Against the backdrop of the narrative of alleged cancel culture, this article discusses the inevitable forgetting of topics and theses in historical scholarship. It is a matter of course that only a limited selection of possible content can be addressed in academic discussions. Behind the accusation of a cancel culture, as levelled by the so-called “Netzwerk Wissenschaftsfreiheit” (Network for Academic Freedom), lies an attempt to gain ground in identity politics through historical debates. Something similar is happening in right-wing extremist popular science formats associated with the AfD. A comparison with other countries makes it seem likely that German medieval studies will also become the target of identity- and history-political interventions from an authoritarian perspective in the foreseeable future.