The International Federation archives

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (formerly called the League of Red Cross Societies) hold records documenting the activities of the International Federation that date from the foundation of the League in 1919.

Please direct all enquiries about a person who was the victim of an armed conflict during the 20th century (prisoner-of-war, civilian held captive, deceased or interned) to the International Committee of the Red Cross Archives.

The Catalogue of Publications lists the current Federation publications, which are available online or which can be ordered. Out-of-print publications are available for consultation in the archives.

The archival records are open to the public by appointment with the archivist, and in accordance with the following access conditions:

1. The Secretariat classifies as public the following records:
• Federation publications that the Secretariat makes available for sale to the public or distributes to the public for free.
• Decisions of the General Assembly, and policies and reports adopted through a Decision, except for those decisions, policies and reports designated confidential by the General Assembly.
• Decisions of the Governing Board, and reports adopted through a Decision, except for those decisions and reports designated confidential by the Governing Board.
• minutes and reports of statutory bodies more than 20 years old.
• non-confidential files of the Secretariat that are more than 30 years old.
2. The period after which a record becomes public is calculated from the date on which the record is closed.
3. Records classified confidential, which are generally records containing personal data, are closed to the public.

Contact the archivist

For further information on the archives, or to arrange an appointment with the archivist, please contact the archivist at the Secretariat in Geneva:

Archivist
Tel: +41 22 730 42 39
Fax: +41 22 733 03 95
E-mail: secretariat@ifrc.org (please add "Archives" in the subject line of your e-mail)

Archives of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Some National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies maintain archives documenting the activities of the National Society. Several National Society archives have e-mail addresses and/or web sites (see below). For further information on the archives of a specific National Society, please contact the National Society directly.

American Red Cross
Web site

Australian Red Cross
Email: archive@redcross.org.au
Web site

Belgian Red Cross (Flemish section)
Email: archief@rodekruis.be

British Red Cross
Email: enquiry@redcross.org.uk
Web site

French Red Cross
Email: communication@croix-rouge.fr

German Red Cross
Email: archiv@drk.de
Web site

Norwegian Red Cross
E-mail: documentation.center@redcross.no
Web site