Jürgen Vogel as the teacher in Die Welle (The Wave) (2008). Dir. Dennis Gansel.
This excellent film is about a high school social studies class in Germany where a teacher engages his class in a project where they try to understand the factors that could lead a country toward fascism. At the outset most of the students feel that German society has progressed too far to ever lapse back into fascism. The teacher is quite charismatic, and he convinces the students of the merits of working as a team to help one another in their studies. Gradually he convinces them that the solidarity of their team would be enhanced if they were to dress in a similar manner, adopt a logo for the group, and convince more students to join the group. Some students remain skeptical, but most enjoy the camaraderie of working together on the project. After a while they find that the sense of community within their group is offset by the sense of exclusion felt by those outside the group. Various dynamics come into play that reveal how easily a society can slip into fascism. This film is likely to be quite engaging for young people and would be highly effective for prompting discussion of fascism in any high school social studies class.
I really loved this movie
