NFL - Sports Rumors

Thu Sep 11, 2008 7:54 am EDT

Candidate for naming rights of Jersey stadium has Nazi roots

By Joe Zedalis

Construction at the Meadowlands

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Allianz, an insurance and financial services company based in Munich and the reported front-runner to win the naming rights to the new Giants-Jets Stadium under construction in the New Jersey Meadowlands, has ties to Adolph Hitler and the Nazi regime, according to the New York Daily News and New York Times.

According to the the Daily News report, Allianz was the insurer of the Auschwitz death camp's facility and personnel. Its CEO at the time, Kurt Schmitt was Adolf Hitler's economics minister. According to the New York Times, Schmitt can be seen in a photograph from a rally wearing an SS-Oberführer's uniform and delivering the Nazi salute with Hitler standing in front of him.

Like other insurers in Germany at the time, Allianz followed anti-Semitic policies by terminating or refusing to pay off the life insurance policies of Jews, and sent cash that was due beneficiaries and survivors to the Nazis. It also became the insurer of Jewish valuables taken by the Nazis, according to the New York Times.

Gerald Feldman was a historian asked by Allianz in 1997 to produce an unfettered history of its role in Hitler's Germany. He wrote in "Allianz and the German Insurance Business, 1933-1945" that the company extended its group accident insurance for engineers working for the notorious I.G. Farben chemical company at Auschwitz, according to the New York Times.

"It was just one more piece of business in the Third Reich," he wrote in his book, which was published in 2001, "but it demonstrated that such pieces on any large scale made contact at some point with all that is represented by the name ‘Auschwitz' — from slave labor to extermination — virtually inescapable."

The new $1.6 billion stadium will be the home to both New York-area NFL teams. New York City has the largest Jewish community in the country, according to the New York Daily News.

The teams refused to speak about Allianz, which has United States subsidiaries like Fireman's Fund Insurance and Oppenheimer Capital, because a deal is not done. And Allianz refused to discuss the naming-rights negotiations according to the New York Times.

Source: New York Daily NewsNew WindowNew York TimesNew Window

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140 Comments

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  1. Max_Powers
    1. Posted by Max_Powers Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:33 pm EDT

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    I agree. Ban the entire German language
  2. Ben S
    2. Posted by Ben S Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:14 pm EDT

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    So what? They were in Germany when the Nazis were around, not a Nazi formed company.
    I don't see a big deal.
  3. asdlkf
    3. Posted by asdlkf Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:19 pm EDT

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    Wachovia Bank profited from slavery in the US only 100 years ago, and the company/CEO have apologized. Slavery in the US is (with little justified argument) just as cruel and terrible as the Holocaust.
    But no one's calling for the naming right to the Wachovia Center to be changed?
    There's plenty of US companies (and presidents with links to companies) who have had a legacy linked to slavery, but black people aren't strong enough a community to have their voices heard... unlike the Jewish community.
  4. asdlkf
    4. Posted by asdlkf Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:19 pm EDT

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    wachovia bank profited from slavery in the us only 100 years ago, and the company/ceo have apologized. slavery in the us is (with little justified argument) just as cruel and terrible as the holocaust.
    but no one's calling for the naming right to the wachovia center to be changed?
    there's plenty of us companies (and presidents with links to companies) who have had a legacy linked to slavery, but black people aren't strong enough a community to have their voices heard... unlike the jewish community.
  5. randy g
    5. Posted by randy g Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:37 pm EDT

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    you need a new name.
  6. A Yahoo! User
    6. Posted by A Yahoo! User Thu Sep 11, 2008 8:57 am EDT

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    I am a Jew, too. Holding a grudge against people, a country, or even a corporation for something that they did not do personally is wrong. I know many Jews that won't buy German cars today. I guarantee you that nobody at Allianz today actively supported the Nazis. That was over 60 years ago! They'd be long retired or dead. Move on. You don't need to forgive the people that committed those crimes. But Allianz is just a corporation run by the blameless children and grandchildren of the people that committed those crimes.
  7. Wolverine
    7. Posted by Wolverine Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:46 pm EDT

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    Let us never forget what the word "Nazi" represents. I hope that the Giants DO NOT use the name.
  8. Timothy N
    8. Posted by Timothy N Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:12 pm EDT

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    Mike. I'm gunna have to say that I agree with midnight on this one. If you are not going to allow Allianz stadium then you would have to support Wachovia Center being changed. Also, why don't you stop drinking Fanta or don't buy an IBM computer. Mike you need to get over it, these events were in the past and both companies have moved on.
  9. Mike L 53
    9. Posted by Mike L 53 Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:23 pm EDT

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    on the anniversery of 9/11 why dont we all JUST FORGET and get over ourselves wah,wah,wah terrorism then and now lets all forget you f-ing racist pricks!!!!!!!!!!!
  10. robert w
    10. Posted by robert w Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:57 pm EDT

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    i'd have to agree with heyman why does everything turn into a something racist. people should stop looking at their skin tone and nationality, it should be your american or your not if you don't like it here then move somewhere else!!!
  11. cphatmac
    11. Posted by cphatmac Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:30 pm EDT

