Strategies of National Disaster Management and its Implementation in Germany

Abstract

This study explores the operations and strategies of national emergency management adopted by the German government. In Germany, the debates about emergency management started in 1949 when Gustav Heinemann was head of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Due its experience of two World Wars and large-scale property damages Germany has been systematically operating prior-crisis preventative measures and post-crisis relief measures vis-à-vis national crisis since 1951. Germany’s national emergency management is currently being responded to with the federal government as the chief participant. Germany has also launched numerous preventive measures for future (contingencies) hazards. In theory, the property and safety of German citizens fall within the administrative sphere of the provincial governments that autonomously exercise appropriate authority and responsibility. However, when necessary the system also allows active response of the federal government. In other words, the federal government has set up the Office of Emergency Management under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of the Interior while the active participation of the provincial governments and self-governing local organizations is secured. The Office carries out a supplementary function by maintaining a cooperative management system in times of emergencies and by rapidly responding to disasters to minimize property damage. While the emergency management system in Germany combines the federal, provincial and self-regulating local governments in order to facilitate an efficient and highly-structured response to crisis situations, it also gives the federal government a leading role in times of emergency. The future national emergency management which is responded to by the federal government has the advantage of rapid response in the process of preventive and relief work, and operating according to an integrated management system is efficient.