Berlin/Magdeburg – September 12, 2026 -- Germany's six leading welfare umbrella associations, representing more than 5 million volunteers and paid staff nationwide, issued a joint pledge to defend human dignity and social cohesion following the state election results in Saxony-Anhalt.
BAGFW President Warns Against Election-Driven Discrimination
Achim Meyer auf der Heyde, president of the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Freien Wohlfahrtspflege (BAGFW), said the organization stands with anyone threatened by exclusion, hostility or discrimination, regardless of election outcomes or shifting political majorities.
Saxony-Anhalt Network Runs More Than 3,600 Social Facilities
In Saxony-Anhalt alone, the welfare associations operate more than 3,600 social services and facilities, including daycare centers, nursing homes, hospitals, counseling offices, disability-support institutions and youth welfare providers. Migrants, LGBTQ individuals and people with disabilities face rising attacks and degrading treatment, the associations said, a trend that also unsettles staff and volunteers advocating for these groups' participation rights.
Six Umbrella Groups Commit to Mutual Solidarity, Reject Division Tactics
The BAGFW's member organizations - Arbeiterwohlfahrt, Deutscher Caritasverband, Der Paritätische, Deutsches Rotes Kreuz, Diakonie Deutschland and Zentralwohlfahrtsstelle der Juden in Deutschland - agreed to close cooperation and mutual support. They said they will publicly name and reject any attempt to pit social organizations or welfare associations against one another.
The groups stated that ideologies of inequality have no place in their work and pledged continued advocacy for diversity, respect and social justice in Saxony-Anhalt and beyond.