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    I am appalled that this is even newsworthy. In today's overly P.C. society, anything anyone says or does can be interpreted as offensive to at least one person somewhere. We all just need to be a little less sensitive. Yes, blacks were slaves. So were Jews, Greeks, Italians, Catholics, Muslims, and just about everyone else at some point. Yes, Jews were victims of genocide, so were Greeks, Turks, Romans, Blacks, Serbians, Armenians, and just about everyone else at some point. If we were to get rid of everything that was offensive to anyone, we'd all be sitting alone in caves afraid to communicate with anyone. The sad part is, even that would offend someone.
  12. Isabel H
    12. Posted by Isabel H Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:23 pm EDT

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    nope...us blacks and jews will let you blue eyed devils hear about it until your dying days...
    deal with it!!
  13. asdlkf
    13. Posted by asdlkf Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:19 pm EDT

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    hahaha. you all have really misunderstood me. the point i was trying to make is simply that there are plenty of corporations that have past links to slavery, and still holding them accountable is silly. the same with nazi germany.
    mike l., its good you're passionate about your community. but there are plenty of people who feel just as strongly about slavery and oppression of black people. (i'm not black or jewish). there's also native americans who were systematically slaughtered in mass genocide like the jews, and we still mock them with the "redskins" logo. and few have called for an end to that either.
    the point is, get over it. and get over yourself.
  14. MatthewS
    14. Posted by MatthewS Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:23 pm EDT

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    Every country on this planet has, at one point or another, been responsible for some horrendous crime against humanity. Nobody is innocent and if we keep holding grudges against things that occurred 50+ years in the past, we will only breed more hate. I am not saying we need to forget, but moving on with our lives and looking forward instead of backward is far better option in my opinion. As stockie_2007 said, the people that committed these crimes are most likely dead or retired.
  15. Tom R
    15. Posted by Tom R Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:29 pm EDT

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    Gimme a break pal. The Nazi movement began over 75 years ago, and we're talking about an insurance company here, not the SS. Mercedez Benz built the trucks that carried Nazi soldiers all over Europe and Africa, Mitsubishi built the Zero planes the Japanese used as Kamikazes, are we supposed to think of war every time we see a rice rocket driving around? Get real, the war is over.
  16. dontcheat
    16. Posted by dontcheat Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:02 pm EDT

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    Boo Hoo. Kwitchur whinin'. If we held grudges against every nation that ever wronged anyone, only the Eskimo's (maybe) would be exempt. Are you really that sensitive?
  17. Mark H
    17. Posted by Mark H Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:57 pm EDT

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    get over it???
    you gotta love the compassion of some morons
  18. greg s
    18. Posted by greg s Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:02 pm EDT

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    A struggling sports writer at its best. Another New York Daily JUNK news..:))
  19. Peter D
    19. Posted by Peter D Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:07 pm EDT

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    Just because one community is able to voice their opposition to such a company having naming rights, and another is not, does not make it right. Neither Wachovia nor Allianz should be linked too closely to professional franchises, not because of what which community can do what, but because of what they did.
  20. eshmart2003
    20. Posted by eshmart2003 Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:56 pm EDT

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    Armenia!
  21. giantman
    21. Posted by giantman Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:28 pm EDT

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    agree with writer. the staduim should not use the name
  22. michael
    22. Posted by michael Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:12 pm EDT

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    Not trying to be insensitive to the holocaust, but, every company that existed in Germany in the 1930-40s has ties to Nazi Germany. It is just a fact. If they didnt do business with the Nazi Government, during the 30s and 40s they would not exist today. It is a cruel fact of the times. Just like many companies in South Africa had ties to Apartheid, and many companies in Cuba have ties to Castro, and many companies in the US that existed in the pre-1864 timefram ehad ties to the Confederacy and/or slavery. This article is nonspecific, makes no specific references, and is intended to incite discuss and arguements to get the author headlines.
  23. Chad O
    23. Posted by Chad O Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:56 pm EDT

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    I can understand some people's complaints but it's not like Allianz is the only company that emerged from Nazi Germany. Corporate giants such as IBM and Volkswagen whom both sponsor large scale sporting events and locations had strong ties to the Nazis and no one is flaming them here. This company even had its roots in a non-prejudice Germany long before the third reich, unlike Volkswagen which was founded more or less by Hitler and his administration.
    Now that being said, I certainly would not blame anyone for protesting the name, least of which anyone with jewish herritage.
  24. Steve Z
    24. Posted by Steve Z Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:13 pm EDT

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    I understand your concern, but as a fellow Jewish person, I do not agree with you. That was so many years ago that the company is now run by decent people who are trying to live down those inglorious days. My question is, Did they have a choice? I don't believe any company that wanted to be successful could buck Hitler and survive.
    I think we can forgive, just not forget.
  25. tx wood
    25. Posted by tx wood Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:25 pm EDT

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    #1 by no means can you compare the genocide of jews to any type of slavery. slavery dates back to beginning of times and since the black people in Africa were selling each other to begin with get over it. the nazi idea was just that, an idea. the belief that getting rid of or seperating from the oppression of the times is typical to any change. why doesn't anyone put down the Romans? they wiped out many ethnic practices in order to claim power. what? they invented aquaducts and that makes it o.k.? insane!!!! seems to me that everyone wants a gift for being in a democratic society that if anything provides for everyone except a true AMERICAN!!!!! F ALL THESE LEECHES THAT WANT A PITTY PARTY!

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