What happens when a beloved school custodian turns out to be a Nazi war criminal? In this TEDxLFHS talk, Michael Soffer uses the story of Reinhold Kulle—a former SS officer who lived quietly in suburban Illinois—as a lens to examine the wider legacy of Nazis who resettled in America after World War II. Through their stories, Soffer explores the complexities of postwar justice, the erasure of atrocity through silence, and the power of documentation to preserve truth. Royalty Free Intro Music: “See What I Mean” by Beat Market. Michael Soffer is a social studies teacher at Lake Forest High School and the author of Our Nazi: An American Suburb’s Encounter with Evil. His book tells the story of Reinhold Kulle, a high school custodian whose Nazi past was exposed in the 1980s. Though Nazis loom in the American consciousness as evil epitomized, Soffer explores how and why Hitler’s men found support in American communities - even after their gruesome pasts were uncovered. Before coming to Lake Forest, Soffer taught Holocaust Studies at Oak Park & River Forest High School - in the very classrooms Kulle used to clean. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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