A senior administrative court in Münster has banned the use of HH 1933 automobile license plates because it overly relates to the period of national socialism and Hitler's rise to power, thus violating the rules of morality and custom.
"The combination of figures and letters, on the basis of a general knowledge of history, is appropriate to link with the national socialist regime, which is in violation of the law prohibiting the breach of the rules of morality and customs," the Court explained.
"Ра 1933" is associated with the national socialist salute "Heil Hitler", and 1933 is the year that Hitler, at the head of the National Socialists, came to power in Germany.
The court thereby dismissed a lawsuit by a man from the West German city of Wersen, whom the city civil service first approved on those plates, but withdrew the approval after a citizen's complaint.
The landlord then appealed to the Düsseldorf Court, which dismissed his claim, and therefore appealed to the Higher Court in Münster, which upheld the lower court's decision.
