Winterhilfswerk

Winter Relief of the German People
Winterhilfswerk des Deutschen Volkes
AbbreviationWHW
Formation1933; 91 years ago (1933)
Founded atBerlin
DissolvedMay 9, 1945; 79 years ago (1945-05-09)
TypeWelfare organization
Location
Region served
Germany
ServicesFood, clothing and fuel distribution
LeaderErich Hilgenfeldt
Parent organization
National Socialist People's Welfare
FundingPublic contributions
Mosaic from the Braith-Mali-Museum in Biberach an der Riß

The Winterhilfswerk des Deutschen Volkes (English: Winter Relief of the German People), commonly known by its abbreviated form Winterhilfswerk (WHW), was an annual donation drive by the National Socialist People's Welfare (German: Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt) to help finance charitable work. Initially an emergency measure to support people during the Great Depression, it went on to become a major source of funding for the activities of the NSV and a major component of Germany's welfare state. Donations to the WHW, which were voluntary in name but de facto required of German citizens, supplanted tax-funded welfare institutions and freed up money for rearmament.[1][2] Furthermore, it had the propagandistic role of publicly staging the solidarity of the Volksgemeinschaft.[3]

  1. ^ Kramer 2017, p. 144.
  2. ^ Evans 2005, p. 491.
  3. ^ Scriba 2015.