In 2022, the Germans probably donated more than a billion euros to Ukraine and people who fled from there. But does the willingness to help last?
People in Kyiv after a Russian missile attack in late January
Russia's attack on Ukraine caused Germans' willingness to donate to soar in 2022. A total of 5.7 billion euros were donated to charitable and humanitarian organizations in Germany. That is similar to the year 2021, when the Germans gave a lot of money to alleviate the need after the flood disaster in western Germany.
“In 2022, the donors provided help in particular for people fleeing Ukraine,” says Martin Wulff from the German Donations Council. Together with the German Society for Consumer Research (GfK), the association examines donation behavior in the country every year. And that had skyrocketed after the start of the Russian invasion on February 24th. “The majority of donations came in the months of February to April 2022 and thus at the beginning of the war in Ukraine,” reports the association, which is supported by aid organizations, including those of the major churches.
Volunteers in Ukraine bring humanitarian aid to the east of the country like here in the areas liberated in September near the city of Lyman
The donations for “emergency and disaster relief” have made a big jump from 347 million euros to 1.133 billion euros. The donation council assumes that a large part of this went to aid in Ukraine to alleviate the suffering of internally displaced persons there – but also to people who fled from Ukraine to Germany.
So far no drop in donations due to inflation and energy costs
Even the skyrocketing inflation and the sharp rise in energy costs would not have caused the willingness to donate to collapse last December. Dominique Mann from the “Action Alliance for Disaster Relief” confirmed this in a DW interview. Caritas International from the Catholic Church, the evangelical Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe, the UN children's aid organization Unicef and the German Red Cross have joined forces in the alliance.
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It is supported by appeals for donations from the second German television – for eleven months for the Ukraine aid. During the first weeks of the Russian invasion in spring 2022, donations were “extremely high” here too, says Mann – and then again shortly before Christmas. Manuela Roßbach from “Aktion Deutschland Hilft” can confirm this. More than twelve aid organizations have joined forces here, such as the Central Welfare Office for Jews in Germany, World Vision and Islamic Relief Germany. “The largest amount in 2021 of 282 million euros” was donated for the flood disaster in Germany, according to Roßbach, In 2022, the donations from this platform primarily went to “the emergency aid in Ukraine with around 250 million euros”.
Berlin association evacuates more than 18,000 people
Something similar is reported by Ulrike Lessig from “Be an Angel”. The aid organization from the German capital Berlin has evacuated more than 18,000 people from Ukraine in the past eleven months – mainly via Chisinau, the capital of the neighboring Republic of Moldova. The association primarily takes care of the sick, such as cancer patients. “We bring disabled people, sick people and people who have already been injured to medical care in Germany,” Lessig told DW.
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For this they are “permanently looking for doctors and hospitals who can, for example, continue cancer treatment.” The association also maintains a warehouse in Lviv (Lemberg) in western Ukraine and has recently been able to deliver more than 1000 electricity generators financed by donations. In addition, “Be an Angel” has opened a new office in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odessa as a contact point for sick people who are looking for medical help in Germany.
Volunteers are exhausted
But Lessig also warns that Germans are less willing to help: “At the end of February 2022, people were all alarmed: the war is on our doorstep,” but now “we're slowly getting used to it.” Because, according to Lessig, “the more often you see horrifying images, the tougher you become and problems here in Germany are pushed over them”. Many of their supporters still donate regularly for Ukraine, but in conversations it is noticeable that people in Germany are asking themselves, “How much food, how much heating can I still afford? What do I have to pay attention to now? The effects of the war are also noticeable in Germany.”
Ulrike Lessig from “Be an Angel” : Among other things, the association arranges medical help for refugees from the Ukraine
Above all, she sees “a certain exhaustion” among the volunteers. In the spring of 2022, during Russia's advance on Kyiv, a particularly large number of refugees from Ukraine who had fled via Poland and first arrived at Berlin Central Station were being cared for in the German capital. Numerous volunteers signed up for this. “There are people who volunteer to help on vacation and weekends,” says Lessig. But their time is finite. “You cannot save Ukraine on top of your work, family and other previous commitments.”
< p>Voluntary helpers distribute relief supplies at Berlin Central Station in July 2022
Nevertheless: the fact that many people in Germany had also privately taken in Ukrainians fleeing, for example through the mediation of their organization “Be an Angel” shows that “the willingness to help has been great over the past eleven months,” says Lessig. There are still many donors and volunteers. But she also senses the attrition among Ukraine's supporters. “It was actually clear that this would flatten out.” And with a view to the fact that Russia's attack on Ukraine will continue this year, Lessig appeals to politicians. At a certain point, they cannot rely solely on the volunteers and donors, at some point “the state would have to take over”.