‘Babylon Berlin’ Going Out With a Bang, and A Warning for Democracy
The German period drama Babylon Berlin has entered its fifth and final season, with creators Henk Handloegten, Tom Tykwer and Achim von Borries previewing the finale at a private Berlin event. The season depicts the collapse of the Weimar Republic and Adolf Hitler's rise to absolute power, and the makers say its story now carries unsettling echoes of contemporary politics, particularly the growth of far-right movements in Germany and beyond.
The final season spans 30 January to 5 March 1933, covering Hitler's appointment as Reich chancellor through to the rigged elections that cemented Nazi control. The creators noted that Germany's far-right AfD party, which polled around 10 per cent when the show began in 2017, is now close to 30 per cent and could win a state election next month; they also pointed to scenes of paramilitary round-ups written before, they say, comparable real-world developments emerged. Stars Volker Bruch and Liv Lisa Fries reprise their roles as detective Gereon Rath and partner Charlotte Ritter, with Fries noting the tone has darkened from "dancing on the volcano" to simply "the volcano".
- Babylon Berlin's fifth and final season previewed in Berlin, covering Hitler's 1933 power grab
- Creators say the story echoes today's rising far-right politics in Germany and elsewhere
- AfD support has risen from around 10% in 2017 to nearly 30% now
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The rise of far-right parties across Europe, including Germany's AfD climbing from roughly 10 per cent to nearly 30 per cent, reflects patterns worth examining through historical perspective. Babylon Berlin's dramatisation of Weimar's collapse serves a civic function by reminding audiences how institutional weakness, economic distress, and the gradual normalisation of extremist rhetoric can erode democracy. The creators' observation that their depictions of paramilitary activity were written before recent comparable real-world developments emerged suggests that recognising historical echoes is prudent; bringing public attention to how democracies have failed before may strengthen vigilance against contemporary threats.
The case against
Whilst vigilance against far-right movements is legitimate, direct parallels between contemporary Germany and 1930s Weimar risk painting an inaccurate picture that may do more harm than good. Modern Germany has institutional safeguards, constitutional protections, and an electorate shaped by generations of historical education—assets Weimar entirely lacked. The AfD operates within democratic processes and norms, and conflating right-wing populism with nascent fascism risks both trivialising the historical atrocity of Nazism and obscuring rational debate about current policy disagreements. Such apocalyptic framings may heighten polarisation rather than foster the nuanced democratic discourse needed to address legitimate contemporary concerns.