På grund av hans besatthet med Denker försummar han hans studier .
US High School History är ett omfattande ämne och även om Denker var gammal finns det ingen indikation han fortsatte att undervisa Todd någonting.
I stället Todd ..
forces Dussander to share disturbing stories of what it was like working at Nazi extermination camps, and how it felt to participate in genocide.
Denkers kunskaper om den specifika -tiden skulle ha varit på punkt men täcker bara en mycket kort period i historien.
Notera att även denna situation inte är permanent, Denker tvingar Todd att förbättra sina betyg.
To complicate things even further, Todd even purchases an SS uniform from a costume shop, and forces Dussander to wear it. When he spends more time with the old man, his grades suffer, he loses interest in his girlfriend, and he conceals his bad grades from his parents. In turn, the Nazi blackmails the young boy into studying to restore his grades, threatening to expose the boy's subterfuge and his dalliance with Nazism to his parents.