German far-right party targets iconic Bauhaus school ahead of landmark
state election
[September 03, 2026]
By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER
DESSAU, Germany (AP) — Nearly a century after the Nazis shut down the
world-famous Bauhaus school of design, it has once again become a
cultural battleground between Germany's establishment and the far-right
Alternative for Germany party, which has called the art movement an
“aberration of modernism.”
Founded in 1919, Bauhaus blurred lines between art and industry,
influencing global design to this day. It remains a cultural icon that
attracts a steady stream of visitors to its iconic school building and
the museum in Dessau in Saxony-Anhalt.
Attacks on Bauhaus by Alternative for Germany, also known as AfD, come
as Saxony-Anhalt in eastern Germany is about to vote in an election that
could see a far-right party take control of one of the country’s states
for the first time since World War II.
AfD hopes to gain an absolute majority in the state legislature in the
election on Sunday, an outcome that would shake German politics and
possibly have repercussions for the region's cultural freedom.
AfD says Bauhaus violates the ‘human need for security’
In its election program, the party slams the Bauhaus as a school that
“always strove to avoid any sign of national rootedness.”
AfD says its plans after a victorious election include implementing the
slogan “Think German” to replace the state’s current advertising tagline
“Think Modern,” which it has denounced as a “policy of a lack of
identity.”
In 2024, AfD attacked the Bauhaus in Saxony-Anhalt’s Parliament as an
“aberration of modernism.”
In that debate, Hans-Thomas Tillschneider, the AfD cultural policy
spokesperson in the state legislative body, claimed “the Bauhaus
violated the human need for security and comfort in every conceivable
way.”
The lead AfD candidate in the upcoming election, Ulrich Siegmund,
recently tried to tone down some of the more radical attacks by his
party. He told The Associated Press at a campaign event in Moeser that
Bauhaus itself wasn’t a problem but “we just mustn’t limit our culture
and our history to it. We are much, much more than just the Bauhaus.”
If AfD wins the election and takes control of the state Parliament, the
party could theoretically cut the state funding for Bauhaus.
German culture minister vows to fight for Bauhaus
The AfD attacks have led to a clash with Germany's cultural
establishment and the country's culture minister, who is leading the
defense of the Bauhaus.
“The AfD is attacking the Bauhaus, using the very same words the Nazis
used 100 years ago,” Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer said in a recent AP
interview. “And that is why democrats, whether they lean conservative or
left, are fighting back against it.”
Bauhaus changed the world when it was founded in Germany 100 years ago
and has become a global brand icon of “new design, new architecture, and
the creative industries,” Weimer said.
“And this idea, which is very modern, of bringing together elements from
different disciplines has always been hated by the far right,” he added.
“The Nazis banned and persecuted it. And today we have new Nazis …
growing stronger, and attacking the Bauhaus all over again.”
[to top of second column]
|
The main building of the former Bauhaus design school, which was
called an "aberration of modernism" by Germany's far-right
Alternative for Germany party, photographed in Dessau, Germany, Aug.
17, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Weimer vowed that Germany's national government would continue to
finance the Bauhaus Foundation in Dessau to ensure its independence
and survival even if AfD win the Saxony-Anhalt election.
Bauhaus school blurred lines between artistic and industrial
The Bauhaus was founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius and others as an
art school in Weimar and later moved to Dessau. Its artistic
approaches and design styles continue to influence art and
architecture to this day.
The Bauhaus school blurred the lines between the artistic and the
industrial, producing some of the precursors of modern mass design
and helping make its design influential far beyond its relatively
brief existence.
After the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, the school closed
and many Bauhaus teachers and students left the country, spreading
its style around the globe from Chicago to Tel Aviv.
Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the last Bauhaus director,
emigrated to the United States in the late 1930s. His famous
buildings in the minimalist style with sleek glass and metal facades
continue to impress Bauhaus fans to this day.
Bauhaus still attracts visitors from around the globe
Up to 150,000 visitors, including many from abroad, come to Dessau
every year to see the original, iconic Bauhaus building and visit
the Bauhaus museum, which is a testament to the enduring fascination
and relevance of the Bauhaus to this day, said Barbara Steiner, the
director and CEO of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation.
She welcomed a pro-Bauhaus manifesto that was initiated in August by
Weimer, the culture minister, and signed by more than 2,500 groups
and individuals in reaction to the AfD's attacks on Bauhaus.
The manifesto includes pledges to defend the Bahaus from
anti-democratic attacks by a broad alliance of cultural and
architectural institutions and churches, saying they “reject
nationalism that is hostile to culture.”
“The Bauhaus stands for intellectual, social, and aesthetic openness
and continuous renewal. It stands for exchange, transnational
networking, and mutual inspiration. This openness is a great
strength of German culture and enriches Germany,” the manifesto
says.
“Ultimately, the AfD’s accusations are very stereotypical,” she
said. “They have in mind a version of the Bauhaus that never existed
historically and, of course, doesn’t exist today either.”
___
Geir Moulson and Fanny Brodersen in Moeser, Germany, and Markus
Schreiber in Dessau, Germany, contributed to this report.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
