The far-right leader pushing Germans to forget the Nazi past

Hans-Thomas Tillschneider, a 48-year-old lawmaker from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, is gaining prominence as he pushes for a shift in the country's postwar identity. Tillschneider, who may soon hold more power than any other far-right figure in Germany's postwar history, has been outspoken about the need to move beyond the culture of remembrance surrounding Nazi crimes and the Holocaust.

While he does not advocate for forgetting the past, Tillschneider argues that the current emphasis on remembrance has created a "guilt cult" that harms Germany's identity and makes it vulnerable to external forces. Tillschneider's ideas are not new; they have been a part of the AfD's platform for some time. However, as the main author of the party's program for governing Saxony-Anhalt, Tillschneider has the potential to implement his radical vision on a state level.

He plans to revise history lessons to focus on figures like Otto von Bismarck rather than Hitler, and to cut cultural funding to promote a more positive, "German" identity.