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The Wave

The Wave


by Todd Strasser

The Wave Memory and the Past Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

They were studying World War Two, and the film Ben Ross was showing his class that day was a documentary depicting the atrocities the Nazis committed in their concentration camps. (2.1)

You've probably had this very experience. The Holocaust is an event which continues to trouble historians and other scholars to this day. There are still lots of questions about the best way to teach it. One thing's for sure: The Wave isn't that best way.

Quote #2

"[Adolf Hitler] espoused the theory that the Jews were destroyers of civilization and that the Germans were a superior race. Today we know that Hitler was a paranoid, a psychopath, literally a madman. In 1932 he was thrown in jail for his political activities, but by 1934 he and his party had seized control of the German government." (2.3)

Hitler is one of history's most fascinating figures – and most people agree, one of the most evil. By studying him and how he managed to gain power, we can learn a lot about a lot – and hopefully ensure that we never find ourselves with a Hitler 2.0.

Quote #3

Ben thought of telling the students that the smoke rising from the chimneys above the buildings was burning human flesh. But he didn't. Thank God man had not invented a way to convey smells through film, because the worst of all would be stench of it, the stench of the most heinous act ever committed in human history. (2.6)

Learning about the past isn't always easy.

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