He stood alone against Hitler. Here's the stunning thing that happened 25 years later

The anniversary of a brave inaction, an inspiration for a grandson, and 7 other things worth your time.

(Original title: The kids are watching. If you like this article, sign up here for the free daily newsletter.)

Eighty-six years ago tomorrow, Germany voted to ratify Adolph Hitler’s rise to power.

Hitler claimed a 90 percent victory. Supposedly, 95 percent of all German voters participated.

The first part of today’s newsletter is about a German baker who did not participate.

His name was Hermann Schnuerle. He lived in a little town called Calw in the Black Forest. His wasn’t a a silent, personal protest. Everybody knew.

His wife and family begged him to go through the motions, but he refused any suggestion that he supported Hitler.

Before the day was out, August 19, 1934, he’d been accosted by a group of men who “tied his hands and hung around his neck a placard declaring him to be a traitor,” according to one account.

The marched him through town, spat on him. He wound up in some kind of punishment camp “where they cut rocks,” according to the same account. They kept him for a year, bu…