Germany is one of the leaders in the sphere of humanitarian assistance that has solid support at both state and private levels. Initially, Germany’s humanitarian activity was mainly linked to the goal of improving the country’s image on the world stage and promote the image of a responsible state as part of the German strategy to upgrade its role and influence at the UN. Later, it has become an important component of the German strategy to build up the country’s “soft power”. Regardless of exact conceptual framework for humanitarian dimension of the German foreign policy, in practice it is also aimed at promotion of the well-being of Germany itself. The article examines the main actors involved in Germany’s humanitarian activity and the main types and directions of German humanitarian assistance, in order to detect the specifics of national humanitarian policy. Case studies are used to illustrate the evolution of German humanitarian activity at the present stage.