Producer

Leopold Hoesch

Direction

Sebastian Dehnhardt & Manfred Oldenburg

Producer

Vera Bertram

Genre

Dynasties

Transmitter

ZDF

Length

1 x 45'

Editor

Year

2014

Germany's big clans:

The Aldi story - Karl and Theo Albrecht

Theo and Karl Albrecht are the most mysterious figures in the Federal Republic of Germany.
They built up a global business empire, amassed a fortune worth billions and became the richest Germans.
When Theo Albrecht died in 2010 and his brother Karl in 2014, they had built up a chain of 4,300 stores in Germany from a small corner store that they took over from their mother in 1946.
The group determines the prices of our staple foods, and the brothers have also influenced our food culture and shaped our mentality.

But nobody knows the Albrechts.
They lived in complete secrecy until their deaths.
They systematically hid for decades.
Only two or three blurry pictures existed.
The "Aldi Story" gives a deep insight into the brothers' lives and their character for the first time.
They grew up in poor circumstances in a working-class district of Essen-Schonnebeck, where their mother ran a small corner store.
Mrs. Albrecht ran the store as a sideline to keep the small family afloat.
Karl was born in 1920, Theo was born two years later.
The two boys vowed to escape poverty and seized their opportunity after the war.
By chance, they discover the Aldi principle: a small range of goods at a low price.
This concept will radically change the shopping habits of Germans and bring the Albrecht brothers fantastic wealth.
They are considered to be the richest Germans in their lifetime.
But the money becomes too much of a burden and Theo is kidnapped in 1971.
After this traumatic experience, both brothers withdraw completely, there are no more photos, even in their company only the closest employees know their bosses.
The film shows how the two brothers conquered the food market, but also how the company changed the two brothers.
For the first time, the Albrecht family has provided extensive photographic material for this film project.
We see the young Albrechts in 1938 and 1939 with their parents and in the Schonnebeck store, the nucleus of the Aldi empire.
Key scenes of their lives are staged in elaborate re-enactments.
Close associates, companions and journalists who spent years researching the brothers' environment provide deep insights into the lives of Karl and Theo Albrecht and the empire they created.

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