Volkswagen drops dealership with Nazi poster

MEXICO CITY: Volkswagen (VW) recently cut ties with a distributor in Mexico City after images of a poster with the infamous swastika symbol - used by the Nazis during World War Two (WW2), was seen on one of its walls.

"We strongly disapprove of (the distributor) showing those images at its facilities, which showed a regime that emphasized hatred and discrimination at a point in history that has fortunately been left behind and German cars in Mexico are unacceptable if they come with the swastika,” said VW in a statement.

The image of the poster was captured by a Twitter user while in a VW dealership located in Coyoacan in Mexico City and was quickly circulated on social media.

The German carmaking giant caught wind of it, prompting its Mexico unit to condemn the images.

Unfortunately, a prominent Jewish human rights organization also came across the images and urged the company to end its relationship with the business.

In a letter sent from the Simon Wiesenthal Centre to Volkswagen Mexico: "The most appropriate thing would be to drop the concession completely, in order to pass a clear message to your customers that you have learned from your history.”

VW was founded in the 1930s by Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler to build the “people’s car" (Volkswagen) and when WW2 started, forced labourers were introduced to help in Germany's war efforts.