Technisches Hilfswerk

Federal Agency for Technical Relief 'Bundesanstalt Technisches Hilfswerk'
Common name	Technisches Hilfswerk
Abbreviation	THW
Main logo of the THW
Agency overview
Formed	22 August 1950 (66 years ago) (1950-08-22)
Preceding agency	Technische Nothilfe (Technical Emergency Relief)
Employees	860
Volunteers	83,807
Annual budget	EUR 185.879.000 (2015)
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agency	Germany
Constituting instrument	Law on German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW Law)
General nature	Federal law enforcement Civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	Bonn-Lengsdorf
Agency executive	Albrecht Broemme, President
Operational units	17 rescue & salvage general infrastructure debris clearance boat & pontoon electric supply illumination pumping & sewage search & detection command, control & communication logistics blasting water supply &d treatment temporary bridge construction oil pollution Rapid Deployment Unit Search & Rescue Rapid Deployment Unit Water Supply & Treatment
Facilities
Local sections	668
Website
www.thw.de

The Bundesanstalt Technisches Hilfswerk (THW, Federal Agency for Technical Relief) is a civil protection organisation controlled by the German federal government. 99% of its 83,625 members (2014) are volunteers.

The tasks of the THW are described in a law called THW-Gesetz. These tasks are:

After World War II the Technisches Hilfswerk was founded in 1950, by order of the minister of the interior. The first president of the THW was Otto Lummitzsch (), who had founded the THW's predecessor, the Technische Nothilfe, in 1919. The main purpose of the THW was civil defense in the event of war. This has changed during the decades; today the THW is a helper in a wide spectrum of disasters, such as traffic accidents, industrial disasters, or earthquakes.

The largest disaster control action took place in August 2002 after the flooding of the Elbe river in eastern Germany. About 24,000 THW members participated in the operation, with up to 10,000 people helping simultaneously along the Elbe and its tributaries.

The largest engagement outside Germany was in France in 2000, after storms Lothar and Martin had destroyed much of the overhead electrical overland wires and overturned trees blocked many streets from December 26 to 28, 1999. The main contribution was supplying temporary electrical power for hospitals and other important institutions and rebuilding parts of the electrical system.

The organisation has also been active in many disaster relief operations abroad, for example after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake (for both relief operations and medium-term rebuilding), Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, in 2010 during the flooding in Poland, and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.