Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO)

1919 was the year of AWO´s foundation. As a workers' welfare organisation the Arbeiterwohlfahrt stands in the tradition of the social democratic labour movement. After developing rapidly, in 1933 it was disbanded by the National Socialists, who declared AWO illegal and expropriated its property.
After the second world war the authorities in east germany (and in East Berlin after 1996) refused to re-register the organization and so, with the refounding of the eastern German section in 1990, AWO finally came together again after a break of 57 years.
With the reunion of AWO´s sections in east and west there are onw 625.000 members, 80.000 voluntary and 50.000 full-time men and women performing socially commited work in services and facilities right across the country.