the term “community of danger” belonged to the language of the politically correct in German insurance circles, but that National Socialist Germany itself was a “community of danger” in a quite literal sense was not lost upon those leading the industry. The greater the drift toward war, the more obvious this became. Although Hitler's willingness and ability to take great risks and revise the Treaty of Versailles “peacefully” until 1939 — and then move on to yet further triumphs in 1939—1941 — may have been viewed with admiration and satisfaction, those involved in the management of the German insurance industry, as was the very nature of their enterprise, remained anxious to minimize risk but also to maximize opportunity. This meant constant assessment of the situation, and the two goals were inextricably related to one another. Risk reduction was an imperative when Germany faced war before 1939 and when Germany faced defeat after 1942, while opportunity maximization was of greatest importance during the period when it appeared that Germany might be victorious. Nevertheless, it was the very nature of the regime to insist that peace was being maintained while it was driving toward war and to speak of final victory while facing total defeat. Thus for only a brief period was there some correspondence between claims and reality. Especially after 1942, those who managed to maintain their capacity for rational perception inevitably faced an increasing tension between their engagement with the regime and their effort to continue “doing business,” on the one hand, and such measures as they could take to deal with the manifest disaster they were confronting, on the other.