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AfD’s Cultural Overhaul Plan Targets Saxony-Anhalt Arts Institutions
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AfD’s Cultural Overhaul Plan in Saxony-Anhalt
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is preparing to shape cultural policy in Saxony-Anhalt after winning a recent state election. The party’s platform calls for “patriotic” arts programming, a celebration of pre-World War II German history, and an end to what it describes as Germany’s “guilt complex” over the Nazi era. Central to the proposal is a critique of the Bauhaus legacy, which the AfD labels as lacking “national roots” and, according to co-author Hans-Thomas Tillschneider, “non-German.”
Background and Context
Saxony-Anhalt, home to the historic Bauhaus design school, has long been a cultural hub. The Bauhaus was shuttered by the Nazis, who condemned its avant-garde style as foreign and subversive. The AfD’s current platform revives that rhetoric, positioning the school as a symbol of multicultural influence that should be down-played in state-funded programming.
Official Statements & Responses
AfD officials argue that state-supported arts should reflect a “traditional German identity” and reject “multicultural” influences. The party’s platform explicitly pledges to redirect funding toward works that honor prewar German heritage. In response, Barbara Steiner, director of the Bauhaus Foundation, warns that the party’s cultural agenda seeks to reshape public mindset through art. She emphasizes the risk to institutions that rely on government subsidies, noting that artistic directors are mobilizing to resist the proposed changes.
Verbatim Quotes
- “The AfD understands that through culture, they can get into people’s heads, into their mind-sets.” — Bauhaus Foundation
Implications for the Arts Community
If the AfD forms a coalition government, many Saxony-Anhalt cultural institutions could face funding cuts or programming mandates that align with the party’s nationalist agenda. Directors of museums, theaters, and galleries have begun organizing collective actions to safeguard artistic independence. The dispute highlights a broader national debate over how Germany confronts its historical legacy while shaping contemporary cultural policy.