Privacy Policy

Protecting your personal information is very important to us. We comply with national and international guidelines regarding data protection and we would like you to know which data we save, when and how we use it.

By using our services you agree to our privacy policy as declared herewith:

Personally identifiable information is any information pertaining to personal or material matters of a particular or definable person. This includes information such as name, address, telephone number, and, to some extent, e-mail address. It does not, however, include information which cannot be directly linked to the true identity of a person, such as information about durations of stay or number of website users, for example.

Use of "Cookies"

Cookies are used on our webpages. Cookies are text files which are saved on your computer and allow the website to keep track of use by users such as yourself. They are necessary in order to use functions of internal areas of the site. They are also needed to keep track of site use and hits (see below).

Use of JavaScript

JavaScript is not needed in order to surf our website. If it is enabled, however, your e-mail client opens automatically after double-clicking on e-mail addresses on our pages to send an e-mail to a Red Cross employee. We carefully check the JavaScript to ensure that no malware (e.g., viruses etc.) is transmitted.

Anonymous Data Collection

In order to improve our web services, statistical tools, such as Awstats, are used.

The following information is collected: the name of your internet service provider (your IP-address), the website and country from where you access our sites, date and time, and the webpages you visit. This data is only used for statistical purposes. We do not match up your name to the IP address of your internet interface.

Personally Identifiable Data

If you order brochures from us, we require certain information, such as your name, postal and e-mail address. This information is used solely for our own purposes and to carry out your request. No information is relayed to third parties for advertising purposes.

If you’re a user of one of the internal message boards, your name, e-mail address, function, and affiliation to state, county or local chapter, as well as your pseudonym and password, are logged. Except for authentication purposes or when sending optional e-mail contributions, this information is not used or analyzed otherwise, nor is it relayed to third parties.
As a rule, you can view our donation webpage without disclosing your identity. While using the donation form, an SSL connection exists between your computer and our provider. If you want to make donation, however, we will ask for your name and other personal information in order to process your online donation. An e-mail is generated from this information and is sent directly to the head of accounting where the transaction is then carried out. Using the online donation form is done solely at your own discretion and without obligation.

E-Mail Information

If you use our contact form, your e-mail is sent to a general e-mail address of the state branch office or one of its facilities where it is read and relayed to the appropriate, in-house staff member.

If JavaScript is activated on your computer, your e-mail client will automatically open after double-clicking one of our e-mail links. A new e-mail is automatically opened with the address of the staff member and, if applicable, a given subject line which can be changed manually, if need be.

Although we treat your e-mails confidentially, please keep in mind that unencrypted e-mails can be intercepted and read by third parties during transmission.

Right of Withdrawal

In accordance with the federal privacy rights law, you as an aggrieved person may object to the use of your information at any time. Under certain conditions, you also reserve the right to have any of the saved data corrected, blocked or deleted. Furthermore, you reserve the right to receive information regarding the saved data or the purpose of its storage at any time. To do so, simply contact our data protection administrator in writing or electronically.

Links to Other Websites

Our website contains links to other websites, however we have no control over whether those providers comply with data protection ordninances. We also have no control over the legality of the content of those sites. We therefore assume no liability whatsoever for the content of other websites.

Questions and Comments

Please address questions, suggestions or comments regarding data protection to our data protection administrator by e-mail.

Ongoing developments in internet technologies from time to time require occasional adaptations to our privacy rights policy. We do our best to keep you informed of such changes in a timely fashion.

Kiel, July 2008