Misereor milestones
1958: Call for collections to alleviate hunger

Thirteen years after the end of the Second World War, the memory of hunger, poverty and a wave of international help and solidarity during the post-war period was still fresh. Once the worst had passed, members of the Catholic Church in West Germany felt a growing desire to give back and provide international assistance themselves . During the Plenary Assembly of the German Bishops’ Conference in Fulda in 1958, Josef Cardinal Frings, Archbishop of Cologne, called for a Lenten collection to fight ‘hunger and disease’ in the world – with overwhelming success. In 1967, Misereor was established as an organisation.

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1968: “Need in the world” emerges in the German Democratic Republic

In East Germany too, Catholics were keen to show their solidarity with people in need around the world. Cut off from West German dioceses by the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, they started their own collection called “Need in the world”, leading to the inception of a development agency of the same name in 1970. This agency was merged with Misereor in the course of the German reunification.

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1975: Fair Trade movement & GEPA

From the 1970s onwards, an ecumenical Fair Trade movement emerged in West Germany, as in other European countries. More and more groups and OneWorld shops sold coffee, tea and spices. Together with like-minded individuals from the OneWorld shops and the Protestant Church, Misereor founded the Fair Trade company Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Partnerschaft mit der Dritten Welt (GEPA). Over the next few years, GEPA became the largest European importer of Fair Trade goods and successfully introduced Fair Trade products to the wider public.

Lent campaign poster: I want to be human | Misereor
1983: "I want to be human"

In 1983, Misereor’s Lenten Campaign, themed “I want to be human”, spotlighted human rights violations in South Africa and took a firm stand against the racist apartheid regime. At the time, criticism of the South African government was politically contentious. Misereor supported consultation centres, educational institutions and trade unions in South Africa. Artists in exile also contributed to the Official Opening of the Lenten Campaign.

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1996: Sustainable Germany

The research study “Sustainable Germany: A Contribution to Sustainable Global Development”, conducted by the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy and commissioned by Misereor and BUND, was Germany's first scientifically grounded sustainability strategy. The study unflinchingly showcased German society’s resource consumption. The ensuing societal debate paved the way for the development of Germany's first national sustainability strategies.

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2003: €2 campaign

Misereor launched the €2 campaign, which targeted young people. The campaign’s community supports children’s and youth projects in the Global South through small but regular donations.

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2018: 60 years of Misereor

Sixty years had passed since the call for the first Lenten Campaign. In 1959, Misereor had just seven employees. Over the years, this number grew to more than 300 staff in Aachen, Berlin and Munich. The mandate stayed the same: regardless of colour, ethnicity, gender or religion, Misereor still champions those people who are denied the right to a life of dignity, freedom and sufficient and healthy nutrition.

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