History of Allianz – Moments of decision, Moments that matter

“The gentlemen of our company mean well and recognize my accomplishments. Yet, the circumstances might be more powerful than the will of my superiors.” The foreboding, even the fear, that emerges from these words in a letter from Martin Lachmann, the owner of an Allianz insurance agency in Berlin, to his son-in-law in exile in Sweden in October 1938 was, unfortunately, all too well founded. The determination of his friends and supporters at Allianz was not strong enough to ensure his escape into exile. He was eventually deported to Minsk by the Nazis in November 1941 and murdered.

Martin Lachmann's biography is a drastic illustration of how general history and the history of people acting in companies can influence the lives of individuals or groups of people. Companies are not anonymous structures that do business according to purely economic criteria. Rather, they shape the economy, society, culture, politics and the everyday lives of all of us, in short, the present and thus history, through the thoughts, judgments and actions of the people who work in them. How companies decide and act influences the way we live together in society: in a positive way, they can strengthen cohesion; in a negative way, they can intensify polarization and stir up people against each other.

Ernst Grumbt understood this. Shortly before his retirement from Allianz in November 1918, the manager published a newspaper article entitled “Unity and Solidarity”. The First World War had just ended, Germany was one of the losers, revolution was in the air, the main culprits for the catastrophic war had either absconded or were spinning conspiracy theories to blame their political opponents for their own mistakes, or were already gearing up for the fight against the forces of democracy. Grumbt was under the immediate impression of the revolutionary events, he was also afraid in the face of the uncertainty of the future, yet he summoned up the will to fight for a new beginning and the triumph of democracy. An unusual point of view for a manager who was shaped by the authoritarian spirit of the perished empire and the paternalistic culture that shaped Allianz during its founding phase. Now was the time, as he saw it, to act and to set out into a new era: “In our contrition and dejection, let us not wait for miracles to save (the nation) from the collapse of the empire; we could lose precious time over that.” 

And that is exactly what Allianz did. It did not spontaneously transform into a fervent champion of democracy, but it did change, adapting to the new political conditions and social interests. It developed its business in such a way that it now offered insurance for all groups and income classes in society, in line with the essence of democracy, while also reinventing itself both technically and organizationally. This age of democracy became one of the most exciting, dynamic and successful periods in the history of the company.

When democracy failed and the Nazis established a totalitarian dictatorship, basing their rule on polarization, exclusion, violence and terror, Allianz did not decisively distance itself. Its CEO even resigned from office to become a minister in Hitler's cabinet. Although he was unsuccessful and soon resigned, it was still more than a symbolic act. Allianz engaged with the regime of the new rulers, as did large sections of the business community, but it was a fatal step that led to failure, not only in terms of corporate ethics but ultimately also in business. In 1945, Allianz was on the brink of ruin.

In view of the rapid reconstruction and the onset of success in the new democracy of the post-war period, Allianz shied away from facing up to its historical responsibility. In doing so, it followed the behavior patterns of overwhelming sections of post-war society and the business community. The optimistic mood of reconstruction and the enjoyment of growing prosperity throughout the 1950s and 1960s should not be clouded by critical and uncomfortable questions about one's own role in the dictatorship and in the war, about guilt and responsibility. This consensus made repression easier and was also convenient.

It was only half a century after the end of the Second World War and the Shoah, and in the face of a class action lawsuit and the pressure of the global public, that Allianz, which had started to develop into a global company, began to face up to its history: to have it researched, to learn from it, to provide compensation and to take responsibility.

It has experienced the value of historical transparency and how beneficial it is for the company; it has understood the importance of values as guidelines for social and, in the broader sense, sustainable corporate action. To constantly rethink this, to struggle with what the right values are, and to implement them in day-to-day business is and remains a challenge and an obligation for a company that learns from its history and embraces responsibility.