or ASB (English: Workers' Samaritan Foundation Germany) is a German
charitable
The practice of charity is the voluntary giving of help to those in need, as a humanitarian act, unmotivated by self-interest. There are a number of philosophies about charity, often associated with religion.
Etymology
The word ''charity'' or ...
aid agency
An aid agency, also known as development charity, is an organization dedicated to distributing aid. Many professional aid organisations exist, both within government, between governments as multilateral donors and as private voluntary organizatio ...
founded in 1888.
History
The
industrial revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
of the 19th century led to a dramatic increase in accidents at work. Therefore, in 1877 the
St. John's Ambulance Association
St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by volunteers. The associations are overseen by the internat ...
of the
Order of St. John was established in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. In many cities, medical schools were set up and volunteers trained.
In the summer of 1881, the German surgeon
Friedrich von Esmarch
Johannes Friedrich August von Esmarch (9 January 1823 – 23 February 1908) was a German surgeon. He developed the Esmarch bandage and founded the ''Deutscher Samariter-Verein'', the predecessor of the '' Deutscher Samariter-Bund''.
Life
...
(1823-1908) met St John's Ambulance Association leadership in London and founded a ''Samaritan school'' on his return to Germany. Numerous notes from the ''German-Samaritan-Federation'' were subsequently issued; however, they were directed primarily to senior health officials and were inclusive of the broad mass of workers.
In 1888, six carpenters in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
took the initiative and set up the first ''course on the First Aid in the event of a disaster'' on 29 November 1888, and founded the first column of what would become the Workers' Samaritan Federation Germany. Soon these courses became a regular commitment of the association, which changed its name in 1895 to "Samariterkursus für Arbeiter und Arbeiterinnen" (Samaritan courses for workers).
In 1909, 11 Samaritan workers columns joined forces to form the ''Workers' Samaritan League'' at a founding meeting in
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
. The first seat of the federation was Berlin. In 1923, two chemist Samaritans,
Theodor Kretzschmar and
Eugen Richter
Eugen Richter (30 July 183810 March 1906) was a German politician and journalist in Imperial Germany. He was one of the leading advocates of liberalism in the Prussian Landtag and the German Reichstag.
Career
Son of a combat medic, Richter atten ...
, were elected as Federal Councilor and Federal Treasurer of the ASB. This meant the relocation of the ASB's headquarters to
Chemnitz
Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany a ...
. In
Herchen, the ASB operated a recreation centre during this period. In 1933 about 48,000 members of the ASB were active in 1,510 columns.
After the
rise of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...
, the ASB was placed under
National Socialist
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
leadership.
After 1945, in the
Soviet occupation zone
The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a c ...
, the
Soviet Military Administration in Germany
The Soviet Military Administration in Germany (russian: Советская военная администрация в Германии, СВАГ; ''Sovyetskaya Voyennaya Administratsiya v Germanii'', SVAG; german: Sowjetische Militäradministrat ...
suppressed the ASB, which consequently did not exist in the later
German Democratic Republic
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
. In
Western Germany
The old states of Germany (german: die alten Länder) is a jargon referring to the ten of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) that were part of West Germany and that unified with the eastern German Democratic Republic' ...
, former workers' Samaritans in various regions of Germany sought to rebuild the ASB immediately after the end of the war. With the establishment of the
Federal Republic of Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...
, the ASB developed supra-regional structures. In April 1952 ''ASB Deutschland eV'' was officially founded. The seat of the federation was initially
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
, then with the construction of new federal headquarters, the seat was moved to
Sülz
Sülz (; ) is a municipal part of Cologne, Germany and part of the district of Lindenthal. Sülz lies on Luxemburger Straße between Lindenthal and Klettenberg. Sülz has 35.475 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2008) and covers an area of 5,17& ...
. After
German reunification
German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
, the ASB was established in 1990 in the eastern federal states.
See also
*
Emergency medical services in Germany
Emergency Medical Service (German: ''"Rettungsdienst"'', lit. "Rescue Service") in Germany is a service of public pre-hospital emergency healthcare, including ambulance service, provided by individual German cities and counties. It is primarily fin ...
*
German Red Cross
The German Red Cross (german: Deutsches Rotes Kreuz ; DRK) is the national Red Cross Society in Germany.
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 ...
References
{{authority control
Health charities in Germany
Organizations established in 1888
Emergency medical services in Germany
Medical and health organisations based in North Rhine-Westphalia
1888 establishments in Germany