On January 30, 1933, Nazis took over power in Germany. In very little time they seized control of all important positions in state and society.
Intimidation and violence were the regime’s preferred instruments: unpopular individuals and political opponents were arrested. Jewish citizens were gradually robbed of their rights by the state and their means of existence were destroyed. Racism and antisemitism were essential elements of policy.
Uniforms and flags signify the politicization of everyday life in the company.
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"Gleichschaltung"
The term "Gleichschaltung", or synchronization, refers to a key process in the transformation of the open and pluralistic society of Weimar Germany into a totalitarian dictatorship after Hitler's seizure of power. Its goal was to align the governmental apparatus, the judiciary, the economy, the media, and all the institutions of society on the values and objectives of the Nazi world-view.
Sturmabteilung (SA)
The abbreviation stands for the term Sturmabteilung (storm troops) and refers to a paramilitary fighting and thug group of the Nazi Party. It was formed in 1920/21 and had over four million members in 1934.
Chronicle
January 30, 1933
Adolf Hitler appointed Chancellor of the German Reich.
February 28, 1933
Hitler issues a decree invalidating the basic rights.
April 1, 1933
Boycott against Jewish businesses organized by the SA.
April 7, 1933
New laws bar Jews from jobs in the civil service, universities and law courts.
May 2, 1933
Banning of parties, trade unions and confiscation of their property (part of the process of "Gleichschaltung").
July 14, 1933
Law on the confiscation of property of "enemies of the people and the State". Legal basis for the seizure of assets of emigrants.
Nazi ideology used the economy to serve its purposes - economic processes were subordinate to the interests of the totalitarian state. Nazi economic policy was characterized by state regulation. The state pursued a patronizing welfare policy, striving for economic autonomy and readying Germany for a new war.
Propaganda-brochure about the armamants and economic policy of Nazi Germany (1942) - bpk/US-Army
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"Nazi Economic Policy"
National socialism attached a subservient role to the economy, giving priority instead to the power of the state and the party. These priorities left their mark on the various phases of Nazi economic policy:
Phase 1 (1933-36): Command policy to revive the economy and surmount mass unemployment.
Phase 2 (1936-42): Four-Year Plan to prepare for war and convert to a war economy.
Phase 3 (1942-45): Mobilization of all resources in the period of "total war" economy.
Sturmabteilung (SA)
The abbreviation stands for the term Sturmabteilung (storm troops) and refers to a paramilitary fighting and thug group of the Nazi Party. It was formed in 1920/21 and had over four million members in 1934.
Chronicle
March 7, 1936
German army occupies the demilitarized buffer zone along the River Rhine.
August 1936
Nazi-Regime exploit Olympics in Berlin to camouflage the aggressive and racist character of the German Dictatorship.
The Nazi-dictatorship soon began impacting everyday work: already in 1933 the freely elected works councils were dismissed and replaced by party activists.
Regularly staged rituals were supposed to mobilize and indoctrinate employees with Nazi ideology: militaristic company roll-calls, broadcasting of Hitler’s speeches, and swastikas at every opportunity. Beginning in 1933, Jewish employees were dismissed due to pressure from both the state and Nazi-sympathetic colleagues and functionaries.
Through involvement in private associations, Allianz tried to counteract the regime’s plans for nationalization of the insurance sector.
Allianz work troops marching on the First of May in Berlin.
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National Socialist Party (NSDAP)
The "National Socialist German Workers Party" was the party of Adolf Hitler. It was founded in 1920 and was the only political party permitted in Germany after the Nazis seized power in 1933. Among the defining features of its ideology were racism, anti-semitism, opposition to democracy, and aggressive territorial expansion. It grew from a splinter group to a mass-based organization with 8.5 million members.
"Gleichschaltung"
The term "Gleichschaltung", or synchronization, refers to a key process in the transformation of the open and pluralistic society of Weimar Germany into a totalitarian dictatorship after Hitler's seizure of power. Its goal was to align the governmental apparatus, the judiciary, the economy, the media, and all the institutions of society on the values and objectives of the Nazi world-view.
Sturmabteilung (SA)
The abbreviation stands for the term Sturmabteilung (storm troops) and refers to a paramilitary fighting and thug group of the Nazi Party. It was formed in 1920/21 and had over four million members in 1934.
Chronicle
February 28, 1933
Hitler issues a decree invalidating the basic rights.
March 30, 1933
Under threat of violence SA thugs force the democratically elected works council of Allianz to resign.
April 7, 1933
New laws bar Jews from jobs in the civil service, universities and law courts.
May 2, 1933
Banning of parties, trade unions and confiscation of their property (part of the process of "Gleichschaltung").
World War II shaped the work of insurance companies in many ways: all larger companies in the financial sector had to invest their reserves in government loans by order of the state. They served the state in financing the war. Allianz expanded its activities across occupied Europe in step with German military.
The SS was also a client of the insurance industry. As a result, Allianz, usually as part of a consortium of various insurance companies, insured staff and buildings at SS production facilities on the grounds of concentration camps.
The war also changed the company’s offerings: advertisement for war duty insurance.
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The SS
The SS, or Schutzstaffel ("Protective Echelon"), was a paramilitary corps of the National Socialist Party. The SS regarded itself as an élite military unit. Under the leadership of Heinrich Himmler, it emerged as the key instrument of force and terror in the Nazi régime. It assimilated the powers of the police, assumed sole responsibility for the system of concentration camps, and became the nerve-center for the extermination of European Jews. The SS was declared a "criminal organization" at the Nuremberg trials.
Sturmabteilung (SA)
The abbreviation stands for the term Sturmabteilung (storm troops) and refers to a paramilitary fighting and thug group of the Nazi Party. It was formed in 1920/21 and had over four million members in 1934.
Chronicle
March 14/16, 1939
German troops invade Czechoslovakia. Establishment of Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia.
August 23, 1939
Non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Germany ("Hitler-Stalin Pakt").
---bpk/us-army.jpeg "Propaganda-brochure about the armamants and economic policy of Nazi Germany (1942) - bpk/US-Army")
