Rubbing the Motorcycle

A buddy on a barge somewhere in France wants to know what this bike is. Looks like a single, sorta like a BSA. A definitive judgement?

I think it's a DKW. At least it's a two stroke.

Thanks! That looks right. Searching on "DKW military motorcyle" shows a lot of examples.

http://www.motorcycles-motorbikes.com/picture/number952.asp

I remember seeing quirky DKW cars on the streets of Germany in the early 70s, but did not know (if you can trust Wikipedia) that DKW was at one point the biggest producer of motorcycles at the world.*

* that could mean they produced 36 out of 70, I suppose....

That looks like nearly the same bike, just with a more primitive front end.

The head design is unusual, only other DKWs look similar.

They probably were the biggest producer of bikes during WWII, when they were using Auschwitz prisoners to make them.

Doggone reality. Yup.

I see some news attention this year to Auto Union:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10858063/Audi-used-Nazi-slave-labour.html