News

How the German Red Cross Tracing Service has been helping since 1945

To mark the “Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Flight and Expulsion” and the United Nations’ “World Refugee Day”, the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) organises a memorial service on behalf of the Federal Government every year on 20 June. The service commemorates both German displaced persons from the Second World War and the post-war period, as well as the current victims of flight and displacement worldwide. The link between historical and current events highlights the commonalities in people’s fates resulting from external upheavals and raises greater societal awareness of this.

This year’s commemorative event focused on those who support victims of flight and displacement, including staff from the German Red Cross Tracing Service. Their day-to-day work and motivation formed the central theme of the event. Following a welcome address by the Federal Minister of the Interior, Alexander Dobrindt, a new film was shown, amongst other things, about the humanitarian work of the German Red Cross Tracing Service as a core Red Cross task through the ages: starting with the Second World War and its aftermath, including the resulting tasks of clarifying the fate of missing persons, searching for relatives and providing advice on family reunification for ethnic German repatriates, right through to the needs of those seeking help due to current conflicts. Staff from the DRK Tracing Service and the German War Graves Commission then took part in a panel discussion to exchange views and explain the social significance of their work. The closing address was given by the President of the Federation of Expellees, Stephan Mayer.

With about 40 registered guests from the DRK General Secretariat and its Tracing Service offices in Hamburg and Munich, as well as the DRK’s regional and district associations, the DRK was particularly well represented this year amongst the approximately 300 invited participants. The DRK Tracing Service is very grateful to the Federal Government for recognising the importance of its work as an advocate for missing persons and their families.

The Federal Government’s Protocol Office offered alivestream of the memorial service, which was available on 20 June 2026 from 1.00 pm.

The German Red Cross (DRK) has been a regular contributor to the “Commemoration Ceremony for the Victims of Flight and Expulsion” since 2015:

• Federal Government Domestic Minutes – 20 June – Commemoration ceremony on 20 June 2020
• Federal Government Domestic Minutes – 20 June – Commemoration ceremony on 20 June 2021