The case of Lindemann and his band is trickier. Provocation and sexual violence are at the heart of Rammstein’s performances, as well as of Lindemann’s poetry.

Postwar Germans have gone out of their way to repudiate the image of the Teutonic warrior, the uniformed sadist, and the ecstasy of collective extremism. Anything reminiscent of Germany’s brutal past has become a taboo in the pacific, civilized, democratic republic. Rammstein’s rock ‘n’ roll rebellion is a theatrical demolition of some of these post-Third Reich taboos.

Rammstein’s videos and stagecraft feature Nordic warriors, concentration camp atrocities, sexual torture, and hard porn. There are deliberate echoes of Albert Speer’s Nazi spectacles and Leni Riefenstahl’s propaganda films. A song, entitled “Pussy,” extolls rough sex. A reference is made to Übermenschen in a song called Deutschland. And Lindemann wrote a poem about having sex with a sleeping woman who has been drugged.

One might argue that expressing dark human impulses is a part of artistic creation (or of some sports). It is safer to act them out on stage, or in football stadiums, than in politics, let alone war.

There is a strong element of irony in Rammstein’s shtick: the Third Reich as an earsplittingly loud operatic act, less to celebrate past demons than to exorcize them. Some of this is in horrible taste (reenacted concentration camp scenes in a music video), but audiences worldwide are enraptured by Rammstein’s theatrical take on German guilt: “Deutschland – my heart in flames / Want to love you and damn you!”

Rammstein have attracted criticism in the past, but the sulfurous air of scandal only boosted their popularity. Playing the German devil, after all, was the whole point.

Should the accusations against Lindemann change our view? Should his music be banned because of his alleged personal bad behavior? A recent poll in Germany found that 45% of people asked thought it should, and 23% thought absolutely not. Meanwhile, 240,000 people bought tickets for June concerts in Munich.

(Continued in Support post…)