‘Non-governmental organization’ (NGO) is a technical term of international relations that had its breakthrough with the Charter of the United Nations in 1945. The leading role German expatriates living in London had in the relief committee illustrates the significance of national affiliations across borders for the emergence of transnational relations more generally. The Soviet government backed the demand, seeking to establish what was to become the World Federation of Trade Unions as a specialized agency with observer status, rivalling the International Labour Organization. The lack of historical depth inherent in the prevalent narrative of a continuous ‘rise and rise’ of NGOs, not just in the second half of the twentieth century, but also to the apparent highs of the, call for a more profound understanding of how global civil society emerged, and the ways in which it developed over time.