The term Kinderlandverschickung (KLV) was first used in the late 19th century to describe the foster care relocation of sick and underprivileged children to the countryside. At the outbreak of WWII, although there were no large scale civilian evacuations as in Britain,

Leave_this_to_Us_Sonny_Art.IWMPST13854

the National Socialist People’s Welfare (NSV) organized the relocation of mothers with very young children, with or without older siblings (and some pregnant women) to host families in safer areas. The relocation of children aged 10-14 years was the responsibility of the Hitler Youth.

 
Due to lost records, the total number of evacuations during the war is unknown but in 1943, a senior official in the Hitler Youth estimated about three million children and young people (including 1 million in KLV camps) had been evacuated.