The Rise of Nazism in a Classroom

Reunion

Nazism advances from distant public unrest into school teaching, peer persecution, family decisions, and the irreversible separation of Hans and his country.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Rumors at a Distance Rumors at a Distance from "Reunion". Rumors at a Distance Signs in the streets Swastikas, assaults, and political clashes appear around Stuttgart, but ordinary civic life continues.

Rumors at a Distance from "Reunion". Rumors at a Distance Signs in the streets Swastikas, assaults, and political clashes appear around Stuttgart, but ordinary civic life continues.

Rumors at a Distance Signs in the streets Swastikas, assaults, and political clashes appear around Stuttgart, but ordinary civic life continues. Adolescent dismissal Hans and Konradin regard politics as an adult distraction. Their confidence shows how easily danger can be mistaken for something temporary.

Racial History Lessons Racial History Lessons from "Reunion". Racial History Lessons False history taught A new teacher attributes European civilization to racial superiority and insinuates a hidden Jewish threat.

Racial History Lessons from "Reunion". Racial History Lessons False history taught A new teacher attributes European civilization to racial superiority and insinuates a hidden Jewish threat.

Racial History Lessons False history taught A new teacher attributes European civilization to racial superiority and insinuates a hidden Jewish threat. Classroom consequences The lesson gives prejudice an institutional voice. Even boys who reject the argument begin to inhabit a changed social atmosphere.

The Antisemitic Attack The Antisemitic Attack from "Reunion". The Antisemitic Attack A targeted insult Bollacher orders Hans to leave for Palestine and places a hostile slogan on his desk.

The Antisemitic Attack from "Reunion". The Antisemitic Attack A targeted insult Bollacher orders Hans to leave for Palestine and places a hostile slogan on his desk.

The Antisemitic Attack A targeted insult Bollacher orders Hans to leave for Palestine and places a hostile slogan on his desk. A fight without protection Hans strikes back, but the teacher treats the abuse as harmless advice. The school’s authority confirms that the threat has become normal.

The Family’s Retreat The Family’s Retreat from "Reunion". The Family’s Retreat A reluctant escape Hans’s parents send him to America for safety, while believing their own German home may remain secure.

The Family’s Retreat from "Reunion". The Family’s Retreat A reluctant escape Hans’s parents send him to America for safety, while believing their own German home may remain secure.

The Family’s Retreat A reluctant escape Hans’s parents send him to America for safety, while believing their own German home may remain secure. Unequal expectations His father calls the crisis temporary. His confidence contrasts with the danger that has already made a child’s departure necessary.

Exclusion Remembered Exclusion Remembered from "Reunion". Exclusion Remembered The dead of the class Hans finds that many former classmates died fighting for the regime that had excluded him.

Exclusion Remembered from "Reunion". Exclusion Remembered The dead of the class Hans finds that many former classmates died fighting for the regime that had excluded him.

Exclusion Remembered The dead of the class Hans finds that many former classmates died fighting for the regime that had excluded him. The last name sought The memorial finally reveals Konradin’s execution. The political history that separated the boys also shaped the end of their lives.

Summer 1932, before Hans returns from vacation

September 1932, during the new teacher’s first lectures

Autumn 1932, during a school morning

December 1932, when Hans’s father speaks to him

Decades later, when Hans rereads the school memorial appeal