The Third Wave was an experiment to demonstrate that even free and open societies are not immune to the appeal of fascism undertaken by history teacher Ron Jones with senior high school students attending his Contemporary 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 1969. 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".
