The German Life Saving Association (Deutsche Lebens-Rettung-Gesellshaft – DLRG) celebrated its 90th Anniversary on 19 October 2003 with a special ceremony hosted in Bad Nenndorf.

On 19 October 1913, the creation of the DLRG took place in the meeting room of the Prusse Hotel located in Leipzich. The creation act was undersigned by 48 people. The first President elect was Prof. Dr. Adolf Fiedler from Dresden.

The aim of the organisation was the preservation of life by near-drowning by all means. The official publication of the organisation called the “Lebensretter” (The lifesaver) saw life in 1923.

In 1926 the DLRG issue its 40,000th Certificate while in 2003 the DLRG issued its 26th Million Certificate.

The total amount of hours of voluntary services in 2002 was over 6 million hours from which over 2,3 million hours were dedicated for voluntary water safety and water rescue services.