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Since 1921/22, the Zentralwohlfahrtsausschuss der Christlichen Arbeiterschaft e.V. (Central Welfare Committee of Christian Workers, ZWA) was the joint welfare association of the General Association of Christian Trades Unions, the large organisations of the Catholic and Protestant workers associations, and the Catholic Journeymen’s Association. The Christian workers movement wanted to be, just like the socialists, «not just the object but also the subject of welfare» and saw itself as not being adequately represented by either the associations of Caritas and Innere Mission or by the socialist Arbeiterwohlfahrt (Workers Welfare). This view was shared by the Weimar government which awarded the ZWA despite its comparative smallness the status of a central welfare association. In 1929 the ZWA was connected with 471 institutions containing 27,374 beds. These were mostly convalescence homes for workers, youth’s, children’s and old people’s homes.

As a central association the ZWA aimed, in the first place, at the involvement of the Christian workforce in welfare work. This included spreading the concept of welfare work in the work force and trying to attract more workers into the full time profession of social care. The ZWA promoted the theoretical knowledge of its members in the area of social welfare and held conferences and training courses for the same purpose. This function of supplementary education and information was served by the Vierteljahreshefte (Quarterlies). They were supposed to stabilise the spiritual union between the country wide units and stimulate the professional discussion within the association.

The Christian Workers Relief, as the ZWA had been called since 1930, did not survive the National Socialist seize of power. Next to the Deutsche Arbeitsfront (German Labour Front) there was no place left for a Christian workers movement. In order to prevent their institutions being taken over by the NSV the associations transferred them, according to confession, to the Caritas or the Innere Mission. The Vierteljahreshefte ceased publication with the dissolution of the Christian Workers Relief.