How does Civil Protection work in Germany? Who is responsible for which tasks in which cases? These and other questions are answered by the updated topic page on Protection of the Population in Germany.
In German, the terms “Civil Protection” means what has to be done in prevention and in case of defense, while “Protection of the Population” means tasks related to disaster management.
These different responsibilities are distributed between the state – coordinating civil protection with the help of the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Reduction (BBK), the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW), the Federal Police and the German Armed Forces. The Länder are responsible for the legislative and organizational part of civil protection – they coordinate disaster and fire protection, technical assistance and rescue services. Ultimately, the municipalities are responsible for operational implementation, among others through fire departments and aid organizations.
So much for a brief insight into German civil protection – you can find more detailed information when reading the topic page.