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On February 5, 1890, the First District Royal Court of Prussia in Berlin entered a new enterprise into the corporate trade register: the "Allianz Versicherungs-Aktien-Gesellschaft" (Allianz Insurance Stock Corporation). 125 years later, Allianz is one of the largest international financial services providers. This book tells the story of the company´s history in a lucid and entertaining way.

Even before the First World War, Allianz had entered the international insurance industry. But the two World Wars destroyed its early attempts at global expansion. Not until the 1980s was Allianz able to reach the same degree of internationalization it had already achieved before 1914, breaking through to become a global insurer. Since the 1920s, Allianz had enjoyed a leading position in Germany; the company was able to build on this after 1945. Barbara Eggenkämper, Gerd Modert and Stefan Pretzlik describe the development of ist numerous business sectors as well as the various strategies of the different directors and their boards, illuminating Allianz´s working worlds and the way they changed as the use of Technology increased. What emerges is a multilayered narrative of the 125-year history of Allianz that gives voice not only to the leadership but also to the many employees.

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Barbara Eggenkämper is the director of the Allianz Center for Corporate History. Gerd Modert and Stefan Pretzlik are historians who work for the Center.

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