Germany asks more of its households than almost any other country in Europe. The federal civil protection office wants every home to manage on its own for 10 days, not three. Here is what its current brochure lists, and how it compares with the other 23 national guides we compiled.
The official guide
- Title: Vorsorgen für Krisen und Katastrophen
- Publisher: Bundesamt für Bevölkerungsschutz und Katastrophenhilfe (BBK), the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance
- Edition: 11/2025, second edition
- Horizon: 10 days, with 3 days as a first step
- Link: BBK brochure (PDF, German)
The brochure is calm about the horizon. Its advice is to aim for 10 days, but it says a stock for at least 3 days already helps a lot, and that you can build up from there step by step.
Water: 2 litres per person per day
The BBK plans 2 litres per person per day, of which half a litre is meant for cooking. It gives a worked example for a household of three:
| Period | Water for 3 people |
|---|---|
| 3 days | 18 litres |
| 5 days | 30 litres |
| 10 days | 60 litres |
It also reminds you to count your pets. Separately, under "other", it lists water containers for firefighting or washing water.
Food
The brochure no longer gives per-category quantities. It asks for food that keeps without a fridge, can be eaten without cooking, or cooks quickly, and that suits any allergies, small children and pets in the household. For exact amounts it points to the federal food agency's stock calculator at ernaehrungsvorsorge.de. That calculator plans, per person per day, 330 g of grain products, 400 g of vegetables and pulses, 250 g of fruit and nuts, 250 g of dairy, 120 g of eggs, meat or fish, and 33 g of fats.
The BBK checklist
The checklist at the back of the brochure is grouped like this:
- Food and drink: drinking water, long-life food, an alternative way to cook (such as a camping stove or gas grill) and its fuel, pet food.
- Information: a solar or battery radio with batteries, or a crank radio; a warning app such as NINA; a charged power bank; important phone numbers on paper.
- Light and warmth: a torch and spare batteries, candles and a lighter, warm clothes and blankets, sleeping bags, a heater that works off-grid (gas heater, paraffin stove, ethanol fireplace) and its fuel.
- Home medicine cabinet: personal medicines, painkillers, fever reducers, a thermometer, remedies for diarrhoea, vomiting and colds, electrolytes, wound and skin disinfectant, plasters and dressings, a burn dressing, disposable gloves, a cold pack, tweezers, scissors and more.
- Hygiene: toothpaste and toothbrushes, soap, period products and nappies, strong bin bags that can line the toilet, toilet paper, disinfectant, washing powder, wet wipes, kitchen roll, household gloves, a camping toilet.
- Fire safety: smoke alarms, a fire extinguisher or spray, a carbon monoxide alarm.
- Other: water containers, a respiratory mask, a protective helmet, and extra cash.
For personal medicines, the BBK says a stock for at least ten days makes sense if you rely on them regularly.
The grab bag (Notgepäck)
A separate list covers a bag to take if you have to leave: warm clothes, rain protection and sturdy shoes, a change of clothes, first-aid material, personal medicines, a charged power bank, hygiene items, long-life food and a refillable bottle, a folder of important documents, a sleeping bag or blanket, a mess kit, a pocket knife and can opener, a torch, a radio, a lighter or matches, sun cream and a hat, a notepad and pen, work gloves, spare glasses or hearing aids, and cash.
How Germany compares
Germany's guide is one of the most complete of the 24 we compiled: our data counts 33 of our 51 items in it. Four of them appear in four guides or fewer:
- A warning app. Only Germany and Poland name one.
- A bucket toilet or camping toilet. Only Germany, Sweden and Poland.
- A carbon monoxide alarm. Only Germany and Poland.
- A smoke alarm. Germany, Finland, Poland and the UK.
Those last two follow from the brochure's own warning: only use cooking and heating devices indoors if they are approved for indoor use, because burning with too little oxygen produces carbon monoxide. Cook on a camping stove or grill outdoors only.
There is no item listed by 18 or more guides that Germany leaves out. Two of our more common items are missing from the BBK checklist: purification tablets and foil survival blankets.
Documents
The brochure has a page on keeping documents safe, in a fireproof or waterproof container: proof of identity, property, insurance, qualifications and legal rights, wills, medical records, your vaccination card, and photos you would hate to lose. It also suggests a digital copy in the cloud or on a USB stick.
Build it
Our checklist lets you choose 3, 7 or 10 days and works out the quantities for your household. If you are starting from nothing, the BBK's own advice is the right one: get to 3 days first, then build towards 10. For more on the water side, see how much water to store.