Workers' Samaritan Foundation Germany

Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschland, commonly abbreviated ASB, is a German charitable aid organization whose origins lie in the worker-oriented first-aid movement of the late nineteenth century. It was established in Berlin in 1888, when six carpenters organized a course on first aid in accidents and disasters. The initiative emerged during the Industrial Revolution, a period in which industrial workplaces and urban construction generated a high incidence of accidents while access to immediate medical assistance remained limited. The organization’s early purpose was therefore practical and educational: ordinary workers were trained to provide emergency assistance before professional medical help arrived. The movement initially operated through local Samaritan columns and courses. In 1895, the organization adopted the name “Samariterkursus für Arbeiter und Arbeiterinnen,” emphasizing that its training was intended for both male and female workers. In 1909, eleven local columns joined together at a founding meeting in Magdeburg to create a national Workers’ Samaritan League. This federation gave the movement a more durable organizational structure while retaining its decentralized local basis. The organization expanded considerably during the early twentieth century. Its federal seat was initially Berlin and was later moved to Chemnitz in 1923 after Theodor Kretzschmar and Eugen Richter assumed senior federal financial and administrative roles. During this period, ASB also operated a recreation center in Herchen. By 1933, the movement reportedly had approximately 48,000 members organized in 1,510 columns, illustrating the scale reached by its local volunteer network before the Nazi period. Following Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, ASB was brought under National Socialist control. After the Second World War, the organization’s development split along the political division of Germany. In the Soviet occupation zone, the Soviet Military Administration suppressed ASB, and the organization did not continue as an independent body in the German Democratic Republic. In the western occupation zones, former members and local Samaritan groups began rebuilding their activities. The creation of the Federal Republic enabled the development of nationwide structures, and ASB Deutschland e.V. was formally re-established in April 1952. The postwar organization initially based its federation in Hanover and later moved its federal headquarters to Sülz, a district of Cologne. After German reunification, ASB was re-established in the eastern federal states in 1990, restoring a Germany-wide presence. Its modern identity combines the historic first-aid mission with a broad range of public-benefit services. These include emergency medical assistance, rescue and disaster response, first-aid education, elderly and disability support, care-related services, child and youth welfare, social assistance, and humanitarian or international aid activities. The organization operates through national and regional structures rather than as a conventional commercial product company. Its public positioning centers on solidarity, practical assistance, volunteerism, and support for people in emergencies or vulnerable circumstances. ASB remains an active German charitable organization. Its work is delivered through a mixture of professional staff, local branches, facilities, and volunteers. The ASB name functions as a service and trust brand across a broad social-welfare network, with local and regional organizations providing many services under the common federation identity.

The history of Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschland is rooted in the development of organized first aid during the late nineteenth century. Industrialization increased the number and severity of workplace accidents, creating demand for people outside the medical profession who could provide immediate assistance. The wider Samaritan movement was influenced by first-aid education initiatives associated with St John Ambulance in Britain. In Germany, surgeon Friedrich von Esmarch helped establish a Samaritan school after visiting London in 1881. Early German Samaritan teaching, however, was not initially designed specifically around the everyday needs of industrial workers. A more explicitly worker-oriented initiative began in Berlin on 29 November 1888. Six carpenters organized a course in first aid for accidents and disasters, creating the first local column of what later became ASB. The movement spread through local groups and training activities. In 1895, its course organization adopted the title “Samariterkursus für Arbeiter und Arbeiterinnen,” signaling an emphasis on education for working people of both sexes. The local-column model remained important because it allowed volunteers to organize training and assistance close to workplaces and communities. In 1909, eleven Samaritan columns met in Magdeburg and formed the Workers’ Samaritan League. This was the decisive step from a collection of local initiatives toward a national federation. Berlin served as the first federal seat. In 1923, Theodor Kretzschmar and Eugen Richter, both chemist members of the movement, were elected to senior federal roles as Federal Councilor and Federal Treasurer. The federal headquarters consequently moved to Chemnitz. During the interwar period, ASB combined emergency-oriented activities with member and welfare facilities, including a recreation center in Herchen. Its membership and local organization expanded substantially; in 1933, the federation reportedly had around 48,000 members in 1,510 columns. The Nazi seizure of power ended the organization’s independent development. ASB was placed under National Socialist leadership, a process that subordinated civic associations to the political system of the regime. After 1945, the organization’s fate differed between the occupation zones. The Soviet Military Administration suppressed ASB in the Soviet occupation zone, and no equivalent independent ASB organization survived in the later German Democratic Republic. In the western part of Germany, former members and local groups began rebuilding soon after the war. As the Federal Republic developed, the movement created supra-regional structures and formally founded ASB Deutschland e.V. in April 1952. The postwar federation was initially headquartered in Hanover. It later moved to Sülz, now part of Cologne, after construction of new federal headquarters. This period marked the transformation of ASB from a primarily worker-based first-aid movement into a broad charitable service organization. Its activities came to encompass emergency medical services, rescue and disaster assistance, training, social welfare, care, and support for children, young people, older people, and people with disabilities. The organization retained its local and volunteer foundations while developing professional service capacity. German reunification brought another major organizational change. In 1990, ASB was established in the eastern federal states, reuniting the organization’s national geographic scope after decades of division. In contemporary Germany, the ASB identity is used across a network of local, regional, and federal structures. It is best understood as a charitable service and aid brand rather than as a commercial consumer brand. Its continuing public role rests on practical emergency assistance, education, social solidarity, and the delivery of professional and volunteer services to people in need.

