German Society for Humane Dying

The German Society for Humane Dying (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Humanes Sterben e.V., DGHS) is a registered association (eingetragener Verein) founded on 7 November 1980 out of the milieu of the Bund für Geistesfreiheit (bfg). Headquartered in Berlin, it describes itself as the oldest and largest patient-protection and civil-rights organization in Germany working for self-determination at the end of life. Its motto is "Selbstbestimmung!" (Self-determination!), and it reports more than 95,000 members as of September 2026. The DGHS pursues several goals: improving conditions for the dying, raising public awareness of the problems of "humane dying," and changing the legal situation in that sense. It sees itself as a civil-rights and patient-protection organization dedicated to realizing the right of self-determination at the end of life, meaning that it should be left to the personal decision of the patient whether to choose palliative treatment or physician-assisted suicide. In its view, the (medical) helper should be safe from criminal and professional-law prosecution for a "freely responsible decision." The association is a member of the Deutscher Juristentag and of the World Federation of Right-to-Die Societies, and it is a member of hpd e.V., the supporting association of the Humanist Press Service (hpd). At the center of its work, according to the association, is advance planning with the help of living wills (Patientenverfügungen), advice on drafting them, and their enforcement. The DGHS considers it important to formulate one's own will in a living will in good time and to name a reliable authorized representative who can represent that will when one is no longer able to do so. As an offering for its members, the DGHS launched a representative exchange (Bevollmächtigten-Börse) in 2016, through which volunteers willing to take on an authorization near the person's place of residence are brought together with those seeking one. On the other hand, the association works to prevent abuse in all forms of euthanasia. Since 2020 the DGHS has offered its members the arrangement of suicide accompaniment (Suizidbegleitung), carried out by physicians and jurists. In 2025 the DGHS arranged such accompaniment for 898 members. In November of the same year, a physician and a jurist of the DGHS accompanied Alice and Ellen Kessler in their home in Grünwald during their joint assisted suicide. The association demands improvement of the situation of the seriously ill and further legal possibilities for euthanasia in the form of physician-assisted suicide. Its guiding principle is that everyone should be able to die according to their own ideas and wishes and, if necessary, may claim help in doing so. The dying patient should be helped to die at home and in the circle of their relatives, if that is what they want. Pain therapy and palliative medicine are supported. The DGHS has repeatedly awarded the Arthur Koestler Prize, endowed with 2,000 euros, to persons who have taken up the topic of "dying with consideration of the right of self-determination." Prize winners were Hans Küng in 2013, Ralph Giordano in 2014, and Erika Preisig in 2022. In April 2025, in the context of an assisted-suicide case, the DGHS came under public criticism: after its own standards for indication assessment were disregarded and the deceased patient was said to have had "serious psychological problems before his death," the Cologne public prosecutor's office investigated "on suspicion of manslaughter by indirect perpetration" against the physician involved and the treasurer of the DGHS, Ursula Bonnekoh, who participated in the suicide.

