Czech Red Cross

Český červený kříž
legal form	non-profit association
founding	February 6, 1919
founder	Alice Masaryková
Seat	Prague , Czech Republic
precursor	Czechoslovak Red Cross
main emphasis	Humanitarian aid , international humanitarian law , social work
people	Marek Jukl, President
Employees	640 (2016)
Members	17,196 (2016)
Website	www.cervenykriz.eu

The Czech Red Cross ( Český červený kříž , ČČK ) is the National Red Cross Society in the Czech Republic under the Geneva Convention and as such part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement .

history

On September 13, 1868, the "Patriotic Aid Society for the Kingdom of Bohemia" ( Vlastenecký pomocný spolek pro Království české ) was founded as the 13th society of the Red Cross. In 1880 the aid associations of the Austrian Crown Lands were united under the umbrella organization of the Austrian Society of Rothen Kreuze .

After the establishment of Czechoslovakia in 1918, an independent Red Cross Society was sought. On February 1, 1919, representatives of the humanitarian professions met in Obecní dům in Prague and prepared to found the new organization. On February 6, President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk confirmed the establishment of the Czechoslovak Red Cross ( Československý červenéhý kříž ) and the appointment of his daughter, Alice Masaryková , as its first chairman. The International Committee of the Red Cross recognized the organization on December 1, 1919, and it was accepted into the League of Red Cross Societies on January 11, 1920. In 1936 the Czechoslovak Red Cross had 840,000, making it the fourth largest Red Cross society in the world. In the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia , the company was dissolved by the German authorities in 1940 and property was confiscated.

After the Second World War , the Czechoslovak Red Cross was rebuilt. After the February revolution in 1948 and the Communist Party seizing power , the Red Cross lost its independence and could no longer adhere to the seven principles of the movement; independence and neutrality were only restored after the Velvet Revolution in 1989. With the dissolution of Czechoslovakia on December 31, the Red Cross Society was split up. The Czech Red Cross was recognized by the International Committee on August 26, 1993. During the floods in 1997 and 2002 , the Red Cross provided a considerable part of the aid.