On October 19, 1913, the age of rescuers in red and yellow begins:The German Life Saving Society (DLRG) is founded. Swimming becomes fashionable. The DLRG has already saved the lives of tens of thousands of people.
When it was founded on October 19, 1913, the DLRG made it its mission to save people from drowning and to train lifeguards. In the first 100 years of its existence, its members have been able to save more than 66,000 people from drowning. With around 575,000 members and sponsors nationwide, the DLRG has become the largest voluntary water rescue organization in the world.
A misfortune leads to the founding of the DLRG
July 28, 1912 is a beautiful Sunday. The sun is shining and hundreds of bathers and day-trippers are strolling along the more than 800 meter long pier from Binz on the island of Rügen. When a steamer wants to dock shortly before 7 p.m., the dock collapses. About 100 people fall into the water.
Since the sailors from the surrounding warships immediately come to the rescue, most of the people can be saved. Nevertheless, 16 people, including two children, drown in the Baltic Sea. Because at the beginning of the 20th century only about two to three percent of the population can swim. With this event, the desire for a life-saving society grows.
DLRG starts training lifeguards
The DLRG has been advertising since it was founded:The organization trains new lifeguards who can then, for example, work as watchmen on the beach.About a year later, on October 19, 1913, the DLRG was founded in the Hotel de Prusse in Leipzig. Just a few months later, the organization has over 400 members. Through lectures, training courses and competitions, the Society aims to spread knowledge and skills on how to save lives and prevent emergencies. In addition, lifeguards are trained and tested for use on rivers and lakes, and security services are set up.
Swimming is coming into fashion
While in the first decades of the 19th century around 5,000 people lost their lives in the water every year, in the first 100 years after its founding, the DLRG succeeded in reducing the number of deaths by 92 percent and making swimming fashionable . Between 1913 and 2013, the DLRG saved around 66,000 people from drowning. In 2020 alone, the emergency services saved 950 people from death. And in 2021, 299 people drowned in registered swimming accidents than in 20 years. However, the positive development is also likely to be due to the corona pandemic - and the lifeguards are worried about the many children who can't swim - and couldn't learn to swim during the pandemic.
Help with helicopters and dog units
Today, around 47,000 voluntary helpers from the DLRG with its headquarters in Bad Nenndorf in Lower Saxony (Schaumburg district) watch over lakes, beaches and swimming pools every year and help with helicopters, boats and rescue dogs, including during flood disasters. In addition, thousands of new aspiring lifeguards are tested each year.