On June 24^th, 1859 in the small town of Solferino the Battle of Solferino, an engagement in the Austro-Sardinian War took place. In a single day after 16 hours, about 40,000 soldiers on both sides died or were left wounded on the field.

In the evening the arriving Henry Dunant was shocked by the terrible aftermath of the battle, the suffering of the wounded soldiers, and the near-total lack of medical attendance and basic care. He devoted himself to helping with the treatment and care for the wounded. He succeeded in organizing an overwhelming level of relief assistance by motivating the local population to help the wounded without discrimination according to the principle "Tutti Fratelli" (All sibling).

After nearly four years, on February 17 ^th, 1863, Henry Dunant founded the "Committee of the Five", today known as the "The International Committee of the Red Cross".

Since these days all around the world members of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are helping on the principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, universality.

In Altona, which was belonging to Prussia at that time, the first Red Cross community was founded on March 12^th, 1869.

• The German Red Cross Archives
• The ICRC Archives