A fierce row has erupted in Germany after the descendants of the Jewish family behind the famous Simson moped brand accused the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) of exploiting their family name for political purposes.
The dispute centres on the Simson motorbikes and mopeds that were once a familiar sight across former East Germany.
Built in the Thuringian town of Suhl, models such as the Schwalbe and S51 became icons of everyday life in the communist German Democratic Republic (GDR). Decades after reunification they remain highly popular, with thousands of enthusiasts still riding them.
In recent years, however, several AfD politicians have adopted the bikes as symbols of eastern German identity and nostalgia, presenting them as emblems of freedom, independence and regional pride.
This has triggered a furious response from the descendants of the Simson founders, who today live in the United States, saying it reopens painful memories of Nazi persecution, dispossession and exile.
Speaking publicly through family spokesman Dennis Baum, they said they rejected any connection between their name and the AfD, describing the association as “repulsive” and as an insult to their family’s history.
They said they vehemently opposed extremist ideologies and do not want their historic name turned into a political symbol.
The Simson company was founded in the 19th century by Jewish brothers Moses and Loeb Simson. It developed into a major industrial enterprise producing weapons, bicycles, cars and later vehicles.
Under Nazi persecution, however, the Jewish owners were forced out. In 1936 the family was expelled from Germany and fled abroad, and the business fell under Nazi control.
After the Second World War, the Simson works in Suhl became a state-owned enterprise in East Germany and produced the mopeds that later gained cult status.
Among the most prominent figures associated with the issue is nationalist Björn Höcke, the notoriously hardline regional AfD leader in Thuringia.
Höcke has used Simson mopeds during campaign events, including election tours, portraying the machines as symbols of regional heritage and eastern pride.
Höcke has for years faced heavy criticism from Jewish groups and Holocaust remembrance organisations over statements seen as minimising or challenging Germany’s post-war remembrance culture.
Höcke and his supporters reject those accusations, arguing that he is calling for a broader and more positive sense of national identity rather than denying history. In the Simson dispute, reports say he dismissed the family’s criticism as strange and insisted that the mopeds are part of eastern German culture rather than a political or ideological symbol. The AfD maintains that celebrating regional heritage should not be restricted by historical ownership questions.
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