The German Society for Humane Dying (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Humanes Sterben e.V., DGHS) was founded on 7 November 1980 out of the milieu of the Bund für Geistesfreiheit (bfg). Its profile rose during the 1980s, partly through publicly discussed suicides such as that of DGHS member Hermy (Hermine) Eckert in 1984 and the conviction of the first president of the DGHS, Hans Henning Atrott. The association's purpose is to improve conditions for the dying, to sensitize the public to the problems of "humane dying," and to change the legal situation in that sense. It sees itself as a civil-rights and patient-protection organization for realizing the right of self-determination at the end of life, meaning that it should be left to the personal decision of the patient whether to choose palliative treatment or physician-assisted suicide. In its view, the (medical) helper should be safe from criminal and professional-law prosecution for a "freely responsible decision." The DGHS is a member of the Deutscher Juristentag and of the World Federation of Right-to-Die Societies, and it is a member of hpd e.V., the supporting association of the Humanist Press Service (hpd). The association's seat is Berlin. The board consists of Robert Roßbruch (President), Dieter Birnbacher (Vice President), and Ursula Bonnekoh (Treasurer). On 9 November 2024, the three board members Peter Boesel, Werner Koch, and Monika Midel were elected to the board by the delegates' assembly. The managing director is Oliver Kirpal. The highest body is the delegates' assembly. The DGHS e.V. is structured as a democratic system: members exercise their co-administration rights by electing delegates. In the old federal states, members living in a government district or a city-state form the regional assembly; in the new federal states, members living in each state form a regional assembly. The regional assemblies elect delegates to the delegates' assembly at certain times and according to a fixed key. Delegates are elected for a period of four years. The highest body of the association is the delegates' assembly, usually convened every two years. It receives reports and elects the board: the president, two vice presidents, the treasurer, the deputy treasurer, and up to three board members (Beisitzer). It also elects two auditors and two deputy auditors. Between delegates' assemblies, the business of the DGHS is conducted by the executive board (president, vice president, and treasurer). At the center of the association's work, according to its own statements, is advance planning with the help of living wills (Patientenverfügungen), advice on drafting them, and their enforcement. From the association's point of view, it is important to formulate one's own will in a living will in good time and to name a reliable authorized representative who represents one's own will when one is no longer able to do so. As an offering for its members, the DGHS launched a representative exchange (Bevollmächtigten-Börse) in 2016, through which volunteers willing to take on an authorization near the person's place of residence are brought together with those seeking one. On the other hand, the association works to prevent abuse in all forms of euthanasia. Since 2020 the DGHS has offered its members the arrangement of suicide accompaniment (Suizidbegleitung), carried out by physicians and jurists. In 2025 the DGHS arranged such accompaniment for 898 members. In November of the same year, a physician and a jurist of the DGHS accompanied Alice and Ellen Kessler in their home in Grünwald during their joint assisted suicide. The association demands improvement of the situation of the seriously ill and further legal possibilities for euthanasia in the form of physician-assisted suicide. The guiding principle of the society is that everyone should be able to die according to their own ideas and wishes and, if necessary, may claim help in doing so. The dying patient should be helped to die at home and in the circle of their relatives, if that is what they want. Pain therapy and palliative medicine are supported. The DGHS has repeatedly awarded the Arthur Koestler Prize, endowed with 2,000 euros, to persons who have taken up the topic of "dying with consideration of the right of self-determination." Prize winners were Hans Küng in 2013, Ralph Giordano in 2014, and Erika Preisig in 2022. In April 2025, in the context of an assisted-suicide case, the DGHS came under public criticism. After its own standards for indication assessment were disregarded and the deceased patient was said to have had "serious psychological problems before his death," the Cologne public prosecutor's office investigated "on suspicion of manslaughter by indirect perpetration" against the physician involved and the treasurer of the DGHS, Ursula Bonnekoh, who participated in the suicide.

• Founded out of the milieu of the Bund für Geistesfreiheit (bfg).

• Publicly discussed suicide of DGHS member Hermy (Hermine) Eckert raises the association's profile.

• Statutory recognition of the living will (Patientenverfügung) in Germany, a success cited by the DGHS.

• Hans Küng awarded the Arthur Koestler Prize.

• Ralph Giordano awarded the Arthur Koestler Prize.

• Launch of the representative exchange (Bevollmächtigten-Börse) for members.

• Start of arranging suicide accompaniment (Suizidbegleitung) for members.

• Erika Preisig awarded the Arthur Koestler Prize.

• Peter Boesel, Werner Koch, and Monika Midel elected to the board by the delegates' assembly.

• DGHS arranged suicide accompaniment for 898 members.

• DGHS physician and jurist accompany Alice and Ellen Kessler in joint assisted suicide in Grünwald.

Civil-rights and patient-protection organization for self-determination at the end of life; Germany's oldest and largest such organization.

• Living will (Patientenverfügung) advice and processing

  Advice on drafting living wills and their enforcement; processing time currently about 5.5 months.

• Arrangement of suicide accompaniment (Suizidbegleitung)

  Arrangement of suicide accompaniment carried out by physicians and jurists; processing follows fixed professional and legal criteria.

• Representative exchange (Bevollmächtigten-Börse)

  Launched in 2016; brings together volunteers willing to take on an authorization near the person's place of residence with those seeking one.

1. 1Deutsche Gesellschaft für Humanes Sterben e.V. – Homepagedghs.de
2. 2Über uns - DGHS - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Humanes Sterben e.V.dghs.de
3. 3Verein - DGHS - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Humanes Sterben e.V.dghs.de
4. 4Presse - DGHS - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Humanes Sterben e.V.dghs.de
5. 5German Society for Humane Dying – Wikidatawikidata.org
6. 6Deutsche Gesellschaft für Humanes Sterben – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org