Adolf Maass (1875 – probably early in 1945 in Auschwitz concentration camp), who was Jewish, a partner, and one of the firm's shareholder with a 45% stake, was forced out in April 1933.

On the 1st of May 1933 Alfred and Werner Kühne joined the Nazi Party,[6] and under the brothers' management the firm played a prominent role in the transport of property seized from Jews in occupied territories.

In total, by August 1944, the responsible Nazi agency had had the furnishings of around 65,000 apartments in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Luxembourg removed.

The parts list shows 220 armchairs, 105 beds, 363 tables, 598 chairs, 126 cupboards, 35 sofas, 307 boxes of glassware, 110 mirrors, 158 lamps, 32 clocks, a gramophone and two strollers.

[10][11] The company rapidly exapanded during WWII in order to meet the needs of the Nazi war effort, this laid the groundwork for their post-war success.

[12] In the early 1950s, Alfred Kühne initiated the company's international expansion; and KN expanded its operations into Canada, with the opening of branch offices in Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec.

In 1966, at the age of 30, he joined the management team as executive chairman; and spearheaded KN's future expansion, particularly its European and the Far Eastern operations.

Following the purchase, Klaus-Michael Kühne and Lonrho's head, Roland "Tiny" Rowland acted as joint chief executives of the combined organisation.

In July 1999, Kühne handed over the post of CEO to Klaus Herms, and continued as the executive chairman and president of the board.

[14] In October 2007, the board of KN appointed Reinhard Lange as the successor to CEO Klaus Herms, effective June 2009 to ensure a smooth handover.

[15] In 2012, Kuehne + Nagel acquired the business contracts of Canada's Perishables International Transportation (PIT) to expand into global fresh and frozen foods network.

[17] In April 2014, Kuehne + Nagel International was fined $3.1 million for its part in a freight forwarding cartel case brought by the Commerce Commission.

Kuehne + Nagel was the last defendant in the seven-year investigation involving six firms, who referred to themselves as the "Gardening Club" and used horticultural code to discuss anti-competitive practices among them.