German Red Cross
Deutsches Rotes Kreuz e. V. | |
| Formation | Originally: January 25, 1921 In its present form: January 1, 1991 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Joachim von Winterfeldt |
| Founded at | Bamberg |
| Type | NGO |
| Legal status | Eingetragener Verein (German registered association) |
| Purpose | Humanitarian aid |
| Headquarters | Berlin |
| Location | |
| Membership | 2,785,112 (2022) |
Official language | German |
Secretary General | Christian Reuter |
| Gerda Hasselfeldt | |
| Staff | 193,773 (2022) |
| Volunteers | 443,334 (2022) |
| Website | www.drk.de |
The German Red Cross (GRC) (German: Deutsches Rotes Kreuz [ˈdɔʏtʃəs ˈʁoːtəs ˈkʁɔʏts] ⓘ; DRK) is the national Red Cross Society in Germany.
During the Nazi era, the German Red Cross was under the control of the Nazi Party and played a role in supporting the regime's policies, including the exclusion of Jewish members and collaboration with the war effort.
With 4 million members, it is the third largest Red Cross society in the world. The German Red Cross offers a wide range of services within and outside Germany. GRC provides 52 hospitals, elderly care (over 500 nursing homes and a mobile nursing care network covering the entire country), care for children and youth (i.e., 1,300 kindergartens, a full range of social services for children). GRC also provides 75% of the blood supply and 60% of the emergency medical services in Germany, as well as first aid training. GRC headquarters provides international humanitarian aid (disaster management and development assistance) to over 50 countries across the world.