Instituted in 1864 by Aaron Silverman of the Charité hospital of Berlin, the German Red Cross was a voluntary civil assistance organization officially acknowledged by the Geneva Convention in 1929.

[7] In April 1933, Nazi Reich Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick made it clear to Winterfeldt-Mencken that the focus on social welfare was over; the DRK would be expected to play its part in supporting the German armed forces in any future conflict.

Similarly, the DRK quickly moved to rid itself of left-wing members, and in June 1933, decided to apply the Nazi Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service, and dismissed its Jewish employees.

Huber argued that as it was impossible to prescribe rules in conflict with national laws, and that it was better to take a flexible approach than risk breaking up the international Red Cross movement.

German President Paul von Hindenburg was able to influence the decision, instead selecting Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Queen Victoria's grandson.

There followed a typically Nazi power struggle, in which Hocheisen was eventually able to assert his authority – only to be ousted by top SS doctor Ernst-Robert Grawitz at the start of 1937.

At the end of 1938, the German Red Cross officially came under the control of the Ministry of the Interior's Social Welfare Organization, becoming de facto a Nazi entity, led by Grawitz in the role of 'acting president', with Oswald Pohl as chairman of the board of administration.

He introduced a hierarchical chain of command into the DRK, and arranged for a new large and imposing "representative" presidential building to be constructed in Potsdam-Babelsberg, complete with a balcony from which speeches could be made.

[16] As a preparation for war, the DRK focused on training people to deal with air raids and gas attacks, and organised joint exercises with the police and the fire brigades.

[18] After Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II, the Allied Military Government issued a special law outlawing the NSDAP and all of its branches.

[20][21] Since 1921, the society has had the following presidents: DRK until the end of World War II:[22] Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan The Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus (suspended) Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile [es] China Colombia Comoros Congo [it] Congo, Democratic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica [es] Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba [es] Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador [es] Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, North Korea, South Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Macedonia Norway Pakistan Palau Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru (suspended) Philippines Poland Portugal [pt] Qatar Republika Srpska Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino São Tomé and Príncipe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan (Republic of China) Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Abkhazia (no-member) Cyprus, North (non-member) Hong Kong (autonomous branch of the RCSC) Kosovo (non-member) Macau (autonomous branch of the RCSC) Oman (non-member) Ossetia, South (non-member) SADR (pending recognition and admission) Somaliland (non-member) Taiwan (former member) Transnistria (non-member) Vatican City (autonomous branch of the Italian Red Cross)