How a Jewish family's moped brand became a far-right symbol

Simson mopeds, iconic symbols of everyday life in the former East Germany, were built by a company founded by Jewish brothers who fled after the Nazis seized their factory. Today, the far‑right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party uses the brand to stoke nostalgia and regional identity — a move that came as a shock to the founders' heirs.

"I was really shocked," said Dennis Baum, after seeing AfD‑Simson shirts and banners. Calling the party's use of the family name "infuriating," he and the other heirs have launched a coordinated effort to stop it and are raising deeper questions about historical memory and political appropriation.