Jewish descendants of the family that founded the Simson moped company have called on the German far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) to cease using the vehicle at its events. They say the appropriation is an insult to their family's history.
The company was established in 1856 by brothers Löb and Moses Simson in Suhl, Thuringia, now an AfD stronghold. The family was forced to sell the business under value to the Nazis in 1936 and fled to the United States. During communist rule, the factory produced up to 200,000 mopeds a year, becoming one of East Germany's most iconic vehicles.
The AfD has adopted the Simson moped as a symbol, with its Thuringia leader Björn Höcke often riding one at party outings. The party says the vehicle represents “freedom, independence and individuality” and has sought to have it declared “intangible cultural heritage” in several eastern German state parliaments.
A spokesman for the Simson family, Dennis Baum, told German news agency DPA: “We find any connection with the AfD repulsive and an insult to our name.” He added that the family rejects extremist ideologies and will not accept the party's appropriation of their name.
The AfD was classified as a “confirmed rightwing extremist” group by Germany's domestic intelligence agency last year. Höcke has been singled out for disseminating far-right ideology, including the use of Nazi language and calling the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin a “monument of shame”.
The original Simson factory, which initially produced rifle barrels and later weapons and vehicles, was state-owned under communism and closed permanently in 2002. Today, secondhand Simson mopeds remain popular, fetching between €2,000 and €4,500.
