Some of them smiled. Others were looking straight ahead with an
expression of concentration on their faces: no signs of smiles, ideas, or even
questions.
Jones explained to the class about the power of community. He told the students to
chant a new motto: Strength through discipline, strength through community. At
the end of the lesson Jones showed them a greeting they had to use a bent right
arm raised to shoulder and called this gesture The Third Waves salute. The
students saluted each other for the next few days.
Wednesday
On Wednesday, thirteen people left other classes to participate in the experiment.
Jones issued all the students a member card. He put red crosses on just three of
them and told their owners that they had a special responsibility to report anyone
who didnt obey the rules of the class. However, about 20 people reported on their
peers to Jones. One of the students even wished to be Jones bodyguard.
Three of the most successful students in the class told their parents about the
experiment. As a result, Jones had a call from the local rabbi, who was satisfied
with the answer that the class was studying a German type of personality. Jones was
extremely disappointed by the lack of resistance, even from the adults. By the end
of the day more than two hundred students were admitted into the organization. Many
of them took the experiment seriously and demanded that the others complied with
the rules, and bullied those who thought The Third Wave was just a game.
Thursday
By Thursday, his class held eighty people. Jones explained the meaning of pride:
Pride is more than banners and fireworks. Pride is what nobody can take away from
you. To be proud means to know that youre the best...This feeling cannot be
destroyed. He told his students that they were a part of a national youth program
whose goal was political changes for the peoples benefit. Everything weve done
so far has been the preparation for the real thing. Youre a selected group of
young people who will help the cause. If you come forward and show what youve
learned in the last four days, well be able to change the destiny of our people.
Then he said that on Friday at noon a new leader of their movement and a candidate
for the presidency would announce The Third Wave on TV.
Friday
On Friday, two hundred students came to the classroom. Jones invited his friends to
be photographers. He saluted, saying that he wanted to show the journalists how
disciplined they were. Two hundred people immediately saluted in response. The
many-voiced chorus was chanting the motto again and again. At five past twelve
Jones turned on the TV, but nothing appeared on the screen.
Listen carefully. Theres no leader! Theres no national youth movement called The
Third Wave. Youve been manipulated, youve been pushed by your own ambition, and
at this moment you find yourself in the position you are now. Youre no better and
no worse than those Germans who we studied. You thought that you were selected, and
that you were better than those who were out of this room. Youve sold your freedom
for convenience given by discipline and superiority. Youve decided to abandon your
own beliefs and accept the will of a group and a big lie.
After that, Jones showed his students a film about Nazi Germany with its
discipline, parades, and torchlight processions. And how it ended.
Result
If we have managed to fully reproduce the German mentality, then none of you will
ever confess that he or she attended The Third Waves last gathering. Like the
Germans, youll find it hard to admit to yourself that you went so far.
When Jones finished his speech, all of his students were greatly moved, and some
even burst into tears.