“I have found the contacts built up with the descendants of the victims of the National Socialist regime extremely moving. History came alive when individual experience and suffering were related in direct conversation.”

“Another person who had submitted an application rang up to thank me: The few documents that we found relating to his parents’ insurance and then sent to him were the first documents that he had ever received about his parents. To him, this was much more important than the issue of whether he was able to claim a payment under the policy.”

“We sat poring over mounds of documents for nights on end and worked our way through huge numbers of files. (...) This very intensive work also aroused my private interest in the Jews and afterward I went to Israel for the first time in my life.”

“The Company took a real risk in opening its records and corporate soul to Professor Feldman. I think this is a true indicator of the strong ethical values our company now stands for and, at the end of the day, that's really why I choose to work here.”

“Encouragingly, we had the full support and personal commitment from Herbert Hansmeyer and Allianz General Counsel Bernd Honsel. This encouragement allowed us to go forward and achieve some accomplishments, the most important being the establishment of the German Foundation.”

“The Feldman book is written in a very exciting way and shows the links between Allianz and the Third Reich without any attempt to gloss over them. It’s now easy for me to reject the accusation that the company would like to hush up parts of its past history.”

“One of the most poignant moments for me was when Allianz's top management made its decision on how to approach the issue. In short, at the very highest level, the company committed itself to dealing openly and honestly with all aspects of its history - even the most difficult aspects. These were no vague statements; this was a very personal affirmation of the company's Board of Management. For me personally, as an American citizen, this was the affirmation that enabled - indeed empowered - me to speak to these issues on behalf of Allianz in Europe, Israel and most especially in my own country.”


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