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Franzi Szymkowiak – vocalist, guitarist and synth player for psych/shoegazers Lukka – joins The Bad Penny to share her unique perspectives of how tyranny is taking root in the U.S. similar to how it did in Germany, where she was born before the Berlin Wall fell. In addition to remembering how the German people were “manipulated by Russian propaganda” after World War II, she recalls stories from her ancestors about even more atrocious acts committed by Hitler against intellectuals and artists.

“Hitler was going against people who could see through his whole ideology and who could think more intellectually about [his regime, philosophy and actions] and convince people that was not the way to go,” Szymkowiak states. “It was way worse at the time because people got executed for raising their opinion against the establishment.”

Keep your eyes peeled for Lukka’s new album Wendekind, due June 5. Whet your appetite by listening to its first single here.

For more on Lukka, go to their Bandcamp profile and Instagram account.

Visit The Bad Penny’s On Tyranny hub to read more than 100 other interviews with musicians who bravely address the threats that artists are facing from ascendant fascist and authoritarian regimes around the world.

This entry was posted on 04/02/2026 at 2:07 pm and is filed under Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags authoritarianism, fascism, Franzi, Franzi Szymkowiak, Lukka, On Tyranny, shoegaze, tyranny. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.