The far-right German political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) submitted a motion calling for the “critical appraisal” of the early 20th century Bauhaus movement, claiming that the movement led to “impersonal architecture” that was detrimental to society.
The motion, entitled “The Wrong Path of Modernism,” comes as Germany plans to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of Bauhaus as a movement. In it, the far-right group railed against the “uniformity” of the aesthetic, and how its artists emphasized functionality over style.
In an ironic twist, they claimed that the art style led to a reduction of “cultural diversity” in the country. In their motion, they said that Bauhaus created a “uniform style” that encouraged “a dilution of regional characteristics and a standardization of architecture and design.”
“The emphasis on sobriety and minimalism often led to impersonal architecture that is perceived as cold, unwelcoming and unattractive,” the motion reportedly said.
The motion did not indicate what art style the group preferred. However, when asked about this specifically, AfD leader Oliver Kirchner said that he preferred “Wilhelminian-era [art] and Art Nouveau.”
The state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt discussed and rejected the motion. Many called out the Bauhaus concerns of the AfD as fascist ideas. Andreas Silbersack from Free Democratic Party outright linked AfD’s motion to the Nazi Party’s hatred of modernist styles.
“Here the AfD is showing the face of National Socialism par excellence,” he said.
Others said that the AfD’s attempts at putting down Bauhaus lines up with their beliefs relating to traditional values that move against progressive values and styles. It aligns with similar statements by former U.S. President Donald Trump, for example, where he prescribed neoclassical architecture for federal buildings and railed against contemporary architecture styles like Brutalism.
“Culture war is their business model and provocation is their business model,” Princeton University professor Jan-Werner Mueller said to Reuters.
Bauhaus as an artistic movement aimed to bridge the gap between art and practical craftsmanship. Architect Walter Gropius spearheaded these ideas as a way of making art practical to the needs of the people.
Its main focus centered around architecture. Many of its prominent figures like Gropius, Hannes Meyer, and Mies van der Rohe are renowned architects. The movement started in the city of Weimar in 1919, before moving to Dessau and eventually Berlin.
The art movement was influenced by modernism and industrialization. Its important figures worked to make their ideas easy to mass produce for the people. Their design ideas rejected unnecessary flourish and ornamentation. Its emphasis on functionality of design continues to be influential in modern day.
The style was popular in cities, and reflected a hope at the time that art and design would become more accessible and useful to the general public.
Its emphasis on modernity, however, led to some powerful enemies. The Nazi Party, in particular, were not fans of the art style, calling it “degenerate art” and closing down schools that taught it during their time in power. Many of its artists fled to other countries such as the United States and Western Europe during this time, influencing the burgeoning art movements there.
Photos taken from Wikimedia Commons.
Related reading: Bauhaus: An Era of the Timeless Classics
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