How the AfD is rewriting German history

德国选择党如何重新编写德国历史

The Global Story

2026-09-10

27 分钟
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For the first time since World War Two, a far-right party has made a significant win in Germany – taking almost 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has been labelled as “right-wing extremist” by domestic intelligence, is leading the national polls. Among its pledges at a state level are to defund “anti-German" art and teach children less about Hitler, as part of a “patriotism” agenda. This idea challenges the deeply held and decades-long German memory culture that insists people must never forget the Nazis’ crimes. The AfD describes German memory culture in its manifesto as a "guilt complex". BBC Berlin correspondent Jessica Parker talks us through the complexities of remembering Germany’s past, and the controversial ways in which the AfD wants to shape its future. Producers: Hannah Moore and Xandra Ellin Mix: Travis Evans Executive producers: James Shield and Martine Powers Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and parliamentary group co-chairwoman Alice Weidel looks on during a press conference in Berlin, Germany, 07 September 2026. EPA/Shutterstock.
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  • At an election rally in eastern Germany a couple of weeks ago, this is Gert, a supporter of the far-right AfD party.

  • The Second World War has nothing to do with us anymore.

  • That's gone.

  • Many Germans disagree.

  • And for decades, their leaders have made pledges like this.

  • The memory of the Holocaust remains a matter of all the citizens who live in Germany.

  • That's the former German president, Joachim Gauck, saying there is no German identity without Auschwitz.

  • To remember the Holocaust is a concern of all Germans, he said in 2015. But Goethe

  • and other supporters of the AfD party say that promise to never forget the Nazis' crimes is holding Germany back.

  • We have to look out for ourselves, for our times,

  • finally becoming the German people we once were, the land of poets and thinkers.

  • Alternative für Deutschland, the party Goethe supports, says it wants to end what it's called Germany's guilt complex,