In 1950 Geißel became head of the Hamburg branch of the Evangelical Charity Organisation , instigating a Crisis Response section ( '' " Katastrophenhilfe " '' ) , informally as a response to the catastrophic floods in the Netherlands in 1953 , and founded formally in 1954 . In 1955 he moved to the Evangelical Charity organisation 's national head office in Stuttgart , taking charge of the Crisis Response section nationally . Following the merger of the Evangelical Charity Organisation with the church sponsored evangelical Inner mission , in 1957 he was appointed director of the combined organisation , still based in Stuttgart . His responsibilities encompassed finance , crisis response and administration . In 1972 he was appointed vice-president of what had by now evolved into Diakonischen Werkes der EKD e.V. . He retired in 1982 , but continued to contribute in an advisory capacity
catastrophic floods
North Sea flood of 1953
Ludwig Geißel