Is Germany's Far-Right AfD Co-Opting Joseph Beuys?
Dozens of galleries from Düsseldorf and Cologne signed a letter condemning the anti-immigrant party's invocation of the postwar artist in promotions for an upcoming event.
More than 50 galleries across Düsseldorf and Cologne have signed a letter condemning the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party's Düsseldorf faction for allegedly referencing postwar conceptual artist and political activist Joseph Beuys and poet Heinrich Heine in the promotion of an upcoming cultural policy event.
The AfD event in question, “Cultural Policy From the Right,” is scheduled to take place in Düsseldorf on Monday, October 26, and consists of a walking tour of the city's arts and cultural venues followed by a topical lecture from the party's Bundestag (parliament) member Matthias Helferich.
(Hyperallergic has contacted several signatories and was not able to independently confirm any mention of Beuys on the AfD and AfD Düsseldorf websites.)
Considered one of the more radical party members, Helferich was elected to the Bundestag in 2021 and was temporarily expelled from the AfD's North Rhine-Westphalia state branch in 2025 after leaked chats showed that he described himself as “the friendly face of the Nazis” and said he wanted to play as “democratic Freisler” (referring to Nazi judge Roland Freisler, known for his abusive courtroom conduct and imposing the death penalty on thousands, including juveniles). The politician claimed those descriptions parodied his left-wing online critics.
Helferich was also accused of dehumanizing immigrants because of an Instagram story he posted of a rear-view mirror decoration with a sentence roughly translating to “get those creatures out” and added the tag #remigration — the term for the mass deportation of migrants, listed as one of the key AfD policies on the party's website. His expulsion from the party was ultimately overturned in June 2026.
“Düsseldorf is a city whose cultural identity is characterized by openness, internationality, plurality, and the free exchange of diverse perspectives,” a section of the co-signed letter reads. “Art emerges where boundaries are questioned and where people engage in dialogue regardless of origin, religion, skin color, gender, or political stance.”
