Many Germans view Ukraine with great concern and would like to help the victims of the war. That drives donations up. However, dubious calls are also circulating on the Internet.
Berlin – The willingness to donate for the victims of the war in Ukraine is higher than ever in some organizations. This reports the action alliance disaster relief.
“Never in the history of the action alliance, i.e. in the last 21 years, have so many donations been received in a comparable period,” said Managing Director Dominique Mann of the German Press Agency. So far, more than 76 million euros in donations have been recorded. The action alliance consists of Caritas Germany, the German Red Cross, Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe and Unicef Germany.
The alliance Aktion Deutschland also sees a great response. The willingness to donate is certainly comparable to that for help after the 2004 tsunami and the 2021 flood, said spokeswoman Birte Steigert. The level of donations after the attack on Ukraine has so far been 55.9 million euros.
Digital payment methods
The German Donations Council also observes a very high willingness to pay in society. However, the amount of money for Ukraine from German supporters cannot be quantified after such a short time, said Managing Director Max Mälzer.
According to Aktion Deutschland Hilft, digital payment methods are a big factor when transferring funds. In the case of major disasters in particular, people want help quickly and easily. “This is especially true for younger people who are more internet savvy (…) Almost every second transaction is now carried out directly via our website. Last year we raised well over 100 million euros for our global humanitarian aid,” said Thilo Reichenbach, Head of Online Marketing at Aktion Deutschland Hilft. The easier and faster it works, the sooner something will be given. In addition, many people initiated their own charity campaigns.
Donation record possible
Cash donations are better than donations in kind. In this way, the help can be designed in such a way that it is based on the actual needs of the people, said Manuela Roßbach, director of Aktion Deutschland Hilft. The funds would still be needed after the first emergency aid phase, for example to care for people who had fled.
According to the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit”, the German Central Institute for Social Issues (DZI) expects donations to Ukraine to exceed the previous record sum in Germany. According to the report, this amounts to a total of 670 million euros after the tsunami catastrophe in 2004 and 2005. This would make the help for the Ukraine war victims the largest fundraising campaign in the history of the Federal Republic, said Burkhard Wilke from the DZI.
The good intentions of the helpers could also be exploited. Since the beginning of the war, false calls for donations have increased massively, said Niklas Hellemann, managing director of the IT security company SoSafe of the “Zeit”. “The perpetrators are very creative.” There are now videos on the TikTok platform that allegedly show the war happening in a live stream. The IT expert advises: “Anyone who is unsure should not donate on platforms like Facebook, rather directly on the organization’s website.” dpa