• 1990

  Expansion into eastern Germany

  [1]Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschlanden.wikipedia.org

  After German reunification, ASB was established in the eastern federal states, restoring a nationwide organizational presence.

• 1952

  ASB Deutschland e.V. officially re-established

  [1]Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschlanden.wikipedia.org

  The postwar federation was formally founded in April 1952 in the Federal Republic of Germany, initially with its seat in Hanover.

• 1945

  Postwar division disrupts the organization

  [1]Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschlanden.wikipedia.org

  ASB was suppressed in the Soviet occupation zone, while former members and regional groups began rebuilding the organization in western Germany.

• 1933

  Organization reaches prewar scale

  [1]Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschlanden.wikipedia.org

  ASB was reported to have approximately 48,000 members active in 1,510 local columns before its subordination under Nazi rule.

• 1923

  Federal seat moved to Chemnitz

  [1]Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschlanden.wikipedia.org

  The election of Theodor Kretzschmar and Eugen Richter to senior federal roles was followed by the relocation of the federation's headquarters from Berlin to Chemnitz.

• 1909

  National federation created in Magdeburg

  [1]Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschlanden.wikipedia.org

  Eleven local Samaritan columns united at a Magdeburg founding meeting to create the Workers' Samaritan League.

• 1895

  Worker-focused Samaritan courses formalized

  [1]Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschlanden.wikipedia.org

  The organization adopted the name Samariterkursus für Arbeiter und Arbeiterinnen, emphasizing first-aid education for workers of both genders.

• 1888

  First Berlin Samaritan column founded

  [1]Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschlanden.wikipedia.org

  Six carpenters organized a first-aid course in Berlin on 29 November, forming the first column of the later Workers' Samaritan organization.

• 1881

  Friedrich von Esmarch establishes a German Samaritan school

  [1]Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschlanden.wikipedia.org

  After visiting the leadership of St John Ambulance in London, German surgeon Friedrich von Esmarch helped establish a Samaritan school in Germany, contributing to the broader first-aid environment from which ASB later emerged.

A nationwide, worker-rooted charitable aid organization combining volunteer traditions with professional emergency, welfare, care, training, and humanitarian services.

• Training · 1888

  First-aid education

  First-aid instruction is the organization’s historic core activity. ASB developed from courses designed to equip workers and volunteers to respond to accidents and disasters before professional medical assistance could arrive. The modern organization continues this educational role through first-aid and emergency-response training.

• Emergency services

  Emergency medical and ambulance services

  ASB provides emergency-oriented assistance through its charitable service network, including ambulance and rescue-related operations. These services extend the original Samaritan purpose of delivering immediate practical help during medical emergencies.

• Humanitarian response

  Rescue and disaster relief

  Rescue and disaster assistance form a major part of ASB’s public-aid profile. The organization’s original courses explicitly addressed accidents and disasters, while its later federation structure enabled coordinated support through local and regional units.

• Social services

  Social welfare and care services

  ASB’s contemporary scope extends beyond emergency response to social and care services for people who need ongoing support. Its service fields include assistance for older people and people with disabilities, alongside broader community welfare activities.

• Social welfare

  Child, youth, and family welfare

  The organization also operates in child, youth, and family welfare. This broadens the ASB brand from emergency aid into longer-term support for individuals and households facing social or care-related needs.

• 1990

  Restore nationwide operations after reunificationStrategy

  Background

  ASB had not continued as an independent organization in the former German Democratic Republic after its suppression in the Soviet occupation zone.

  Action taken

  Following German reunification, ASB established organizational structures in the eastern federal states.

  Aftermath

  The move reconnected the organization’s geographical presence across Germany and completed its postwar national reconstruction.

  Source

• 1952

  Re-establish ASB Deutschland after the warStrategy

  Background

  Postwar suppression in the Soviet occupation zone and the collapse of the Nazi-era political order left former Samaritan groups rebuilding under new conditions in western Germany.

  Action taken

  ASB Deutschland e.V. was formally founded in April 1952 and developed supra-regional structures in the Federal Republic.

  Aftermath

  The organization resumed nationwide development in West Germany and later expanded into the eastern federal states after reunification.

  Source

• 1909

  Create a national federation of local columnsStrategy

  Background

  By the early twentieth century, Samaritan activity was organized through multiple local columns. Greater coordination was needed to give the worker-focused movement a national structure.

  Action taken

  Eleven columns joined at a founding meeting in Magdeburg to establish the Workers' Samaritan League.

  Aftermath

  The federation provided a basis for coordinated growth and became the organizational predecessor of modern ASB Deutschland.

  Source

1. 1Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund Deutschlanden.wikipedia.org
2. 2Official ASB Deutschland websiteasb.de