Deutsches Rotes Kreuz [German Red Cross] flag with a black eagle with a swastika and a red cross on a white field

Very large Deutsches Rotes Kreuz [DRK; German Red Cross] flag with a Reichsadler, a black Imperial eagle, with a white Swastika on its chest and a red cross in its talons, displayed upon a white field. After Hitler's appointment as Chancellor in January 1933, the Nazi Party began to reshape the private charity sector. By July 1933, the DRK was one of only four non-state aid organizations left in Germany. Its new president was a Nazi Party official, Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In December 1937, the DRK became a unit of the Nazi Party and, the next year, it became a Social Work Organization within the Ministry of the Interior. It had no relationship with the International Red Cross during this time. It was an active aid organization, helping German soldiers in the field and operating recovery hospitals. The DRK was disbanded after the war in 1945 pursuant to denazification decrees. Charles Edward was imprisoned, his estates were confiscated, and he was bankrupted by the steep denazification fines. No restrictions on access