A method for actively dampening a start-up resonance of a torsional damper when starting an internal combustion engine, wherein the torsional damper is fixed between the internal combustion engine and a secondary side of a torsional elasticity, and the internal combustion engine is started using a starter arranged on a side of the internal combustion engine opposite the torsional elasticity, wherein a counter excitation is applied to a torque generated by the starter while the internal combustion engine is started, which counter excitation is modulated on the basis of a parameter of the internal combustion engine which changes when the internal combustion engine is being started.