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Who's afraid of Bauhaus?
© Pauline Ruther

Who’s Afraid of Bauhaus? Far-Right Cultural Policies of the AfD

#backstage #In Depth
5 min reading time
5. November 2024
© Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin

Who’s Afraid of Bauhaus? Far-Right Cultural Policies of the AfD

This event addressed the AfD’s attacks on the Bauhaus, labeling it as a “misstep of modernism” and “homogenized mediocrity”. Referring to the closure of the Bauhaus by the National Socialists in 1932, the discussion highlighted parallels in the rhetoric used by the AfD and explored how cultural institutions can respond to such attacks.

Speakers: Peter Laudenbach (journalist and theater critic for Süddeutsche Zeitung and brand eins), Prof. Dr. Benjamin-Immanuel Hoff (Executive Minister for Culture, Federal and European Affairs, Head of the State Chancellery, and Commissioner of the State Government for Jewish Life in Thuringia and the Fight Against Antisemitism), Moderation: Dr. Annemarie Jaeggi (Director of the Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung)

The far-right AfD faction in Saxony-Anhalt attacked the Bauhaus in the fall of 2024, calling it a “misstep of modernism” and “homogenized mediocrity”. In 1932, the Nazis shut down the Bauhaus in Dessau and condemned many of its works as “degenerate art.” More than 90 years later, far-right politicians still seem to fear the Bauhaus.

On 5. November 2024, the event “Who’s Afraid of Bauhaus? Far-Right Cultural Policies of the AfD” took place as part of the event series “An Exercise in Defending Democracy. An event series on the Bauhaus and diversity”. Peter Laudenbach (journalist and theater critic), Prof. Dr. Benjamin-Immanuel Hoff (Minister of Culture of Thuringia), and Dr. Annemarie Jaeggi (moderator) discussed the right-wing extremist attacks on the Bauhaus and parallels to cultural policy during the Nazi era.

Visual © L2M3

The full discussion is available to listen to

“Who’s Afraid of Bauhaus? Far-Right Cultural Policies of the AfD”litik der AfD“
Vier Bauhäusler, um 1927-1929
Vier Bauhäusler, um 1927-1929 Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin_web

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