Hotel Kaiserhof
RC Berlin met here on Wednesdays, as it still does today. The hotel later became the headquarters of the Nazi leadership and was destroyed in the war.
Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R99514 / unknown / CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, cropped
Building Bridges Through Rotary | Brücken bauen durch Rotary
Bridge Builders Since 1927
Brückenbauer seit 1927
With thanks from around the world
In 1927 the first German Rotary club was founded in Hamburg. Ever since, Rotarians in Germany have been building bridges: across borders, across the rifts of history, and to people in need. For the centenary, Rotary clubs around the world are saying thank you.
365days until 100 years of Rotary in Germany
Centenary year: 7 October 2026 to 7 October 2027
1927First club: Hamburg
1,161Clubs (March 2026)
58,764Members
15Districts
€30M+for Ukraine (as of 2023)
Our history
The Wheel Keeps Turning
Unsere Geschichte: Das Rad dreht sich weiter
1927
RC Hamburg is founded, sponsored by RC San Francisco.
1929
District 73 for Germany and Austria; Berlin gets its club.
1937
Under pressure from the Nazi regime, 43 clubs dissolve.
1949
A new beginning: Frankfurt is the first club refounded, on 27 April.
1990
Leipzig becomes the first club chartered in the former East Germany.
2020
Holger Knaack becomes the first German President of Rotary International.
2027
100 years of Rotary in Germany.
Where it all began
The First Meeting Places
Wo alles begann
In the grand hotels of the Weimar Republic, Germany’s first Rotarians met for talks, conversation and friendship across borders.
Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten
RC München was founded here with 45 members, among them Thomas Mann, Bruno Frank and Hans Knappertsbusch.
Then: postcard, Verlag Mech und Stern, Munich, public domain. Today: [PHOTOGRAPHER TO CONFIRM]
Übersee-Club
Here, in the Patriotic Society building at the Trostbrücke, RC Hamburg received its charter on 8 October 1927 as Germany’s first club, no. 2676. Wilhelm Cuno was its president. Until the end of 1932 the club met here every Wednesday.
Photo: charter celebration at the Übersee-Club, 8 October 1927. RC Hamburg archive, published in “Der Rotarier” 11/1997
Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-1982-0092-007 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped. License: CC BY-SA 3.0 DE
The first president
Dr. Wilhelm Cuno
Der erste deutsche Rotary-Präsident
As managing director of the Hamburg America Line he was known around the world, and in 1922 and 1923 he also served as Chancellor of Germany. Fifteen of RC Hamburg’s founders came from the Übersee-Club, which he had led as its first president. Cuno led the club for two years and in 1929 became the first governor of District 73 for Germany and Austria.
1876born
1927Founding president, RC Hamburg
1929First governor, District 73
War in Europe: Rotary helps
Rotary for Ukraine
Rotary für die Ukraine
Two days after the invasion began, on 26 February 2022, the German Governors’ Council launched its Ukraine relief effort. Nearly nine out of ten clubs have run projects since: in Ukraine, in neighboring countries and for refugees in Germany.
Priorities for winter 2026/27
Medical aidTogether with action medeor
Emergency powerFor schools and daycare centers
HeatingHeaters where infrastructure is destroyed
Thermal clothingWhere heating is impossible
Source: Newsletter no. 22 of the DGR Task Force, 1 September 2026
Photo: [PHOTOGRAPHER TO CONFIRM], courtesy of Holger Knaack
“Rotary Opens Opportunities”
His theme as president. It still stands on a sign in front of three open doors in his garden on the Küchensee in Ratzeburg.
“Everything we do opens another opportunity for someone, somewhere.”Holger Knaack, 2020
A tribute
Holger Knaack
Eine Würdigung des ersten deutschen Präsidenten von Rotary International
From baker’s apprentice in his family’s business in Lübeck to the first German at the head of Rotary International: Holger Knaack, of RC Herzogtum Lauenburg-Mölln, led Rotary through the pandemic in 2020/21. During his year in office, the environment became a new area of focus for Rotary, and he encouraged everyone to start with themselves.
The environment as a focus
In 2020/21, protecting the environment became an official Rotary area of focus.
“I Fix the Planet”
With ESRAG, he championed the worldwide film contest in 2021, an idea from Ludwig Kalthoff of ESRAG Europe.
Youth and exchange
Together with his wife Susanne, he hosted more than 40 exchange students.
The Rotary Foundation
Chair of the Trustees of The Rotary Foundation in 2025/26.
“I Fix the Planet” 2021 winners: [1ST PLACE], [2ND PLACE], [3RD PLACE]
Greetings wall
Greetings from Around the World
Grüße aus aller Welt
Rotary clubs around the world thank the German clubs for 100 years of friendship and bridges across borders.
An open letter from the worldwide family of Rotary
Ein offener Brief der weltweiten Rotary-Familie
Dear friends in the Rotary clubs of Germany,
For one hundred years, you have been building bridges. Beginning in Hamburg in 1927, you joined with Rotarians from France as early as 1931 to found the first intercountry committee in Rotary’s history. After the dark years, you had the courage to confront your own history honestly, and after 1990 you brought new life to the clubs in eastern Germany.
Every year you send hundreds of young people into the world as ambassadors and welcome young guests from every continent. You stand with us in the fight against polio, you have helped Ukraine with millions since 2022, and in Holger Knaack you gave Rotary International its first German president.
For all of this, we say: thank you. Here’s to the next hundred years of building bridges together.
Your friends in the worldwide family of Rotary
Signed by [NUMBER] clubs from [NUMBER] countries
365 days to the centenary
A Year of Bridges
Ein Jahr voller Brücken
A hundred years of service deserve more than a single day of celebration. From 7 October 2026 to 7 October 2027, we feature one Rotary project from around the world every day. Projects developed by people with German roots carry our gold seal.
365
days
365
projects
The “German Roots” seal: this project was developed by Rotarians of German heritage, in Germany or anywhere in the world. The seal celebrates a connection, not a ranking. Heritage is shared voluntarily and only with consent.
Nominate a bridge builder
Who builds bridges across borders?
Brückenbauer nominieren
Wells in Africa, schools in Asia, aid for Ukraine: many German Rotarians and clubs serve far beyond Germany, often quietly and without fanfare. For the centenary, we want to make their work visible.
- Nominate a person or club from Germany with a project abroad.
- Tell us in a few sentences what the project achieves and which bridge it builds.
- Selected nominations appear as a project of the day during the centenary year.
Dates
7 Oct 2026
The centenary year and the daily bridge projects begin99 years after the founding of RC Hamburg, the countdown starts
23 to 25 Oct 2026
World Polio DayEssen, Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage Site
7 and 8 Oct 2027
100 years of Rotary in GermanyFounding and charter: [celebration, venue to follow]
The next 100 years start with you.
Die nächsten 100 Jahre beginnen mit Ihnen.
Find a club near you, support a project, or celebrate with us.