DESSAU, GERMANY — The legendary Bauhaus architecture school is marking its historic centenary in the middle of intense political and identity tensions, as Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party surges in popularity.
The Bauhaus Foundation in Dessau now faces fears of severe budget cuts and renewed ideological attacks on its world-famous modernist legacy, which was born in the aftermath of World War I.
Sensing the Political Shift
Barbara Steiner, the Austrian art historian and president of the Bauhaus Foundation based in Dessau (Saxony-Anhalt), saw the political tide turning early on. In 2023, she took the unusual precaution of purchasing professional legal insurance.
“The same kind business leaders take out, in case I need to defend myself in court,” Steiner explained from her historic office. “I sensed that conservatism was here to stay, that it was becoming the dominant idea.”
Events quickly proved her right. In the June 2024 municipal elections, the far-right AfD came out on top in Dessau with 25% of the vote. Two years later, the party is now on track to potentially win an absolute majority in the regional parliament of Saxony-Anhalt—a state in the former East Germany—in the upcoming elections scheduled for September 6. Recent polling from May 13 shows the AfD leading with a staggering 42% of the vote, doubling its 2021 score and leaving the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) far behind at 24%.
An Attack on “Modernity”
The political battle officially began after Steiner presented her foundation’s plans for the 2025 centenary celebrations to the regional parliament. While the initial reception was positive, the AfD quickly filed a hostile motion targeting the institution.
The far-right motion explicitly denounces the “excesses of modernity” and demands a “critical reflection on the Bauhaus.”
“Many Bauhaus-style buildings are now considered ‘architectural mistakes’ because their purist aesthetic and functional approach ignored residents’ quality of life,” the AfD motion states.
The political party further accuses the modernist movement of completely erasing “individual and regional characteristics” of German architecture, signaling a deeper culture war over national identity and artistic expression in the country.
