Ms. B’s face darkened. “This is far more important than whether or not you catch a bus, Crosby. Many, many people, especially those of Jewish descent, lost their families in Nazi concentration camps. I think you need to understand what the Iron Cross represents to them. Those medals might have been worn at other times in history, but they are still symbols of hate, anti-Semitism, and terrorism. They are a reminder that the Nazis slaughtered millions of innocent people just because of their religion and ethnicity. Those murders had nothing to do with trying to win World War Two. The Nazis killed children and women and old people who were no threat to them. It was genocide, plain and simple.”

Ms. B’s face was flushed. It was obvious that she was really upset. The Axis squad cast their eyes down, trying to appear remorseful. But Crosby had doubts. A few nights ago Dave had told him about the Jewish threat to the United States. Unlike Muslims and Mexicans, Jews were white and could go almost unnoticed. According to Dave, even though the Jews were a small minority, they controlled most of the politics and banking.

Ms. B kept talking, and the members of the Axis squad kept sneaking peeks at the clock. A rain shower was passing outside. It would be really mean of Ms. B to make them miss the late bus and have to walk home in the rain or call their parents for rides. Finally, Ms. B added insult to injury by assigning them extra homework. That night they would each have to write out the definition of genocide and give three examples of it from history.

“And there’ll be no more logos, medals, or anything else that hints of the Germans in World War Two,” she concluded.

The rain had been brief, and patches of blue appeared between the clouds. The late-afternoon sun had begun to dry the asphalt between the puddles in the parking lot. When Ms. B left the school, she saw Principal Summers ahead of her, carrying a brown satchel.

Ms. B jogged to catch up, then told the principal about the Axis squad’s gray shirts and Iron Crosses. “Honestly, I think we need to have an assembly about hate symbols,” she said. “I get the feeling that these kids have no idea what some of these things mean.”

Maybe it was Ms. B’s imagination, but at the mention of an assembly, Principal Summers went pale. “After what happened at the last one?” she asked.

“But this would be with a different presenter,” Ms. B said. “I’m sure we can find someone younger. Someone the kids can relate to. Hopefully there’d be a PowerPoint or video to help hold their attention. And I don’t think it will cost us anything. I think there must be organizations that do that kind of assembly for free.”

Principal Summers pursed her lips pensively. “I understand your concern, but I’m worried about blowing this out of proportion. We’re talking about only a handful of students, while an assembly will introduce hate symbols to the entire student body. Kids who may be completely unaware that these things even exist. And if you bring up racist symbols, don’t you have to include nooses? And if you talk about nooses, you have to talk about lynchings. I’m not sure all our kids are mature enough for that. And with anti-Semitism, you’re obviously going to have to introduce the Holocaust and the ovens. I mean, of course, our students will have to learn about these things, but don’t you think it would be better to learn about them in the appropriate historical context? So yes, they should learn about lynchings when they study the post–Civil War period. And about the Holocaust when they study World War Two. But I’m worried that dropping hate symbols into their laps out of context will be confusing to them. And I’m especially concerned about how their parents might react.”