History of the AWO District Association Kleve
Stages and turns in the history of AWO in Germany
- Prehistory and founding phase (1904-1919)
- Formation and consolidation in the Weimar Republic (1920-1932)
- Persecution and prohibition in the Nazi era (1933-1945)
- New foundation and Reconstruction in the post-war period (1945-1949)
- Free welfare care in the Federal Republic (1950-1969)
- Professionalization and differentiation in the Bonn Republic (1970-1989)
- Tensions between values and value added in the Berliner Republic (1990-2015)
- Present and future (2015-2020)
AWO in the District of Kleve
The first re-foundations of local committees of the AWO took place in 1946 in the old district of Kleve, specifically in the towns of Kleve and Goch. In 1947, the local committees Kalkar, Grieth and Bedburg-Hau were added. In Altkreis Geldern after the war, there was only a loose merger of the local committees Geldern, Kevelaer, Nieukerk and Wachtendonk, intially. In 1971, the Kreisverband Geldern was re-established. At that time, Heinrich van Rissenbeck, who had made a great effort to build the district association, was elected district chairman. On the right side of the Rhine, a local committee was founded in Emmerich in 1946.
Due to the municipal reorganization on 23.6.1975, today’s district association of the AWO Kleve was extended to the borders of the new political district of Kleve. As a result, its current catchment area covers 1,230 square kilometers with 16 municipalities and about 300,000 inhabitants. Meanwhile, in 15 of these communities, there exists a local association of the AWO today, with approximately 1,200 members.
In the starting years, the work rested solely on the shoulders of volunteers. The focus of the work was the care of the elderly and the children’s daycare work, but also the versatile personal help and counseling in social emergencies. In 1977, a full-time office was set up in Kleve, where the increasingly versatile tasks of the district association were organizationally combined. From 1975 to 1978, Gerd Hölzel was the district chairman. He was followed by Helmut Gröhl, who held the office until 1995. Then Irene Möllenbeck was the first woman to head the district association from 1995-1999. The present chairman, Bettina Trenckmann, replaced 2000 Irene Möllenbeck in the chairmanship.
Famous quotes by Marie Juchacz
„The strong should stand up for the weak for the good of the whole.“
„As much as we should all like to live in the present in order to play our part, it is important to examine the present in the light of the past and to be guided by all that was good in it. Not in order to dwell in the past, but to look back from time to time in order to be prepared again for the future.“
„The principle of solidarity, that so wonderfully brings to life all the branches of the labour movement, is also the driving force behind our joint actions to the benefit of people in need, especially the young. This idea is to be expressed mor strongly than before in dealings between our organisations, the strong should stand up for the weak for the good of the whole, for the benefit of our shared goals.“