82-Year-Old Fights Far-Right Over Family's Stolen Legacy

Dennis Baum made a 4,000-mile journey this summer to defend something his family lost once before.

The 82-year-old flew from New York to Germany after discovering that a far-right political party was using his family's iconic moped brand in campaign materials. His grandmother's Jewish family had founded the Simson company in Thuringia in 1856, building it into one of Germany's leading manufacturers before the Nazis forced them to give it up in 1935.

Now, nearly 90 years later, the Alternative for Germany party was plastering the Simson name on T-shirts and posters. Party leader Björn Höcke, who has been convicted twice for using banned Nazi slogans, even featured the classic mopeds in a nostalgia-filled campaign video.

For Baum, one of five Simson heirs, the irony was painful. "It's a far-right party with the premise of intolerance, and they have stated quite clearly that they are antisemitic and we are a Jewish family," he told reporters. "That certainly doesn't fit."

The Simson mopeds became beloved symbols of East German life after World War II, known for being affordable, sturdy, and easy to repair. The distinctive "Schwalbe" scooter gave young people freedom to travel when cars were scarce.

Baum isn't fighting to reclaim the trademark, which belongs to another company. He's fighting for something more important: ensuring his family's name isn't associated with intolerance.

Why This Inspires

Dennis Baum could have stayed in New York and let this battle go. Instead, he chose to stand up publicly against a party that represents everything his family survived. His demand is clear and simple: "Get the Simson name out of politics, all politics."

At 82, Baum is showing that it's never too late to defend your heritage. His journey proves that some legacies are worth fighting for, even when the odds seem long and the opposition formidable.

History tried to erase the Simson family's legacy once before, and Dennis Baum is making sure it doesn't happen again.