Adolf Hitler ordered the establishment of the Winterhilfswerk (WHW) relief program in 1933 and personally opened the first drive that September, giving out the directive that “no one shall be hungry, no one shall freeze”. The initial donation drive of winter 1933/1934 took place against a backdrop of acute distress in large parts of the German populace; its initiation was partly a result of the party’s desire to prevent social unrest. The “Law on the Winterhilfswerk of the German People”, passed on 1 December 1936, formally established the WHW as a registered association, led by Joseph Goebbels, the Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda.

“This great campaign against hunger and cold is governed by this principle: We have broken the international solidarity of the proletariat. We want to build the living national solidarity of the German people!”

-Adolf Hitler, 13 September 1933: The Proclamation of the WHW

The Day of National Solidarity

The term “National Solidarity” is attributed to Joseph Goebbels and was used by Adolf Hitler in the inaugural WHW speech delivered on 13 September 1933. On 11 October 1934 Adolf Hitler announced with his opening speech in the Krolloper for the collection of donations at the second “Winterhilfswerk des Deutschen Volkes”. However, Joseph Goebbels, who had highlighted the successful action of the previous year in his diary as “my greatest achievement” soon feared that the donation volume would fall far short of expectations.

At the end of October 1934, he entered in his diary: “WHW is not good. Exert all their might. Large shortfall to be expected”.

Goebbels wanted to prevent a setback, “strengthen the backs” of the collectors and “popularize” the Winterhilfswerk by including prominent artists and functionaries at the start of the Reich-wide collections. The press, cinema advertisements and posters announced a “Day of National Solidarity”. Goebbels noted on 10 December 1934 of the resounding success of this day, on which, according to initial estimates, 3,500,000 Reichsmark were collected throughout the Reich:

“All in a collector’s mood. The Führer is also very enthusiastic. […] At 4 [o’clock in the afternoon] with Göring at the Adlon. Indescribable. Tens of thousands. An unmistakable jubilation and bustle. I’m almost crushed. […] These wonderful Berliners! And they give. The poorest are the most cordial. Tears often come to me. I collect everywhere. Also Magda [Goebbels]. And thousands of others. Everyone is excited about it. In the evening to the Führer. Report. 30 collectors there. High mood. A great victory. I have 42 cans full.”

The National Socialists described the Day of National Solidarity as an annually recurring collection day at the start of the “Winter Aid Work of the German People”, in which prominent party officials and artists united for monetary donations with the collection box. As part of the effort to place the community over the individual, totals were not ever reported for any individuals, only what each organization had collectively raised. A 1938 Nazi propaganda leaflet claimed that the Winterhilfswerk had collected nearly a billion Reichsmarks from 1933 to 1937 as well as half a billion in goods and two million kilograms of coal.

The result of the 1937 National Day of Solidarity was enthusiastically praised by the press: “The Winterhilfswerk 1937/38 now proved in its brilliant development the progress of socialist education in the German ethnic community. Thus, the day of national solidarity, 4 December 1937, on which the German Führerkorps again collected in city and country, this time about 8 million RM”.

Walter Tausk, writer and author of the Breslauer Tagebuch 1933-1940, who was classified as a Jew by the National Socialists, wrote on the 3 December 1938 in his diary: “Today is the ‘Day of German Solidarity’, as can be seen from the attachment that was in our mailbox yesterday. The Jews are therefore under house arrest from twelve to eight o’clock […], which means they are not allowed to leave their homes, since they are not involved in German solidarity.’ That is not so bad. As long as you are left alone.”

Charity Concerts and Events

Adolf Hitler speaks at the opening of the Winter Relief Program.

Various groups, including the Hitler Youth, went door to door soliciting donations from the public, and in return they would receive the latest lapel badge or booklet. At times the badge designs would change as often as weekly so that the public were pressured into contributing money frequently by having the latest badge. By 1945 over 8000 different badges had been produced, in a variety of material and techniques including wood, glass, paper, metal, plastic, leather and amber. People who were not wearing the latest lapel badge had their names put in the paper to remind them of their neglect. Community pressure ensured constant giving from the German people. 

Tiny books with photographs of the Führer’s accomplishments were sold to raise funds to support various charities. In Nazi Germany the Winterhilfswerk (Winter Charity Campaign, or WHW) collection campaigns took place each Winter and raised a great deal of money for charity such as the German Red Cross. This series of booklets were published from 1937 -1941 by Heinrich Hoffmann, Hitler’s official photographer.  There were 26 different books in total to collect. The booklets had a string, so one could wear them from a lapel pin, to show that you had made a donation. The following week, when there was a new series of badges & tokens to collect, the booklets could then be hung elsewhere in the home, such as from the Christmas Tree along with other Reich approved ornaments.