"The Jewish descendants of a German motorbike manufacturer that was forcibly relinquished by the Nazis have voiced their repulsion at the appropriation of the vehicle by far-right populists. Members of the family, whose ancestors were forced to flee Germany in the 1930s, say they consider the use of the bike's name by the anti-immigrant Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) as a mockery of our history."
"The origins of the Simson moped go back to 1856, when brothers Lob and Moses Simson founded the company in Suhl, Thuringia now an AfD stronghold. It was the most popular form of two-wheel mobility during communism, when cars were hard to come by. It gave many teenagers in particular their first taste of freedom. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the moped has increasingly become something of a cult lifestyle item in the former communist east,"
Jewish descendants of the Simson motorbike family have voiced repulsion at far-right populists appropriating the moped and its name. Ancestors were forced to flee Germany in the 1930s after the company was forcibly relinquished by the Nazis. The Simson firm began in 1856 in Suhl, Thuringia, and became the most popular two-wheel mobility during the GDR, offering many teenagers their first taste of freedom. After 1989 the moped became a cult lifestyle item in the former east and has been taken advantage of by the AfD. The AfD has used the Simson in promotions and election posters, sought protective heritage status, and its Thuringia leader Bjorn Hocke often rides the Simson during party activities. A Simson family spokesperson in the US has pleaded for the appropriation to cease.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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