How arts and culture are a thorn in the side of the AfD

When the 11 dancers of the Piccolo Theater Cottbus's youth dance company whirl across the stage, the energy is electric. The theater piece "Move On Move Over," loosely based on German author Michael Ende's book "Momo," revolves around the topics of time, war and migration.

For the theater's director Reinhard Drogla, the production is the highlight of the upcoming season. "Young people are our hope," he says.

There are many reasons to stay optimistic, despite the political situation in the country as voters' turn towards the far-right populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) in much of former East Germany.

Located about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of Berlin, Cottbus is a medium-sized city in the region of Brandenburg. Brandenburg's state parliament is holding a much-anticipated election on September 22. According to recent polls, the AfD could become the strongest party, gaining 27% of votes.

The far-right nationalist party has seen historic wins recently.

In the state elections in Thuringia and Saxony on September 1, the AfD took more than 30% of the vote — it's now the strongest party in Thuringia.

Many fear there could be negative impacts on the cultural sector if the party sees a similar victory in Brandenburg. Piccolo Theater director Drogla admits he is concerned, but wants to spread a positive message: "Don't be afraid!"

The AfD warns of a collapse of the state

The AfD has long been represented in Germany's federal parliament and in Germany's state parliaments, as well as in many local parliaments. AfD politicians sit on important committees and help decide who will be appointed to different positions and which organizations will get funding — including in the cultural sector. The far-right party is avowedly opposed to "multi-culturalism." It warns that immigration will cause the collapse of the German state due to what it calls "misunderstood tolerance."

Karlsruhe-based contemporary historian Rolf-Ulrich Kunze sees the party's attitude as a huge threat to the cultural sector. "The AfD does not perceive culture as something that unites people, but rather abuses and uses culture to separate people from each other and play them off against one another," Kunze tells DW. He sees clear parallels between the AfD's cultural model and that of Hitler's Nazi party. "The Nazi's concept of culture was racist, authoritarian and identitarian. And we find all of these characteristics one-to-one — in a contemporary form — in the AfD too."

An exhibition could stir up controversy

Arnold Bischinger is the director of Beeskow Castle in Beeskow, Brandenburg, home to the Oder-Spree Regional Museum. The museum's current exhibition, titled "Coming and Going," tells the stories of people who have come and gone from the region — whether refugees, East German contract workers, or people who returned from West Germany. It includes photos, artefacts and stories, while exploring the reasons people leave their homelands, or choose to return. Bischinger assumes that AfD cultural politicians will not like the exhibition. Budget cuts by the district council, which finances the museum, or the withdrawal of the non-profit status of the association that sponsors it, could be on the cards.

"Anything that is not originally 'German' stands no chance with the AfD," says Bischinger. Their concept of culture is identitarian, i.e. ethnically oriented and racist. But if the party is serious about the "remigration" it is calling for, he says "every second person will have to leave."

The museum director is worried about the upcoming elections in Brandenburg. After all, he points out, culture in rural areas is not as strongly supported as in large cities, and populists parties only need to look at a theater's playbill to take action.

"Culture brings people together," says Bischinger. It creates an opportunity for public debate, he adds. "If this public debate is no longer possible, our society will become impoverished!"

Threat of right-wing aggression

Art that takes a critical look at racism, right-wing populism or right-wing extremism often comes under attack from the right, observes sociologist Ute Karstein of Leipzig University. For example, the AfD regularly attacks cultural centers and institutions that are critical of it. "They claim that left-wing extremism is being propagated. They then go to the local councils with the accusation and ask why these institutions are still being funded, saying that this violates the principle of neutrality. Local politicians are sometimes so unsettled by this that they cut the funding," says Karstein.

In the region of Thuringia, where a government is currently being formed following the September 1 election, cultural institutions are discussing how to respond to the influence of far-right populists.

German writer Daniela Danz, the vice president of the Academy of Sciences and Literature in Mainz, sees dark clouds looming over the "Denk Bunt" democracy project, which is jointly funded by the federal and state governments and works towards achieving "democracy, tolerance and openness to the world." "If the AfD uses its blocking minority, the project is on the brink of collapse," Danz told radio station Deutschlandradio. This could very well be the case — if the the AfD gains more than a third of the seats in the state parliament in Brandenburg like it has in Thuringia, it could block important majority decisions.

Neither critical theater nor multicultural orchestras fit into the AfD's traditional German-centric traditional image — and certainly not left-wing nightclubs like Kalif Storch in the German city of Erfurt. In addition to functioning as a dance club, this former railroad depot hosts performances by drag artists, as well as queer workshops.

"It's clear that we're a thorn in the side of the far right," says club boss Hubert Langrock. He believes that attacks by right-wing thugs, which recently took place at the Autonomous Youth Center Erfurt, may also take place at Kalif Storch. In the meantime, Langrock is simply waiting to see what happens.

This article was originally written in German.