Allianz and the German Insurance Business, 1933-1945

Description

This history of the internationally prominent insurance corporation Allianz AG in the Nazi era is based largely on new or previously unavailable archival sources. Feldman takes the reader through varied cases of collaboration and conflict with the Nazi regime with fairness and a commitment to informed analysis. He touches on issues of damages in the Pogrom of 1938, insuring facilities used in forced labor camps, and the problems of de-Nazification and restitution. The broader issues examined in this study - cooperation with Nazi policies, the way in which profit, ideology, and opportunism played a role in corporate decision making, and the question of how Jewish insurance assets were expropriated - are particularly relevant today given the ongoing international debate about restitution for Holocaust survivors. This book joins a growing body of scholarship based on free access to the records of German corporations in the Nazi era.

'... an interesting read for those of us who know the Germany insurance scene and the enduring qualities of the men and women who work within it.' Sam Ignarski, Lloyd's List 'This important work by Feldman demonstrate the value of continuing to focus scholarly labours on interpreting and elucidating the implications and consequences of the National Socialist dictatorship ... very significant contributions to this literature ... One of the elements that makes Feldman's book so compelling is the author's keen eye for the bizarre and unexpected twists ...'. Financial History Review