Walter Benjamin’s Theses on the Philosophy of History – A Simple and Playful Explanation

Most people imagine history like a toy train on a track. The train moves forward, yesterday, today, tomorrow, and many believe it is heading towards a better future. They think the world keeps improving over time, one smooth stop after another.

But Walter Benjamin says, “Hold on, that’s not quite right.”

He tells us that history is not a straight, happy track. Instead, it is more like standing in front of a huge pile of broken toys. Every toy in the pile represents something that went wrong in the past, such as wars, unfair treatment, or people who suffered and were forgotten. That pile is what the past really looks like when we stop and pay attention.

Benjamin describes an “Angel of History” who sees this sad pile and wants to stop and fix it, to help the people who were hurt. But a strong wind called “progress” keeps pushing the angel forward, away from the wreckage and towards the future. The angel cannot stop to help because the world just keeps rushing ahead.

Benjamin’s point is this, we should not just believe the world is always getting better. If we do not look back and learn from the pain and mistakes of the past, we leave those broken toys behind and never fix them. History should be about remembering, caring, and trying to make things right, not just riding the train and hoping for the best.

A real-life example of this is how Europe responded to the rise of fascism in the 1930s and then again in more recent times. After World War II, many said, “Never again” to the hatred, racism, and violence that led to the war. But today, we are seeing the far right rise once more across the world. In Germany, the AfD has gained significant support with anti-immigration and nationalist ideas. In Italy, Giorgia Meloni has become Prime Minister while leading a party with roots in post-fascist politics. In France, far-right figures like Marine Le Pen continue to gain ground. In Britain, the Reform Party spreads anti-migrant messages. And in the United States, the MAGA movement led by Donald Trump has encouraged division and violence, including the storming of the Capitol in 2021. Around the world, ethno-nationalism and white supremacy are growing again in rallies, online spaces, and politics. Have we forgotten again?