Spoilers ahead for Die Welle
Truthfully, I had no idea this movie existed until I watched it at the beginning of October. It was the first in the lineup of foreign movies planned by my university’s Organization of Foreign Languages. Because it is my first semester taking German courses, I figured I could join the viewing just so that my lab professor would see my interest in learning more. Superficial, I know, but I stand by my decision.
However, I had forgotten that I had planned an outing with some friends for that same day and accepted the fact that I probably wouldn’t be able to watch/finish the film. I was so convinced that I stayed outside chatting with some students while they made popcorn for the viewers inside. Somehow, I made it in time to watch the movie and I’m genuinely glad that I did. It was definitely surprising to see commentary on how fascism could emerge in a more modern setting and, astonished as I was, it led me to voice my thoughts on the film.
As summarized by European Film Awards, Die Welle is:
“Germany today. During project week, high school teacher Rainer Wenger (Jürgen Vogel) comes up with an experiment in order to explain to his students how totalitarian governments work. A role-playing game with tragic results begins. Within a few days, what began with harmless notions like discipline and community builds into a real movement: THE WAVE. By the third day, the students start ostracizing and threatening others. When the conflict finally erupts into violence at an intramural water polo game, the teacher decides to break off the experiment. But it’s too late. THE WAVE is out of control…”
I can recognize my mistake in not being present when my professor summarized the movie and explained its themes. I was caught severely off-guard when a class project suddenly felt cult-y. I just figured “Alright, so the rock’n’roll teacher is going to have to teach a far more serious class than he would have liked. Shenanigans might ensue, but surely it won’t be that bad, right?” Wrong. Several fights, arguments, vandalized buildings, broken noses, and two gunshots later, I was proven very wrong.
In a different approach to teaching about autocracy, Rainer Wenger tries to teach his students about social order within a dictatorship with an unorthodox experiment. He has them adopt a dress code (a white button-down shirt), address him formally as Herr Wenger, names the group ‘Die Welle’ (The Wave, in English), and they even come up with a simple salute that should only be used amongst those who belong to ‘Die Welle’. Despite their arrogance and upturned noses at the thought that maybe fascism could re-emerge in the present day, most of Wenger’s students quickly fall into line and begin to develop into a small, dictatorial society. Students who met their teacher’s demands found a sense of community within the class and enjoyed the newfound sense of discipline. Those who refused to conform to the established rules, like a female student named Karo, find themselves excluded and judged.
While all members of Die Welle developed a sense of superiority from belonging to the movement, Tim (Frederick Lau) stood out from the rest from the start. He enthusiastically participated in Wenger’s dynamics and became very eager when praised for his performance. Because he was already somewhat of an outcast before the project began, he rejoices in belonging to Die Welle. He goes above and beyond for the group when asked to make a webpage for them, and that’s when we start to see him go off into extremism. His black, white, and red design are a not-subtle-at-all nod at Germany’s past with dictatorship. He even purchases a gun online and threatens some gang members who were picking on him and other members of Die Welle. When asked about why he threatened with the weapon, Tim dismisses their concerns by saying it only fires blanks, and that was exactly when I knew someone would get shot at some point in the film.
People as radicalized as Tim wouldn’t simply buy blank rounds; they are fully committed to their cause. They are willing to do anything for their ideology, even going so far as to cross others’ boundaries over it (see him vandalizing a construction site). The prime example of this is when he goes to Rainer and Anke Wenger’s house and basically invites himself to dinner. Even when the teacher asked him to leave so he could enjoy some private time with his wife, Tim remained and only left the house when Wenger physically pushed him outside. Even so, he slept by the house’s gate and had to be driven to school by his concerned/exasperated teacher.
Unfortunately, his obsession with Wenger and Die Welle as a whole comes to a head when the teacher herds all his followers into the school’s auditorium to talk about how the movement has grown. Wenger led them all into thinking that Die Welle could not be stopped and that they would need to deal with Marco, a student who had gone to his house the night prior to beg him to do something about the growing movement. When he finally has the students realize that things were going too far, Tim has a breakdown which results in him shooting one of his classmates. Then, after Wenger explained how it all needed to stop immediately, Tim’s resolve was completely destroyed and he shot himself.
What began as a spiteful professor taking a different approach to teaching his students about the dangers of autocracy ended in tragedy for those directly and indirectly involved with Die Welle’s movement. As Roberta McNair states in her study guide for the film, “The Third Wave in all its incarnations proves that embracing fascism is an uncomfortable possibility in our present and future society, instead of being a relic of the past that we have grown beyond. Human nature and frailty keep it possible.” The ease with which the students slipped into a fascist mindset is terrifying to think about and definitely still keeps me anxious even weeks after watching the film. People are susceptible to manipulation because humanity as a whole is fallible, and all we truly want is to belong. What is important is being able to distinguish when community begins to turn to fanaticism over an idea.